Ongoing History Daily: Why can we remember song lyrics so easily?
I know this has happened to you. A song comes on the radio that you haven’t heard in FOREVER yet you can remember all the words. How is this possible? It has to do with how the brain works.
Lyrics are related to the brain’s network of neurons that process language. Two areas known as Broca and Wernicke, help us process song lyrics. But when we commit lyrics to memory, those parts of the brain also encode things like phone numbers, childhood memories, and other things from our past. Music is also bundled with visuals, smells, emotions, and other memories. All these things are stored together in patterns.
When we listen to music, the amygdala—the place in the brain where our emotions are stored—lights up, encouraging the brain to produce dopamine, the body’s “feel good” hormone. These emotions plus the dopamine unlock specific areas in our ventromedial prefrontal cortex, which explains why we—and even dementia and Alzheimer’s patients—can remember song lyrics even when there’s brain damage.
