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BIOMETRICS

Biometrics disrupting the future of movement, on and offline

Biometrics disrupting the future of movement, on and offline

McDonald’s Idiotic AI Hiring System Just Leaked Personal Data About Millions of Job Applicants

McDonald’s Idiotic AI Hiring System Just Leaked Personal Data About Millions of Job Applicants

Epic Games provides Yoti facial age estimation to Bluesky UK users

Epic Games provides Yoti facial age estimation to Bluesky UK users

US Air Force eyes wearable biometrics for in-flight safety monitoring

US Air Force eyes wearable biometrics for in-flight safety monitoring

RealSense targets robotics, 3D facial recognition with M in hand

RealSense targets robotics, 3D facial recognition with $50M in hand

DSP says processing face biometrics is legal

DSP says processing face biometrics is legal

Estonia adds identity verification to new digital government app

Estonia adds identity verification to new digital government app

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#TECHNOLOGY #NEUROSCIENCE #BIOMETRICS #TRUMP #MUSK #DEPRESSION #ALZHEIMERS #TESLA
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Tag: MUSIC

An “Indie Rock Band” That Appears to Be Entirely AI-Generated Is Making Alarming Amounts of Money on Spotify

An “Indie Rock Band” That Appears to Be Entirely AI-Generated Is Making Alarming Amounts of Money on Spotify

While real artists struggle to earn money on Spotify, a seemingly AI-generated “band” has garnered enough streams to […]

Songs Trigger Faster, Stronger Personal Memories

Songs Trigger Faster, Stronger Personal Memories

New research shows that full songs are far more effective than spoken lyrics in evoking personal memories. By […]

Neuroscientists reveal the unique impact of nostalgic music on the brain

[Imagen 3] Don't miss out! Follow PsyPost on Bluesky!  A new study published in Human Brain Mapping has found that music which evokes nostalgia activates a unique network of brain regions tied to memory, self-reflection, and emotion. Researchers discovered that self-selected nostalgic songs triggered more brain activity than familiar or unfamiliar non-nostalgic music in both younger and older adults. Notably, older adults showed even stronger activation in key nostalgia-related areas, suggesting nostalgic music may play a special role in memory and emotional processing later in life.  This research was driven by growing interest in how music can help people with memory loss, especially those with Alzheimer’s disease or related conditions. While it’s well known that music can stir strong emotions and bring back personal memories, scientists have only recently started to explore the brain’s response to nostalgic music in detail.  The goal of the new study was to understand how nostalgia-evoking music differs from other types of music in the brain, and how these effects might vary across the lifespan. This foundational knowledge could eventually inform new therapies using music to help preserve memory and emotional well-being in aging populations.  “I grew up as an avid musician and music listener. As a teenager, I began to notice how certain songs could transport me back to moment in time, where I could truly feel how I felt in that moment or era of my life and return to that headspace,” said study author Sarah Hennessy, a postdoctoral research scientist at the University of Arizona, who conducted the study while a PhD student at the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California.  “I’d be listening to the Beatles White Album and I’d be back in the car with my dad, driving to school for fourth grade through the snow and sipping a hot chocolate. I began collecting these types of songs and ‘saving them for a rainy day,’ in a way, where I listened to them when I felt lonely, or simply needed to reminisce.”  “Later, various anecdotal reports began to emerge that individuals with Alzheimer’s and other dementias could still emotionally respond to personalized music, even with profound memory degradation, which I was very interested in. Unsurprisingly, this fascination continued into my research career! So my primary motivation for this project was to understand why and how we feel nostalgia associated with music, and how this manifests in the brain across adulthood, which will help us understand these processes in individuals with cognitive decline.”  For their study, the researchers recruited 57 healthy participants—29 younger adults aged 18 to 35, and 28 older adults aged 60 and above. Each participant identified six songs that personally evoked nostalgia.  “Nostalgic music is not universal,” Hennessy noted. “Every individual has a different personalized set of nostalgic songs that have meaning and memories attached to them. These songs span across every genre.”  The researchers then used a machine-learning tool to find other songs that were musically similar in tempo, key, and energy, but did not evoke nostalgia. These were used as “familiar control” songs. Additionally, the team selected unfamiliar songs that were also musically matched, ensuring that differences in brain activity could be attributed to nostalgia rather than musical features or familiarity alone.  During the main experiment, participants listened to their nostalgia-evoking songs, as well as the matched familiar and unfamiliar control songs, while undergoing a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan. Each song was played for 40 seconds, and participants kept their eyes closed to focus on the music and any thoughts or feelings it evoked. Afterward, they completed tasks assessing memory and rated how nostalgic, positive, or emotionally intense the songs felt.  The brain scans revealed that nostalgic songs, more than the control songs, activated a wide array of brain regions. These included areas involved in self-reflection and memory (such as the medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, and hippocampus), emotional salience (like the insula and anterior cingulate cortex), and reward processing (including the ventral tegmental area and orbitofrontal cortex). These regions together form a network associated with processing autobiographical memories, regulating emotions, and feeling pleasure—all key elements of the nostalgic experience.  Interestingly, the nostalgic songs also triggered increased functional connectivity between brain regions involved in self-related processing and emotional awareness. Specifically, the posterior medial cortex showed stronger communication with the anterior insula when participants listened to nostalgic music, suggesting that nostalgia may integrate personal memories with emotional significance in a particularly powerful way.  “Despite all of the differences present in musical choice, nostalgia as evoked by music is associated with a very clear pattern in the brain across individuals and across the lifespan,” Hennessy told PsyPost. “This pattern involves parts of the brain called the default mode network and the reward network. These networks of the brain help us process information about our own life stories, and respond to things that bring us pleasure.”  Older adults not only reported feeling more positive emotions while listening to music in general, but they also showed stronger brain responses to nostalgic songs than younger adults. In particular, older participants showed greater activation in brain areas related to sound, memory, and emotional meaning, such as the temporal pole, angular gyrus, and sensory processing regions. The findings suggest that older adults may engage more deeply with nostalgic music, possibly reflecting a shift in emotional priorities with age.  “We observed that older adults actually had slightly stronger activation in these nostalgia-related regions than younger adults,” Hennessy explained. “We expected older and younger adults to have similar patterns of activation, but this finding was a bit unexpected. There are a few different explanations for this finding, but future work is needed to really parse them apart. But for now, it’s an interesting piece of information to explore in the future.”  But the study, like all research, includes some caveats.  “Our sample was from the greater Los Angeles area, so of course is not representative of all younger and older adults,” Hennessy noted. “I think there is a lot of cool work to be done exploring the role of culture in music-evoked nostalgia and autobiographical memory. Participants only listed to 40 second clips in the scanner (we hope to explore these research questions with full-length pieces in the future). However, the fact that we saw such robust effects with only 40 seconds is pretty amazing.”  Still, this research represents a significant step toward understanding the neuroscience of nostalgia and how music taps into deep emotional and autobiographical experiences. The study’s authors hope to apply these insights to future work with clinical populations, including individuals with Alzheimer’s disease.  “The goal is to use this research to create, improve, and understand music-based interventions for neurodegenerative diseases,” Hennessy explained. “If we can understand how music-evoked memories and emotions can remain in individuals with dementia, we can learn how to harness music to improve quality of life for these individuals and their caregivers.”  The study, “Music-Evoked Nostalgia Activates Default Mode and Reward Networks Across the Lifespan,” was authored by Sarah Hennessy, Petr Janata, Talia Ginsberg, Jonas Kaplan, and Assal Habibi. Tweet Send Scan Share Send Pin Share Share Share Share Share RELATED Scientists identify distinct brain patterns linked to mental health symptoms Developmental Psychology Scientists identify distinct brain patterns linked to mental health symptoms March 24, 2025  A new study finds that brain connectivity patterns can predict different types of mental health symptoms, with distinct features linked to internalizing and externalizing behaviors across development. Read moreDetails Scientists reveal a weird effect of psychedelics on memory Neuroimaging Can ibogaine repair brain damage in multiple sclerosis? New case reports spark interest March 23, 2025  A new case report describes how two multiple sclerosis patients showed reduced brain lesions and symptom improvement following ibogaine treatment. Read moreDetails Neuroscientists pinpoint part of the brain that deciphers memory from new experience Neuroimaging Brain science: Amygdala activity before trauma can predict PTSD risk, study finds March 21, 2025  Brain scans of police recruits reveal that amygdala activity before trauma exposure predicts PTSD risk, offering new insights into why some individuals develop symptoms while others remain resilient. Read moreDetails Brain chemistry imbalance revealed in violent offenders with antisocial personality disorder Neuroimaging Neuroscience research reveals unexpected role of dopamine in reshaping reward memories March 21, 2025  Scientists have discovered that dopamine helps modify reward memories, making previously desirable experiences seem less appealing over time. Read moreDetails Study links subtle motor signs in children to white matter structure, but not uniquely to ADHD ADHD Study links subtle motor signs in children to white matter structure, but not uniquely to ADHD March 20, 2025  Subtle motor difficulties in children are linked to white matter structure, but a new study suggests these brain differences are not unique to ADHD. Read moreDetails Sex differences in brain structure are present at birth and remain stable during early development Neuroimaging Sex differences in brain structure are present at birth and remain stable during early development March 20, 2025  Newborn brains already show sex differences in structure, with male infants having more white matter and female infants having more grey matter, according to a new study. Read moreDetails Defecation and cognitive function: A surprising link discovered in elite triathletes Cognitive Science Defecation and cognitive function: A surprising link discovered in elite triathletes March 20, 2025  Elite athletes showed improved cognitive performance after defecating, especially with magnesium supplementation. The study suggests an unexpected link between gut function and rapid decision-making. Read moreDetails Brain scans reveal how drum and bass influence music perception Music Brain scans reveal how drum and bass influence music perception March 19, 2025  The brain works harder to process music without drum and bass. A new study shows that these elements drive rhythm perception and movement-related brain activity in pop music listening. Read moreDetails SUBSCRIBE

A new study published in Human Brain Mapping has found that music which evokes nostalgia activates a unique […]

Music Choice Can Harm Productivity

Music Choice Can Harm Productivity

A new study shows that background music in workplaces can harm employee mood, energy, and job performance when […]

ADHD and Music: Why Background Beats May Boost Study Focus

ADHD and Music: Why Background Beats May Boost Study Focus

A new study explored whether young adults with ADHD are more likely to listen to background music during […]

BUSINESS

An Amazon Web Services office in Herndon, Virginia. Photo: Getty Images

Amazon Is Reportedly Going to Launch a Marketplace for AI Agents

Amazon wants to make AI agents more easily accessible. Here’s how they could help boost your productivity.

Posted on 11.07.202511.07.2025
More Than 2,100 NASA Staff Are Getting Gutted

More Than 2,100 NASA Staff Are Getting Gutted

Elon Musk might have been deposed from DOGE, but the government cuts are still coming. As reported by Politico, […]

Posted on 10.07.202510.07.2025
Judge Finds Tesla Has Failed to Deliver Full Self-Driving, Needs to Issue Refund

Judge Finds Tesla Has Failed to Deliver Full Self-Driving, Needs to Issue Refund

After a year of fighting out his case in arbitration, a Tesla owner successfully forced Elon Musk’s EV […]

Posted on 10.07.202510.07.2025
The End of the Stock Market As We Know It

The End of the Stock Market As We Know It

Startups and Wall Street giants alike are racing to turn stocks, bonds, and real estate into crypto-like tokens. […]

Posted on 07.07.202507.07.2025
Microsoft Just Fired About 9,000 People While Making Billions

Microsoft Just Fired About 9,000 People While Making Billions

The tech giant is posting staggering profits and leading the AI revolution.

Posted on 03.07.202503.07.2025
Make an impact, or earn money? The ethics of the graduate job

Make an impact, or earn money? The ethics of the graduate job

Make an impact, or earn money? The ethics of the graduate job Opinion + AnalysisSociety + CultureHealth + […]

Posted on 01.07.202501.07.2025

IDENTITY

Estonia adds identity verification to new digital government app
09.07.2025

Estonia adds identity verification to new digital government app

Estonia has launched an identity verification feature for the country’s digital government app to make it easier to access services....

OpenID forms group to address silos between ID and identity communities

07.07.2025
OpenID forms group to address silos between ID and identity communities

UK govt considering pleas to set police facial recognition use on solid legal ground

03.07.2025
UK govt considering pleas to set police facial recognition use on solid legal ground

Vietnam kicks off e-ID registration campaign for foreign nationals

03.07.2025
Vietnam kicks off e-ID registration campaign for foreign nationals

Growing identity fraud challenges put higher education at risk

02.07.2025
Growing identity fraud challenges put higher education at risk

DIG DEEPER

PRIVACY

McDonald’s Idiotic AI Hiring System Just Leaked Personal Data About Millions of Job Applicants
12.07.2025

McDonald’s Idiotic AI Hiring System Just Leaked Personal Data About Millions of Job Applicants

As large language models (LLMs) become ever more integrated into the platforms that define daily life, major flaws in the...

OpenID forms group to address silos between ID and identity communities

07.07.2025
OpenID forms group to address silos between ID and identity communities

London police mark 1K arrests through live facial recognition

04.07.2025
London police mark 1K arrests through live facial recognition

New Orleans police seek expanded facial recognition powers amid privacy backlash

04.07.2025
New Orleans police seek expanded facial recognition powers amid privacy backlash

Digital government app in Eswatini sparks public criticism over data privacy

04.07.2025
Digital government app in Eswatini sparks public criticism over data privacy

DIG DEEPER

SURVEILLANCE

Big Brother at the Border Is Searching for a ‘Hidden Language’ in People’s Texts
04.07.2025

Big Brother at the Border Is Searching for a ‘Hidden Language’ in People’s Texts

Border Patrol is commissioning big tech for new tools.

London police mark 1K arrests through live facial recognition

04.07.2025
London police mark 1K arrests through live facial recognition

New Orleans police seek expanded facial recognition powers amid privacy backlash

04.07.2025
New Orleans police seek expanded facial recognition powers amid privacy backlash

UK govt considering pleas to set police facial recognition use on solid legal ground

03.07.2025
UK govt considering pleas to set police facial recognition use on solid legal ground

Trump advances his “Big beautiful bill” which allocates significant funds for biometric surveillance and AI tech

03.07.2025
Trump advances his “Big beautiful bill” which allocates significant funds for biometric surveillance and AI tech

DIG DEEPER
A 7-Billion-Year-Old Ice Ball Just Entered Our Solar System

A 7-Billion-Year-Old Ice Ball Just Entered Our Solar System

A mysterious, ice-rich comet named 3I/ATLAS has entered our solar system — and it may be the oldest […]

Monkeys Prefer Watching Videos Of Their Friends Over Strangers, Study Reveals

Monkeys Prefer Watching Videos Of Their Friends Over Strangers, Study Reveals

Long-tailed macaques living in captivity consistently choose to watch videos of their own group members rather than complete […]

Scientists Discover Slimy Sea Cucumbers Could Be Key To Fighting Aggressive Cancers

Scientists Discover Slimy Sea Cucumbers Could Be Key To Fighting Aggressive Cancers

Scientists at the University of Mississippi have discovered that a slimy sea cucumber might hold the secret to […]

Antarctica’s Hidden Volcanoes: How Retreating Ice Might Ignite Hundreds of Explosive Eruptions

Antarctica’s Hidden Volcanoes: How Retreating Ice Might Ignite Hundreds of Explosive Eruptions

As climate change causes glaciers to vanish, scientists are discovering that this loss of ice may be triggering […]

Killer Whales Are Giving Fish to Humans Worldwide – What’s Going on?

Killer Whales Are Giving Fish to Humans Worldwide – What’s Going on?

Across oceans and decades, killer whales have been caught doing something no one expected—offering food to humans. From […]


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