Mozart Effect Research Articles

Using integrative biology to explore constraints on evolution

Evolutionary biologists have long appreciated that enhancement of one trait during development might alter the expression of other correlated traits. Some effects might be positive; for example when physical activity increases skeletal mass, makes the heart more fit, and leads to greater coordination. A hoped-for positive correlation among cognitive abilities lies behind the recent fascination with the ‘Mozart effect’’, whereby stimulating infants with appropriate music will lead to increased mathematical and spatial abilities. Banking on the Mozart effect to boost test scores in their states, the Florida legislature in the USA is considering a bill to require all child-care facilities to play 30 minutes of classical music each day and, in Georgia (USA), Governor Zell Miller is suggesting that all babies be sent home from the hospital with tapes of musical masters (apparently 20th century music will not be included).

The "Mozart effect" on epileptiform activity.

The "Mozart Effect," using the Piano Sonata in D Major (K.448), was examined in patients with seizures. In 23 of 29 instances significant decreases in epileptiform activity were noted from patients even in coma, with status epilepticus or with periodic lateralized epileptiform discharges (PLEDs). The effect may be immediate or require 40-300 sec to manifest itself. The change in the amount of ictal activity in one patient in coma was from 62% before the music to 21% during Mozart. Amplitudes of these discharges also have often decreased. Examples of PLEDs on both temporal areas are shown in which the effect was only on the left temporal area but in other patients only on the right temporal area. Brain maps during the music showed theta and alpha activity decreased on the central areas, while delta waves increased on the frontal midline area. The basis of this effect is likely that the superorganization of the cerebral cortex with its highly structured radial columns seen throughout both hemispheres may resonate with the superior architecture of Mozart's music.

Mozart Effect on Seizure Activity in The EEG

The “Mozart Effect” on epileptiform activity in the EEG of 29 patients, ages 3-47 years, was investigated using brain maps and computerized analyses at the University of Illinois Medical Center, Chicago, IL.

Mozart for Georgia Newborns

Georgia Governor Zell Miller has generated so much enthusiasm with his proposal to harness the “Mozart effect” for Georgia's newborns—that is, playing classical music to spur brain development—that he won't need public money to fund the project, his office says.

Effects of music and white noise on working memory performance in monkeys.

It has been suggested that Mozart's music may have beneficial effects on the performance of cognitive tasks in humans. In the present study the effects of Mozart's piano music, white noise, simple rhythm and silence were studied on the performance of a delayed response (DR) task in monkeys. The acoustic treatments were given for 15 min, either before or during DR testing. The acoustic treatments did not affect DR performance when given before testing. However, Mozart's piano music played during DR testing caused a significant deterioration in the performance of the monkeys, whereas white noise improved it. It is suggested that Mozart's music serves as distractive stimulation during DR performance thus affecting working-memory-related neuronal processing and performance. White background noise, on the other hand, may improve DR performance by protecting against environmental distraction during testing.

Reexamination of the Effect of Mozart's Music on Spatial-Task Performance

The spatial reasoning of 22 college undergraduates who had listened to a presentation of Mozart's music was examined under carefully controlled experimental conditions. Each participant performed a pencil-and-paper maze task after a 10-min presentation of each of three listening conditions: a piano concerto by Mozart, repetitive relaxation music, and silence. Mazes varied in complexity of solution and size. Limited support for the previously obtained enhancing effect of listening to Mozart's music was revealed in measures of performance accuracy on this spatial task, whereas no effect was found for either the number of maze recursions or the overall quality of maze solutions. These findings are discussed in relation to the need for further replication of the effect before strong claims of generalizability may be made.

Listening to Mozart does not enhance backwards digit span performance.

Rauscher, Shaw, and Ky recently reported that exposure to brief periods of music by Mozart produced a temporary increase in performance on tasks taken from the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale-IV. The present study examined whether this effect occurred in performance on a backwards digit span task. In a within-subjects design 36 undergraduates were exposed to 10-min. periods of Mozart music, a recording of rain, or silence. After each stimulus period, undergraduates had three attempts to hear and recall different 9-digit strings in reverse order. No significant differences among treatment conditions were found. There was a significant effect of practice. Results are discussed in terms of the need to isolate the conditions responsible for production of the Mozart effect.

The Effects of Music and Structured Oral Directions on Auding and Reading Comprehension

This study investigated the effects of Mozart's high-frequency-rich music and structured oral directions on third graders' auding and reading comprehension performance. The design was pre-post, with a control group and two experimental treatment groups. Mozart Symphonies Nos. 35, 38, 40, and 41, and four Frank Schaffer listening skills books were used with one experimental group. The second experimental group received the listening instruction without music. The control group worked assorted word searches. The Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test (Forms 1 and 2, Primary C) and the Addison-Wesley Sequential Test of Educational Progress (STEP) III (D) Listening Test (Form X) were used to measure reading comprehension and auding respectively. Instruction was administered by regular classroom teachers to intact classes for 30 minute morning periods, three times per week for eight weeks. Analysis of pretest and posttest scores from 63 students reveal that an organized instructional method using Mozart's music and oral directions significantly increases auding and reading comprehension, with music being the key independent variable.