Nostalgia is a feeling that most people experience at some point in their lives. The term is derived from the Greek words “nostos” ( return or homecoming) and “algos”( pain).
Nostalgia can be triggered by everyday experiences such as hearing a familiar song, smelling a particular fragrance, revisiting a some special place or even looking through old photographs.
Mechanism of Nostalgia
Nostalgia occurs by chain mechanism happening in brain after getting a particular trigger factors which can be anything such as song, scent or place.
Trigger signal catch by sensory cortex which then goes to hippocampus(deep part of brain) and memory is activated.
Amygdala(Temporal part of brain) analysis the memory and add emotional tone into it. Later medial prefrontal cortex of brain compare past experiences with present.
Ventral striatum gets activated and releases dopamine which is responsible to for happy comforting feeling also called nostalgia hits.
Why we get nostalgia from music, smells and places
As our sensory system are strong and auditory, olfactory, and visual systems gets easily activated and acts as trigger and send quick signal to the brain for processing.
Key Takeaways
Nostalgia is complex emotional experience which can be positive and negative effects. few researches suggest that nostalgia can improve psychological well being of individual at some extent.
But for some individuals who already going through with depression, prolonged grief and anxiety nostalgic memories may intensifying the feelings of sadness and loneliness and regret.
Conclusion
Nostalgia is complex emotional and neurological process that reflects the remarkable ability of human brain to connect memories with emotions, identity, and social relationships.
comment your vision and experience about nostalgia.
MBH/PS