Ongoing History Daily: The Reminiscence Bump

Most people will forever have the music of their youth imprinted on them. There’s a period that runs from around age 14 to 24 when we’re a sponge for all the music we hear as we use it to form our identities. For the rest of our lives, that music will always hold a prime place in our memories and our hearts. This is a phenomenon known as the “reminiscence bump” or the “reminiscence effect” and tends to kick in after age 40. Our recollection of music (and the memories associated with them) increases and becomes enhanced during this period—and in disproportionate amounts, too. Why? Maybe it has something to do with our brain biology. Maybe we enter a period in our lives when things seem so complicated and we long for a time when we imagined things to be so much simpler. Or maybe it has something to do with adolescent brain development and the results of musical stimuli. The next time you gravitate to a song you loved when you were longer, enjoy that “reminiscence bum.”

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