Mozart Effect Research Articles

Mozart K.448 acts as a potential add-on therapy in children with refractory epilepsy

Mozart's Sonata for two pianos in D major, K.448 (Mozart K.448), has been shown to improve mental function, leading to what is known as the Mozart effect. Our previous work revealed that epileptiform discharges in children with epilepsy decreased during and immediately after listening to Mozart K.448. In this study, we evaluated the long-term effects of Mozart K.448 on children with refractory epilepsy. Eleven children with refractory epilepsy were enrolled. All of the patients were diagnosed as having had refractory epilepsy for more than 1year (range=1year to 6years 4months, mean=3years 11months) and had been receiving at least two antiepileptic drugs (AED). During the study period, they listened to Mozart K.448 once a day before bedtime for 6months. Seizure frequencies were recorded 6months before they started listening to this music and monthly during the study period. All of the patients remained on the same AEDs during the 6-month study period. Frequencies of seizures were compared before and after listening to Mozart K.448. Eight of eleven patients were seizure free (N=2) or had very good responses (N=6) after 6months of listening to Mozart K.448. The remaining three (27.3%) showed minimal or no effect (effectiveness <50%; unmodified or worsened seizure frequency). The average seizure reduction was 53.6±62.0%. There were no significant differences in seizure reduction with IQ, etiology, or gender. We conclude that Mozart K.448 should be further studied as a potential add-on therapy in the treatment of children with refractory epilepsy.

IRT-Based Measurement of Short-Term Changes of Ability, With an Application to Assessing the “Mozart Effect”

The article extends and applies previous approaches by Klauer and Fischer to the statistical evaluation of ability changes in tests conforming to the Rasch model (RM). Exact uniformly most powerful unbiased (UMPU) hypothesis tests and uniformly most accurate (UMA) confidence intervals (CIs) for the amount of change can be constructed for each testee separately. Under the H0 of no change, the individual p values of testees can be aggregated also within groups. The current results extend this method by an estimator for a group effect, an exact UMPU test of its significance, a corresponding UMA CI, and a likelihood ratio test for group comparisons. All these methods are applied to two sets of data concerning a highly controversial issue in literature: the so-called Mozart Effect (ME). As test material, a unidimensional test of spatial ability by Gittler and Arendasy was presented to two samples of testees (Studies I and II). On the basis of these data, the occurrence of a short-term effect of the experimental condition can be demonstrated which, however, seems to be related to the relaxation between pretest and posttest rather than to the musical priming.

The Mozart effect in biofeedback visual rehabilitation: a case report

PurposeTo evaluate the usefulness of acoustic biofeedback by means of Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major K. 448 to maintain and/or restore visual performance in a patient with macular pucker and glaucoma.MethodsA 74-year-old patient with open angle glaucoma in both eyes and macular pucker in the right eye (RE) underwent visual rehabilitation with acoustic biofeedback by means of the MAIA™ Vision Training Module (Centervue, Padova, Italy) 10 minutes each eye once a week for 5 weeks. The patient was asked to move his eyes according to a sound which changed into Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos when the patient locked the fixation target.ResultsBest-corrected visual acuity improved in his right eye (RE) and was stable in the left eye (LE). Fixation stability improved in both eyes, and retinal sensitivity decreased in the RE and improved in the LE. The characteristic of the macular pucker did not change during the training as demonstrated with optical coherence tomography. The patient was very satisfied with the training, as demonstrated by a 25-item questionnaire (National Eye Institute – Visual Functioning Questionnaire, NEI-VFQ-25). The patient’s reading speed and the character size which he was able to read improved in his RE.ConclusionMusic could enhance synaptic plasticity and affect neural learning and fixation training by means of MAIA vision training. Therefore it can improve visual performance in patients with macular pucker, postpone the surgical time, and assure a better quality of life for the patient.

The influence of music on static posturography

It is well known that high intensity sounds modify balance by activating the saccule, which is sensitive to both vestibular and acoustic stimuli. Few studies have examined the effects of music on the postural responses in healthy subjects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of different types of music (Mozart, Köhler, Köhler with a carrier of 12 KHz and subjects' favourite music) on twelve healthy subjects standing on a stabilometric platform. With each type of music, all subjects underwent static posturography with eyes opened and eyes closed, and with and without foam pads. We evaluated the length and the surface of body sway and the correlation between them, and we analyzed the visual, vestibular and somatosensory sub-components. Listening to different types of music did not significantly change the stabilometric variables, with the exception of listening to Mozart's Jupiter, which caused a significant reduction in the visual component with a consequent increase in both the vestibular and somatosensory inputs. Further studies are needed to determine the effect of Mozart's music in modifying the sensory strategy in the rehabilitation of patients with vestibular impairments.

Sensorimotor adaptation is influenced by background music

It is well established that listening to music can modify subjects' cognitive performance. The present study evaluates whether this so-called Mozart Effect extends beyond cognitive tasks and includes sensorimotor adaptation. Three subject groups listened to musical pieces that in the author's judgment were serene, neutral, or sad, respectively. This judgment was confirmed by the subjects' introspective reports. While listening to music, subjects engaged in a pointing task that required them to adapt to rotated visual feedback. All three groups adapted successfully, but the speed and magnitude of adaptive improvement was more pronounced with serene music than with the other two music types. In contrast, aftereffects upon restoration of normal feedback were independent of music type. These findings support the existence of a "Mozart effect" for strategic movement control, but not for adaptive recalibration. Possibly, listening to music modifies neural activity in an intertwined cognitive-emotional network.

Mozart effect–Shmozart effect: A meta-analysis

The transient enhancement of performance on spatial tasks in standardized tests after exposure to the first movement “ allegro con spirito” of the Mozart sonata for two pianos in D major (KV 448) is referred to as the Mozart effect since its first observation by Rauscher, Shaw, and Ky (1993). These findings turned out to be amazingly hard to replicate, thus leading to an abundance of conflicting results. Sixteen years after initial publication we conduct the so far largest, most comprehensive, and up-to-date meta-analysis (nearly 40 studies, over 3000 subjects), including a diversity of unpublished research papers to finally clarify the scientific record about whether or not a specific Mozart effect exists. We could show that the overall estimated effect is small in size ( d = 0.37, 95% CI [0.23, 0.52]) for samples exposed to the Mozart sonata KV 448 and samples that had been exposed to a non-musical stimulus or no stimulus at all preceding spatial task performance. Additionally, calculation of effect sizes for samples exposed to any other musical stimulus and samples exposed to a non-musical stimulus or no stimulus at all yielded effects similar in strength ( d = 0.38, 95% CI [0.13, 0.63]), whereas there was a negligible effect between the two music conditions ( d = 0.15, 95% CI [0.02, 0.28]). Furthermore, formal tests yielded evidence for confounding publication bias, requiring downward correction of effects. The central finding of the present paper however, is certainly the noticeably higher overall effect in studies performed by Rauscher and colleagues than in studies performed by other researchers, indicating systematically moderating effects of lab affiliation. On the whole, there is little evidence left for a specific, performance-enhancing Mozart effect.

Mozart effect on dental anxiety in 6–12 year old children

Background: Children anxiety in dental treatment often becomes a barrier for dentist to perform optimum dental treatment procedure. Various methods to manage anxiety and fear in children have been applied including listening to classical music during dental treatment. One of the classical music usually used is music by Mozart. Purpose: This study is aimed to discover the role of classical music by Mozart in dental anxiety changes. Method: This study was a quasi experimental study using purposive sampling method. The samples consist of 30 children between 6-12 years old group who were treated at the Pediatric Dentistry Clinic, Dental Hospital, Faculty of Dentistry Padjadjaran University. The anxiety data was collected using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) before and after listening on the classical music during treatment. Result: The result of this study showed that there were 23 children (76.67% of subjects) who present decreased anxiety, 7 children (23.33% of subjects) did not present decreased anxiety and none of of subjects showed increased anxiety. Conclusion: It was concluded that listening to music by Mozart during dental treatment can reduce anxiety in 6-12 year old children.Latar belakang: Kecemasan pada anak saat perawatan gigi seringkali merupakan penghalang bagi dokter gigi untuk melaksanakan prosedurperawatan gigi yang optimal. Berbagai metode untuk mengatasi kecemasan dan rasa takutpada anak telah dilakukan termasuk mendengarkan musik klasik selama perawatan gigi. Salah satu musik klasik yang banyak digunakan adalah music oleh Mozart. Tujuan: Penelitian ini ditujukan untuk menemukan peran music klasik Mozart dalam perubahan kecemasan pada perawatan gigi. Metode: Penelitian ini adalah kuasi eksperimental menggunakan metode pengambilan sampel purposif. Sampel terdiri dari 30 anak antara 6-12 tahun yang dirawat di Klinik Kedokteran Gigi Anak, Rumah Sakit Gigi dan Mulut Fakultas Kedokteran Gigi Universitas Padjadjaran. Data kecemasan diambil dengan Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) sebelum dan setelah mendengarkan music klasik selama perawatan. Hasil: Hasil menunjukkan bahwa terdapat 23 anak (76,67% dari subjek) yang menunjukkan penurunan kecemasan, 7 anak (23,33%) tidak menunjukanperubahan kecemasan dan tidak ada (0 anak atau 0%) yang menunjukkanpeningkatan kecemasan. Kesimpulan: Disimpulkan bahwa mendengarkan musik Mozart selama perawatan gigi dapat menurunkan kecemasan di antara anak- anak usia 6-12 tahun.

New frontiers of cognitive rehabilitation in geriatric age: the Mozart Effect (ME)

The ME was described for the first time in 1993. Subsequently other studies with similar designs were performed. The present study, therefore, proposes: (i) to verify the existence of the benefits of exposure to music in elderly subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), (ii) to explore whether it is possible to find any lasting improvement after training, conducted for a long period of time, with such musical pieces, in the measurable cognitive performances. The study we conducted showed that the ME is present in geriatric patients with MCI; the influence on spatial–temporal abilities remains constant in time if the stimulation is maintained. The continuation of our study will consist of increasing the number of individuals examined and in having them listen to music during the study of ECG rhythms and during the acquisition of cerebral functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and, at the same time, testing them by neuropsychometric methods.

Mozart K.448 and epileptiform discharges: Effect of ratio of lower to higher harmonics

Certain music has been shown to improve mental function, leading to what is known as the Mozart effect. This study measured the impact of Mozart's Sonata for two pianos in D major, K.448, on different epileptic foci of epileptiform discharge in Taiwanese children (n=58) with seizure disorders and investigated the characteristics of the musical stimulus presented that resulted in epileptiform discharge reduction. We examined the relationship between the number of discharges with the foci of epileptiform discharge (n=6), sleep state, gender, and mentality. A continuous electroencephalogram was recorded before, during and after exposure to Mozart's Sonata for two pianos in D major, K.448 (piano K.448), and the frequencies of discharges were compared. The study was repeated a week later using digitally computerized string version of the same musical stimulus (string K.448), in patients who responded to piano K.448 with the largest reduction in interictal discharges (n=11). Interictal discharges were reduced in most (81.0%) patients and varied greatly (33.10+/-28.33%) as they listened to the piano K.448 (more fundamental tones and lower harmonics). Patients with generalized or central discharge showed the most improvement. In most patients (76.1%), the decrease in epileptiform discharges continued after the music ended. The state of wakefulness, gender and mentality did not affect the results. Although the string K.448 had a larger number of higher harmonics in the spectrogram analysis, the discharges were not reduced at all when listening to this music. These results suggest that listening to Mozart K.448 for two pianos reduced epileptiform discharges in children with epilepsy. This study suggests that it is possible to reduce the number of epileptiform discharges in some patients by optimizing the fundamental tones and minimizing the higher frequency harmonics.

Music and Cognitive Development: From Notes to Neural Networks

This article investigates research on early childhood development and on both listening to music and participation in music activities by young children. Research is reviewed that explores possible relationships between various music-related experiences and cognitive development, from the “Mozart Effect” studies to participation in piano lessons or other music training over time. This literature review suggest that, just as a high quality early childhood educational environment can positively affect child development, the same may be true of a music experience that is developmentally responsive and sequenced in complexity.

Effects of prior exposure to office noise and music on aspects of working memory

Previous research has suggested that prior exposure to noise reduces the effect of subsequent exposure due to habituation. Similarly, a number of studies have shown that exposure to Mozart's music leads to better subsequent spatial reasoning performance. Two studies were conducted to extend these findings. The first one examined whether habituation occurs to office noise (including speech) and, if so, how long it takes to develop. Thirty-six young adults participated in the first study which compared effects of office noise with quiet on the performance of a maths task. The study also examined the effects of prior exposure to the office noise on the subsequent effect of the noise. The results showed that performance was initially impaired by the office noise but that the effects of the noise were removed by 10 minutes of exposure between tasks. The second experiment attempted to replicate the "Mozart effect" which represents an improvement in spatial reasoning following listening to Mozart. The study also examined whether the Mozart effect could be explained by changes in mood. Twenty-four young adults participated in the study. The results replicated the Mozart effect and showed that it was not due to changes in mood. Overall, these results show that prior exposure to noise or music can influence aspects of working memory. Such effects need to be incorporated into models of effects of noise on cognition and attempts have to be made to eliminate alternative explanations rather than just describing changes that occur in specific contexts.

Mozart Effect in Musical Fit? A Commentary on Yeoh &amp; North

Musical fit, the congruence between music and product leading to improved response, is presented as an explanation of differences in recall of food items from two cultures. Musical fit predicts that, in this case, more Indian food items would be recalled when Indian music was playing, and more Malay food items would be recalled when Malay music was played. The underlining premise of this prediction is priming (the music primes memories of associated food items, facilitating recall). The testing was performed using three ethnic groups of participants, Indian, Malay, and Chinese. The priming effects were only identified among the Chinese group. A reanalysis of the data presented here indicates that the overall recall of food items is best facilitated by Indian music, regardless of whether the food item is Indian or Malay, and further, each ethnicity reported more items in the Indian music condition. The Mozart effect was also based on the premise of priming activation and was later debunked in favor of an arousal-mood hypothesis. This commentary discusses whether arousal-mood, a more generalized activation leading to improved performance than priming, might better explain the results. While priming and congruence more plausibly explains musical fit than the Mozart effect, the possibility of testing other hypotheses are considered worthwhile. Submitted 2010 March 8; accepted 2010 March 12.

P02-216 - Music therapy

Music has been a medium of therapy for centuries, and there are numerous examples of the curative or healing powers of music in the historical records of different cultures. Music therapy is now accepted as a discipline alongside other paramedical professions such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and psychology in paramedical services and special educational services provided by health and education authorities.The aim of this work is to summarize the usage of music therapy worldwide.With certain clinical populations (patients), music therapy has been found to be effective and beneficial.It is used with individuals of all ages and with a variety of conditions, including: psychiatric disorders, medical problems, physical handicaps, sensory impairments, developmental disabilities, substance abuse, communication disorders, interpersonal problems, and aging. It is also used to: improve learning, build self-esteem, reduce stress, support physical exercise, and facilitate a host of other health-related activities.For example, research suggests that listening to Mozart’s piano sonata K448 can reduce the number of seizures in people with epilepsy. This has been called the “Mozart effect”.Also, music therapy can help to ease the isolation of dementia and prevent old people from completely losing touch with their loved ones.

Effect of Music by Mozart on Energy Expenditure in Growing Preterm Infants

The rate of weight gain in preterm infants who are exposed to music seems to improve. A potential mechanism could be increased metabolic efficiency; therefore, we conducted this study to test the hypothesis that music by Mozart reduces resting energy expenditure (REE) in growing healthy preterm infants. DESIGN. A prospective, randomized clinical trial with crossover was conducted in 20 healthy, appropriate-weight-for-gestational-age, gavage-fed preterm infants. Infants were randomly assigned to be exposed to a 30-minute period of Mozart music or no music on 2 consecutive days. Metabolic measurements were performed by indirect calorimetry. REE was similar during the first 10-minute period of both randomization groups. During the next 10-minute period, infants who were exposed to music had a significantly lower REE than when not exposed to music (P = .028). This was also true during the third 10-minute period (P = .03). Thus, on average, the effect size of music on REE is a reduction of approximately 10% to 13% from baseline, an effect obtained within 10 to 30 minutes. Exposure to Mozart music significantly lowers REE in healthy preterm infants. We speculate that this effect of music on REE might explain, in part, the improved weight gain that results from this "Mozart effect."

Using Music to Accelerate Language Learning: An Experimental Study

Even before the fl urry of interest in studies investigating the ‘Mozart Effect’ (Rauscher et al., 1993 & 1995), a signifi cant amount research in arts education has focused on the possibility that music, and the study of music, can positively infl uence children’s overall academic achievement. In the last decade or so, academics have analysed and augmented the body of literature on this subject, and journalists have reported these fi ndings, often less than accurately, to an eager public. The notion that engagement with music is ‘improving’, even magically so, has entered the popular consciousness, and claims such as ‘Music lessons help children climb the intelligence scale’ (Miller, 2004) abound amongst newspaper headlines. To some observers of this phenomenon, the proposition that music has practical uses outside its own curriculum is highly appealing (Cutietta, 1995). To others, the mere construction of extrinsic arguments in favour of teaching arts subjects represents an admission of defeat, and perhaps even a contributory factor in the marginalisation of these art forms themselves (Gingell, 2000). The truth, of course, is that despite the growing mass of research evidence in the fi eld, many of the questions concerning the relationship between music and general academic progress are still hotly debated. This empirical study attempts to address one of these questions: it asks whether music, employed as a teaching tool in the modern foreign languages (MFL) classroom, can help to accelerate pupils’ language learning. Specifi cally, it sets out to test the hypothesis that learning words and phrases through the medium of song will improve teenage pupils’ ability to memorise and understand key vocabulary items in French.

A limiting feature of the Mozart effect: listening enhances mental rotation abilities in non-musicians but not musicians

The ‘Mozart effect’ occurs when performance on spatial cognitive tasks improves following exposure to Mozart. It is hypothesized that the Mozart effect arises because listening to complex music activates similar regions of the right cerebral hemisphere as are involved in spatial cognition. A counter-intuitive prediction of this hypothesis (and one that may explain at least some of the null results reported previously) is that Mozart should only improve spatial cognition in non-musicians, who process melodic information exclusively in the right hemisphere, but not in musicians, who process melodic information in both hemispheres. This hypothesis was tested by comparing performance of musicians and non-musicians on a mental rotation task before and after exposure to either Mozart or silence. It was found that performance on the mental rotation task improved only in non-musicians after listening to Mozart. Performance did not improve for non-musicians after exposure to silence, or for musicians after exposure to either Mozart or silence. These results support the hypothesis that the benefits of listening to Mozart arise because of activation of right hemispheric structures involved in spatial cognition.

A Study of Brainwave Entrainment Based on EEG Brain Dynamics

The brain which is composed of more than 100 billion nerve cells is a sophisticated biochemical factory. For many years, neurologists, psychotherapists, researchers, and other health care professionals have studied the human brain. With the development of computer and information technology, it makes brain complex spectrum analysis to be possible and opens a highlight field for the study of brain science. In the present work, observation and exploring study of the activities of brain under brainwave music stimulus are systemically made by experimental and spectrum analysis technology. From our results, the power of the 10.5Hz brainwave appears in the experimental figures, it was proved that upper alpha band is entrained under the special brainwave music. According to the Mozart effect and the analysis of improving memory performance, the results confirm that upper alpha band is indeed related to the improvement of learning efficiency.

The effect of music on cognitive emotional response in undergraduate students studying health-related courses: a pilot study

rgcooperuk@yahoo.com With widening participation high on the agenda of institutes of higher learning, the current university student population globally seems to have a wide range of age, gender, religion, and ethnicity. The student population is under constant stress, which may impact their learning experiences negatively. Music is widely known to relax and assist one’s mood. The Mozart effect refers to the specific claim that Mozart’s music may improve the individual’s performance in spatial-temporal tasks (1). In the present study we chose to investigate the impact of playing via audio-recording, 5 min of Mozart’s Symphony No. 5, which was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in The Hague in 1765, on cognitive emotional response in 300 undergraduate students studying healthrelated courses at the Birmingham City University, UK. Verbal consent was obtained from the students taking part in this pilot study and the questionnaire was trial run with 10 participants (5 male and 5 female).

Cortical responses to Mozart's sonata enhance spatial-reasoning ability

Objective: In this study, we examined the effects of Mozart's music on spatial-reasoning ability by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS).Methods: The subjects comprised five males and five females (aged 25–35 years). They were administered the seven original core subtests of the Japanese version of the Tanaka B-type intelligence test, which includes a spatial-reasoning subtest. We used three different music conditions: Mozart's sonata (K. 448), Beethoven and a silent control condition. Moreover, we used optical topography to assess the effects of music on brain function with a spatial-reasoning subtest.Results: We found that exposure to Mozart's sonata enhanced cognitive performance in intelligence tests when compared with results obtained upon exposure to Beethoven or silence. In addition to the expected temporal cortex activation, we report dramatic results revealing differences in activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the occipital cortex, both of which are expected to be important for spatial–temporal reasoning.Discussion: We suggest the possibility of a direct priming effect being responsible for preferential activation, and open the door to understanding the potential effects of Mozart's music.

The Mozart Effect: Evidence for the Arousal Hypothesis

This study investigated the effect of music listening for performance on a 25-question portion of the analytical section of the Graduate Record Exam by 72 undergraduate students (M age 21.9 yr.). Five levels of an auditory condition were based on Mozart Piano Sonata No. 3 (K. 281), Movement I (Allegro); a rhythm excerpt; a melody excerpt; traffic sounds; and silence. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the stimuli. After a 5-min., 43-sec. (length of the first Allegro movement) listening period, participants answered the questions. Analysis indicated participants achieved significantly higher mean scores after all auditory conditions than those in the silent condition. No statistically significant pairwise mean difference appeared between scores for the auditory conditions. Findings were interpreted in terms of an arousal framework, suggesting the higher means in all auditory conditions may reflect immediate exposure to auditory stimuli.