Listening to Mozart enhances spatial-temporal reasoning: towards a neurophysiological basis.
Motivated by predictions of a structured neuronal model of the cortex, we performed a behavioral experiment which showed that listening to a Mozart piano sonata produced significant short-term enhancement of spatial-temporal reasoning in college students. Here we present results from an experiment which replicates these findings, and shows that (i) 'repetitive' music does not enhance reasoning; (ii) a taped short story does not enhance reasoning; and (iii) short-term memory is not enhanced. We propose experiments designed to explore the neurophysiological bases of this causal enhancement of spatial-temporal reasoning by music, and begin to search for quantitative measures of further higher cognitive effects of music.
Rauscher
F H
FH
Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine 92717, USA.
Shaw
G L
GL
Ky
K N
KN
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D003071:Cognition; D006801:Humans; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009042:Motivation; D009146:Music; D009482:Neurophysiology; D013037:Spatial Behavior / Q000502:physiology*