Skip to main content

Main menu

  • HOME
  • CONTENT
    • Early Release
    • Featured
    • Current Issue
    • Issue Archive
    • Collections
    • Podcast
  • ALERTS
  • FOR AUTHORS
    • Information for Authors
    • Fees
    • Journal Clubs
    • eLetters
    • Submit
    • Special Collections
  • EDITORIAL BOARD
    • Editorial Board
    • ECR Advisory Board
    • Journal Staff
  • ABOUT
    • Overview
    • Advertise
    • For the Media
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Feedback
    • Accessibility
  • SUBSCRIBE

User menu

  • Log out
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Neuroscience
  • Log out
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Journal of Neuroscience

Advanced Search

Submit a Manuscript
  • HOME
  • CONTENT
    • Early Release
    • Featured
    • Current Issue
    • Issue Archive
    • Collections
    • Podcast
  • ALERTS
  • FOR AUTHORS
    • Information for Authors
    • Fees
    • Journal Clubs
    • eLetters
    • Submit
    • Special Collections
  • EDITORIAL BOARD
    • Editorial Board
    • ECR Advisory Board
    • Journal Staff
  • ABOUT
    • Overview
    • Advertise
    • For the Media
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Feedback
    • Accessibility
  • SUBSCRIBE
PreviousNext
Research Articles, Behavioral/Cognitive

Fine-tuning the details: post-encoding music differentially impacts general and detailed memory

Kayla Clark and Stephanie L. Leal
Journal of Neuroscience 23 June 2025, e0158252025; https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0158-25.2025
Kayla Clark
1Department of Psychological Sciences, Rice University;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Stephanie L. Leal
2Department of Integrative Biology & Physiology, UCLA.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: stephanieleal@ucla.edu
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

Music can effectively induce emotional arousal, which is associated with the release of stress hormones that are important for the emotional modulation of memory. Thus, music may serve as a powerful modulator of memory and mood, making it a promising therapeutic tool for memory and mood disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease or depression. However, music’s impact on memory depends on its features, timing, and ability to elicit emotional arousal. In the current study, we manipulated various features of music played during post-encoding memory consolidation to elicit emotional arousal and impact subsequent memory in men and women. We found that larger increases and moderate decreases in post-encoding music-induced emotional arousal from baseline resulted in gist vs. detail trade-offs in memory, with improved general memory but impaired detailed memory, while moderate increases in arousal from baseline corresponded to improved detailed memory, but impaired general memory. Importantly, relative to controls, music-induced emotional arousal demonstrated unique impacts on detailed memory that are crucial in supporting episodic memory. These findings suggest that music intervention does not uniformly impact memory and has important implications in developing personalized music-related interventions for those with memory and mood impairments.

Significance Statement Music may be a powerful tool for modulating memory and mood, offering therapeutic potential for disorders like Alzheimer’s and depression. We found that individual differences in emotional arousal following music exposure influenced both general memory and detailed memory performance. Compared to controls, music specifically impacted memory for details, highlighting its potential to target specific memory aspects. These findings suggest that music interventions may not uniformly enhance memory, emphasizing the need for personalized approaches in treating memory and mood impairments.

Footnotes

  • We want to thank Jacob Buergler, Gabriel Bolanos, Chandler Bannis, Amy Lam, and Brandon Hayes for their help with data collection. K.C. and this project was supported by a Rice University School of Social Sciences Research Institute Pre-Dissertation Research Grant. S.L.L. is supported by a BrightFocus Foundation Grant, a NARSAD Young Investigator Award, and an Alzheimer’s Association Grant.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided that the original work is properly attributed.

Back to top
Email

Thank you for sharing this Journal of Neuroscience article.

NOTE: We request your email address only to inform the recipient that it was you who recommended this article, and that it is not junk mail. We do not retain these email addresses.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Fine-tuning the details: post-encoding music differentially impacts general and detailed memory
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Journal of Neuroscience
(Your Name) thought you would be interested in this article in Journal of Neuroscience.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
View Full Page PDF
Citation Tools
Fine-tuning the details: post-encoding music differentially impacts general and detailed memory
Kayla Clark, Stephanie L. Leal
Journal of Neuroscience 23 June 2025, e0158252025; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0158-25.2025

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Respond to this article
Request Permissions
Share
Fine-tuning the details: post-encoding music differentially impacts general and detailed memory
Kayla Clark, Stephanie L. Leal
Journal of Neuroscience 23 June 2025, e0158252025; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0158-25.2025
Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF

Responses to this article

Respond to this article

Jump to comment:

No eLetters have been published for this article.

Related Articles

Cited By...

More in this TOC Section

Research Articles

  • Striatal Gradient in Value-Decay Explains Regional Differences in Dopamine Patterns and Reinforcement Learning Computations
  • Motor sequence learning involves better prediction of the next action and optimization of movement trajectories
  • Multi-omics analysis reveals miR-7220-5p alleviates N2O addictive behaviors via NR2B/ERK/CREB signaling
Show more Research Articles

Behavioral/Cognitive

  • Striatal Gradient in Value-Decay Explains Regional Differences in Dopamine Patterns and Reinforcement Learning Computations
  • Motor sequence learning involves better prediction of the next action and optimization of movement trajectories
  • Is It Me or the Train Moving? Humans Resolve Sensory Conflicts with a Nonlinear Feedback Mechanism in Balance Control
Show more Behavioral/Cognitive
  • Home
  • Alerts
  • Follow SFN on BlueSky
  • Visit Society for Neuroscience on Facebook
  • Follow Society for Neuroscience on Twitter
  • Follow Society for Neuroscience on LinkedIn
  • Visit Society for Neuroscience on Youtube
  • Follow our RSS feeds

Content

  • Early Release
  • Current Issue
  • Issue Archive
  • Collections

Information

  • For Authors
  • For Advertisers
  • For the Media
  • For Subscribers

About

  • About the Journal
  • Editorial Board
  • Privacy Notice
  • Contact
  • Accessibility
(JNeurosci logo)
(SfN logo)

Copyright © 2025 by the Society for Neuroscience.
JNeurosci Online ISSN: 1529-2401

The ideas and opinions expressed in JNeurosci do not necessarily reflect those of SfN or the JNeurosci Editorial Board. Publication of an advertisement or other product mention in JNeurosci should not be construed as an endorsement of the manufacturer’s claims. SfN does not assume any responsibility for any injury and/or damage to persons or property arising from or related to any use of any material contained in JNeurosci.