Everything About ___
Live briefing

Everything about Earworm

Music or saying that sticks in the mind

An earworm or brainworm, also described as sticky music or stuck song syndrome, is a catchy or memorable piece of music or saying that continuously occupies a person's mind even after it is no longer being played or spoken about. Involuntary Musical Imagery (INMI) is most common after earworms, but INMI as a label is not solely restricted to earworms; musical hallucinations also fall into this category, although they are not the same thing. Earworms are considered to be a common type of involuntary cognition. Some of the phrases often used to describe earworms include "musical imagery repetition" and "involuntary musical imagery". Wikipedia →

🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path

  1. Read the overview: EarwormA 5-minute orientation
  2. Skim a recent paper: Reduced toxin binding associated with resistance to Vip3Aa in the corn earworm ( Helicoverpa zea )Influential work since 2022
  3. Pick up a classic book: How to Kill an EarwormThe most-reprinted book on the subject
  4. Read the landmark paper: Brain Factor Control of Sex Pheromone Production in the Female Corn Earworm MothCited 249 times
  5. Go sideways: Auditory imageryA closely related topic
  6. Go sideways: CatchinessA closely related topic

📖 Definitions

Noun A tune that keeps replaying in one's head or that one keeps thinking about, especially if unwanted.

Noun Ellipsis of corn earworm (“larva of the moths Helicoverpa zea (syn. Heliothis zea) and Helicoverpa armigera, which are agricultural pests”).

Noun An earwig; an insect of the order Dermaptera.

🗂️ The subject at a glance

  1. Incidence and causes
  2. Antidotes
  3. Notable cases
  4. In popular culture
  5. Key characteristics
  6. Susceptible traits
  7. Tools used in data gathering

🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)

🆕 Influential since 2022

📚 Books worth reading

Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.

🔗 Related topics