How nostalgic music helps minds remember

When you hear a song from your youth — maybe a high school slow dance or a road trip anthem — you’re not just reminiscing. You’re lighting up key regions of your brain.

A new study led by Assal Habibi of the Brain and Creativity Institute (BCI) at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences found that nostalgic music engages both the brain’s default mode network, which is linked to memory and self-reflection, and its reward circuitry. The findings, published in the journal Human Brain Mapping, offer scientific insight into why music can serve as a powerful tool to help people with Alzheimer’s disease and other memory-related conditions reconnect with their past.

“Music is deeply intertwined with our sense of identity and personal history,” said Habibi, associate professor (research) of psychology and neurology. “What we’re seeing is that nostalgic songs don’t just bring back memories — they activate the brain in ways that could support emotional well-being and cognitive function, especially in individuals living with memory impairments.”

Using functional MRI to monitor participants’ brain activity as they listened to songs tied to meaningful life events, the researchers uncovered a neural signature that may explain music’s unique ability to evoke vivid, autobiographical memories.

The research points to a promising, nonpharmacological path for improving quality of life in people experiencing memory loss — one that starts with a simple playlist.

About the study

In addition to Habibi, study researchers include corresponding and lead author Sarah Hennessy, a former USC Dornsife graduate student who is now a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Arizona; Jonas Kaplan and Talia Ginsberg of USC Dornsife; and Petr Janata of the University of California, Davis.

The research was supported by the Grammy Museum Foundation Scientific Research Award, BCI and the USC Hearing and Communication Neuroscience T32 Fellowship.