Why Does Music Bring Back Memories?为什么音乐能唤起回忆？

乔雅

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。你路过一家商店，里面播放着一首多年没听过的歌。现在你不再关注周遭这个城市里的一切事物，回想起你第一次听到这首歌的时候。

听到那段音乐会让你回到过去，回忆起和谁在一起，以及与那段记忆相关的感受。

当音乐唤起我们过去对事件、人物和地点的记忆时，这种经历被称为音乐唤起的自传体记忆。这是一种常见的体验。它经常作为一种非自主记忆发生。也就是说，我们不会主动回想起这些记忆。它们是不由自主浮现于脑海的。

研究已经开始发现为什么音乐能唤起我们的记忆。首先，音乐与我们生活中的许多重大事件有关，因此在将我们与这些记忆再次联系起来时，它可以发挥重要作用。其次，悲伤和愤怒的音乐比悲伤和愤怒的声音或话语能唤起更多积极的记忆。第三，在我们的日常生活中，我们会更经常联想到歌曲，而不是电影、书籍或电视节目。

我们听音乐时的情况也会有一定作用。研究表明，当我们的大脑自由地漫游到我们的过去时，非自主记忆更容易重现。

我们发现有些日常活动经常与听音乐同时进行，比如旅行、做家务或跑步。这些活动首先就会让人回想起更多非自主记忆。

Notes

1. recall.记起；回想起；使想起；使想到

2. associate.联想；联系

3. experience. 经历；往事；经验；阅历

4. event.事件；大事

5. evoke. 引起；唤起；感情；记忆或形象

6. autobiographical.自传的；自传体的

7. involuntary . 无意识的；自然而然的；不知不觉的

8. positive.乐观的；有信心的；积极的；建设性的

9. situation. 情况；形势

10. wander. 走神；开小差；心不在焉