The songs that shaped us: why teenage music never leaves us

By: Bieke Beris

A song from your youth can transport you back in an instant. New research shows that music from our teenage years forms our most powerful memories, affects men and women differently, and may even help unlock new ways to support Alzheimer’s treatment.

Researchers asked nearly 1,900 people worldwide to name songs that held personal meaning. Comparing participants’ ages to the release dates of the songs, a clear pattern emerged: most remembered music came from when they were around 17.

According to lead author Dr. Iballa Burunat, adolescence hits a “perfect neurological and biographical sweet spot.” “Think of the adolescent brain as a sponge, supercharged by curiosity and a craving for reward, but without a fully developed filter,” Burunat explains in the university’s press release. “It’s because it’s still maturing that our strong emotional experiences, such as the songs we love, get absorbed more deeply and vividly, leaving a lasting impression.”

But the study, published in Scientific Reports in 2025, also found that men and women experience these memories differently. Men’s musical reminiscence tends to peak earlier and remain stable throughout life. Women’s “musical memory bump” appears slightly later, and they show stronger emotional connections to newer music even in adulthood.

Why the difference? Researchers suggest it may be social and emotional. Men often form strong musical identities in adolescence, using music to define themselves. For women, connections develop and shift over time. Especially from midlife onward, as music becomes a tool for emotional expression and social connection. “Our data clearly show that for men, music from adolescence becomes a lasting anchor for personal meaning,” says Burunat.

And there is more to these findings. They help psychologists and neuroscientists understand how emotion and memory intertwine. This connection might even be used in therapy. Music from our youth can trigger vivid memories, even in people with Alzheimer’s disease. This phenomenon is already used in some forms of memory therapy. Knowing which life stages leave the strongest musical imprint could help tailor such treatments.

It might also explain why advertisers and movies love to recycle pop hits from the past. Songs that shaped us at seventeen still light up our reward circuits decades later, making us feel grounded, understood, and, for a moment, young again.

The findings go beyond simple nostalgia. They show that the songs we love as teenagers leave a unique and lasting mark on our memory. For men and women, those musical timelines may look a little different. In both cases, music remains a powerful thread connecting emotion, memory, and identity throughout life.