Recent research suggests that music can do more than just evoke memories—it can change the emotional quality of those memories. When participants recalled neutral stories while listening to emotionally charged music, they later remembered the stories as reflecting the mood of the music.
Brain scans revealed heightened interaction between regions involved in emotion, memory, and sensory processing, indicating that music may add emotional layers to memories. These results point to music's potential in therapeutic applications, such as altering negative memories in conditions like depression or PTSD.