{"title":"The cognitive and emotional content of music-evoked autobiographical memories in older adults","authors":"Teresa Lesiuk, Giulia Ripani","doi":"10.1177/03057356241292067","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Music can play a significant role in mitigating cognitive deficits in aging adults. When music is long known and has an emotional significance (i.e., autobiographical music), it can trigger memories of past experiences (i.e., Music-Evoked Autobiographical Memories, MEAMs). In this study, we examined the cognitive and emotional content of MEAMs when older adults listened to autobiographical music. To better understand the unique features of MEAMs, we also compared them with responses to non-autobiographical music. Participants ( N = 18; Mean age = 67.7) were asked to listen to (a) a selection of self-selected autobiographical musical pieces and (b) excerpts of researcher-selected songs. Furthermore, participants completed two surveys on their cognitive and emotional responses to music and took part in follow-up interviews. Results indicated that MEAMs elicited positive emotions, which were strongly felt, and triggered memories of life periods with references to themes such as growing up, love relationships and relationships with family, leisure and working times, and stress releasing. Responses to non-autobiographical music triggered different types of cognitive responses, including assimilating new music sounds, and mainly featured references to negative emotional states. MEAMs should be further investigated as a non-pharmacological treatment for age-related cognitive decline and for clinically diagnosed memory disorders.","PeriodicalId":47977,"journal":{"name":"Psychology of Music","volume":"Spec No 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Psychology of Music","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/03057356241292067","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"MUSIC","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Music can play a significant role in mitigating cognitive deficits in aging adults. When music is long known and has an emotional significance (i.e., autobiographical music), it can trigger memories of past experiences (i.e., Music-Evoked Autobiographical Memories, MEAMs). In this study, we examined the cognitive and emotional content of MEAMs when older adults listened to autobiographical music. To better understand the unique features of MEAMs, we also compared them with responses to non-autobiographical music. Participants ( N = 18; Mean age = 67.7) were asked to listen to (a) a selection of self-selected autobiographical musical pieces and (b) excerpts of researcher-selected songs. Furthermore, participants completed two surveys on their cognitive and emotional responses to music and took part in follow-up interviews. Results indicated that MEAMs elicited positive emotions, which were strongly felt, and triggered memories of life periods with references to themes such as growing up, love relationships and relationships with family, leisure and working times, and stress releasing. Responses to non-autobiographical music triggered different types of cognitive responses, including assimilating new music sounds, and mainly featured references to negative emotional states. MEAMs should be further investigated as a non-pharmacological treatment for age-related cognitive decline and for clinically diagnosed memory disorders.
期刊介绍:
Psychology of Music and SEMPRE provide an international forum for researchers working in the fields of psychology of music and music education, to encourage the exchange of ideas and to disseminate research findings. Psychology of Music publishes peer-reviewed papers directed at increasing the scientific understanding of any psychological aspect of music. These include studies on listening, performing, creating, memorising, analysing, describing, learning, and teaching, as well as applied social, developmental, attitudinal and therapeutic studies. Special emphasis is placed on studies carried out in naturalistic settings, especially those which address the interface between music psychology and music education.