Why Does Music Bring Back Memories?為什么音樂能喚起回憶？

喬雅

Youre walking down a busy street on your way to work. You pass a storeplaying a song you havent heard in years. Now you dont notice anything aroundyou in the city， and recall1 the first time you heard the song.

Hearing that piece of music takes you right back to where you were， who youwere with and the feelings associated2 with that memory.

This experience3—when music brings back memories of events4， people andplaces from our past—is known as a music -evoked5 autobiographical6 memory.And its a usual experience. It often takes place as an involuntary7 memory. Thatis， we dont try to recall such memories. They just come to mind by themselves.

Research has begun to find why music can bring back our memories. First，music associates with many big events in our life， so it can play an important rolein associating us with these memories again. Second， sad and angry music evokedmore positive8 memories than sad and angry sounds or words. Third， in our dailylife， we associate with songs more often than films， books or TV shows.

The situations9 when we listen to music may also play a role. Research showsthat involuntary memories are easier to come back when our mind is free towander10 to thoughts about our past.

We find that some daily activities often go hand in hand with listening tomusic， such as traveling， doing housework or going for a run. Those would recallmore involuntary memories in the first place.

上班途中，你行走在一條繁忙的街道上。你路過一家商店，里面播放著一首多年沒聽過的歌。現(xiàn)在你不再關(guān)注周遭這個城市里的一切事物，回想起你第一次聽到這首歌的時候。

聽到那段音樂會讓你回到過去，回憶起和誰在一起，以及與那段記憶相關(guān)的感受。

當音樂喚起我們過去對事件、人物和地點的記憶時，這種經(jīng)歷被稱為音樂喚起的自傳體記憶。這是一種常見的體驗。它經(jīng)常作為一種非自主記憶發(fā)生。也就是說，我們不會主動回想起這些記憶。它們是不由自主浮現(xiàn)于腦海的。

研究已經(jīng)開始發(fā)現(xiàn)為什么音樂能喚起我們的記憶。首先，音樂與我們生活中的許多重大事件有關(guān)，因此在將我們與這些記憶再次聯(lián)系起來時，它可以發(fā)揮重要作用。其次，悲傷和憤怒的音樂比悲傷和憤怒的聲音或話語能喚起更多積極的記憶。第三，在我們的日常生活中，我們會更經(jīng)常聯(lián)想到歌曲，而不是電影、書籍或電視節(jié)目。

我們聽音樂時的情況也會有一定作用。研究表明，當我們的大腦自由地漫游到我們的過去時，非自主記憶更容易重現(xiàn)。

我們發(fā)現(xiàn)有些日常活動經(jīng)常與聽音樂同時進行，比如旅行、做家務(wù)或跑步。這些活動首先就會讓人回想起更多非自主記憶。

Notes

1. recall.記起；回想起；使想起；使想到

2. associate.聯(lián)想；聯(lián)系

3. experience. 經(jīng)歷；往事；經(jīng)驗；閱歷

4. event.事件；大事

5. evoke. 引起；喚起；感情；記憶或形象

6. autobiographical.自傳的；自傳體的

7. involuntary . 無意識的；自然而然的；不知不覺的

8. positive.樂觀的；有信心的；積極的；建設(shè)性的

9. situation. 情況；形勢

10. wander. 走神；開小差；心不在焉