All of us have experienced the magic of music at one point or another. Hear a song from a pioganat moment in your past, like the one that was played at your graduation or your child’s first birthday party, and the chance are that you will be transported back in time, almost as if you have stepped through a time portal.
The link between music and memories is powerful. According to recent experiments conducted by David C Rubin, an autobiographical memory specialist, listening to the notes of your favourite piece of music do not just make you nostalgic, they activate your brain’s primary memory centres: the hippocampus and the frontal cortex. Music helps these centres – that store blocks of information – to retrieve memories; incidentally, this practice dates to ancient times when people used music to memories and pass on epic sagas – such as Homer’s The lliad and The Odyssey – to the next generation.
However, it is only recently that neuroscientists have started using musical therapy to help slow down memory loss in Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. Brain scans of patients suffering from memory and nerve degeneration related disorders has revealed that when they are exposed to new information accompanied by music, not only does the information make its way into their long-term memory quicker, but when the music is replayed, they are able to recall almost 60 to 70% of it.
Another important development in the field of musical therapy is using songs or symphonies to alleviate depression. Psychologists and psychiatrists have made music an essential part of their treatment of patients suffering from clinical depression and/or bi-polar disorder. Treatment now includes music sessions – be it classical , jazz or pop – in which songs associated with ‘joyful moments’ in the patients’ lives are played, reminding them of a time when they were happy.
So the next time you are feeling blue, listen to a song that you heard when you were happy. It may just lift your spirits.
By Ayesha Shaikh