Question: Why do we feel nostalgia?

Heather Eyre answered on 18 Jun 2013:

I guess we look back and see only the extreme emotions from past events. But memories are much stronger if the have some sort of physical link – like a taste, smell or noise or if they are linked in a story of some sort, as this makes more connections in the brain and makes them easier to recall. When we recall an old memory with a strong link to a taste, ice cream maybe?, we get a full sensory experience which is nostalgia.