Songs of the Self: Autobiographically Salient Music Modulates Emotion, Altered States of Consciousness, and Well-Being
January 13, 2026 David Rosen, Frederick S. Barrett, Albert Garcia‐romeu et al.
Personally meaningful music can evoke vivid emotions and autobiographical memories, reconnecting listeners with their personal past. Whether the autobiographical salience of music, as distinct from familiarity, modulates its effects on an individual’s state of consciousness has not been systematically tested. We compared autobiographically salient (AS) music with a standardized therapeutic...