Music boosts memory - but only with the right emotional spark

Most of us know music can make life feel lighter – it turns chores into something tolerable and workouts into something motivating. But what about when you hit play after an experience instead of during it? That’s where things get interesting.

A new study from scientists at UCLA shows that music can shape how well we remember something – if it makes us feel the right way. This effect is not influenced by whether the song is happy, sad, or even familiar. It’s about how much emotion the music stirs in you.

“We found that whether music was negative or positive or whether it was familiar didn’t have as much of an influence on memory as the emotional response people felt while listening to it,” said study co-author Professor Stephanie Leal.

“There was an optimal level of emotional response that aided in remembering the details of an experience. Too much or too little emotional response had the opposite effect – worse memory for details, but better memory for the gist of an experience.”

Music, memory, and emotions

The study involved volunteers who were shown pictures of everyday objects – things like oranges, laptops, and telephones. After viewing about 100 images, they listened to 10 minutes of classical music.

When their emotional arousal had returned to normal, the volunteers were tested on what they remembered.

Some images were exactly the same. Some were slightly altered versions. Some were completely new.

Participants had to say whether they had seen the object before and if it was identical or different. They also answered questions about how the music made them feel and whether it was familiar.

The music itself didn’t boost memory across the board. But it helped some people a lot – especially when it came to spotting that an image was similar but not exactly the same.

The key factor? Emotional arousal. The participants with the best recall weren’t the ones who felt the strongest emotions. They were the ones who felt just enough.

How music shapes memory

Memory isn’t just about capturing every detail. Most of the time, we’re remembering the big picture – what researchers call gist-based memory. It’s what helps us recall the idea of something without holding onto all the tiny facts. But sometimes, the details matter. That’s where detail-based memory comes in.

“We used a task designed to tap into the difference between gist- and detail-based memory,” said Leal. “Music helped with detail-based memory but only when the level of emotional arousal was just right for that person.”

This makes sense. If you’re overwhelmed, your brain might blur the details. If you’re bored, it might not care enough to store them. There’s a sweet spot in between where memory for detail gets sharper.

Music in learning and therapy

The researchers say this kind of emotional “tuning” could eventually help in real-world situations.

For example, listening to moderately arousing music after studying might help you hold onto more precise information for a test. But music that’s too emotional might have the opposite effect.

“Music has the ability to influence a part of your brain called the hippocampus, which is essential for turning experiences into memories,” Leal said. “We think it should be possible to tap into that in a selective way to boost or impair memory depending on the therapeutic goals.”

It’s not just about learning. This could also help with memory loss in aging, or in people with early-stage Alzheimer’s. And for people with anxiety or PTSD, music might help them remember the general idea of a tough experience – without reliving every sharp edge of it.

Different effects for everyone

The challenge is that what works emotionally varies a lot between people. What’s “moderately arousing” for one person might not hit the same for another. That’s why this line of research is moving toward personalized therapy.

“In my lab, we’re trying to detect changes in the brain and cognition early. Music is noninvasive, low cost, and easy to personalize, and by learning more about the mechanisms that connect it to memory, we can develop treatments and interventions to prevent the disease from progressing,” Leal said.

“If the federal government reduces funding for Alzheimer’s research, the chances that we’ll be able to develop this line of research into inexpensive yet effective treatments are very low, as developing personalized treatments requires lots of participants in research to really capture individual needs.”

In other words, music isn’t just for playlists and background noise. If we can figure out how to fine-tune its emotional effects, it could become a powerful way to shape how we remember – and how we heal.

The full study was published in the journal JNeurosci.

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