Effect of popular songs from the reminiscence bump as autobiographical memory cues in aging: a preliminary study using EEG

Maria Cruz Martínez-Saez; Laura Ros; Marco López-Cano; Marta Nieto; Beatriz Navarro; Jose Miguel Latorre

doi:10.3389/fnins.2023.1300751

Effect of popular songs from the reminiscence bump as autobiographical memory cues in aging: a preliminary study using EEG

Front Neurosci. 2024 Jan 9:17:1300751. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1300751. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Maria Cruz Martínez-Saez¹, Laura Ros^{1

2}, Marco López-Cano¹, Marta Nieto^{1

2}, Beatriz Navarro^{1

2}, Jose Miguel Latorre^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain.
² Applied Cognitive Psychology Laboratory, Research Institute for Neurological Disabilities, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain.

Abstract

Introduction: Music has the capacity to evoke emotions and memories. This capacity is influenced by whether or not the music is from the reminiscence bump (RB) period. However, research on the neural correlates of the processes of evoking autobiographical memories through songs is scant. The aim of this study was to analyze the differences at the level of frequency band activation in two situations: (1) whether or not the song is able to generate a memory; and (2) whether or not the song is from the RB period.

Methods: A total of 35 older adults (22 women, age range: 61-73 years) listened to 10 thirty-second musical clips that coincided with the period of their RB and 10 from the immediately subsequent 5 years (non-RB). To record the EEG signal, a brain-computer interface (BCI) with 14 channels was used. The signal was recorded during the 30-seconds of listening to each music clip.

Results: The results showed differences in the activation levels of the frequency bands in the frontal and temporal regions. It was also found that the non-retrieval of a memory in response to a song clip showed a greater activation of low frequency waves in the frontal region, compared to the trials that did generate a memory.

Discussion: These results suggest the importance of analyzing not only brain activation, but also neuronal functional connectivity at older ages, in order to better understand cognitive and emotional functions in aging.

Keywords: EEG; autobiographical memory; elderly; electrical brain activity; reminiscence bump; songs; spectral power.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study has been funded by the Consejería de Educación, Universidades e Investigación de la Junta de CLM (SBPLY/19/180501/000181).