Eli5 – how does a song you haven’t hear in years get stuck in your head?

Question

In case you were wondering the song currently stuck in my head is “The Whole World” by Outkast.

In: 1

Answer 1

Ah good question! So memory works by forming pathways of neurons firing in the brain.

It’s like sledding down a hill. The first time, sledding down it creates a path. The second time, the previously created path is the path that you still travel down because it is the path of least resistance. The third time, you travel down the hill even faster because the path is well-formed by now.

So now back to the brain…

Each time you process your senses, a specific pattern of neurons are activated. If the same senses are activated over and over again, the same neuron patterns will be activated over and over. This strengthens that particular firing pattern of neurons, thus forming a “memory”.

So if you were experiencing some sensory perceptions when the song was initially played, the neurons firing are for the song as well as the other senses. So if you feel those senses again, you remember the song as well!