The influence of Mozart’s music on brain activity in the process of learning

Objective The study investigated the influence Mozart’s music has on brain activity in the process of learning. A second objective was to test Rauscher et al.’s (1993) priming explanation of the Mozart effect. Methods In Experiment 1 individuals were first trained in how to solve spatial rotation tasks, and then solved similar tasks. Fifty-six students were divided into 4 groups: a control one – CG who prior to and after training relaxed, and three experimental groups: MM – who prior to and after training listened to music; MS – who prior to training listened to music and subsequently relaxed; and SM – who prior to training relaxed and afterward listened to music. The music used was the first movement of Mozart’s sonata (K. 448). In Experiment 2, thirty-six respondents were divided into three groups: CG, MM (same procedure as in Experiment 1), and BM – who prior to and after training listened to Brahms’ Hungarian dance No. 5. In both experiments the EEG data collected during problem solving were analyzed using the methods of event-related desynchronization/synchronization (ERD/ERS) and approximated entropy (ApEn). Results In the first experiment the respondents of the MM, MS, and SM groups showed a better task-performance than did the respondents of the CG group. Individuals of the MM group displayed less complex EEG patterns and more α band synchronization than did respondents of the other three groups. In Experiment 2 individuals who listened to Mozart showed a better task performance than did the respondents of the CG and BM groups. They displayed less complex EEG patterns and more lower-1 α and γ band synchronization than did the respondents of the BM group. Conclusions Mozart’s music, by activating task-relevant brain areas, enhances the learning of spatio-temporal rotation tasks. Significance The results support Rauscher et al.’s (1993) priming explanation of the Mozart effect.