Did you know that classical music makes us smarter; it helps babies brains develop, and it can also promote mental health. It can even help control seizure activity and lower blood pressure.
In 1993 Dr. Gordon Shaw, a physicist and professor, conducted a controlled experiment with classical music. He played Mozart to college students at the University of California and noted an increase in IQ level. Listening to Mozart stimulates parts of the brain that allow us to develop abstract thought. When we listen to calming classical music, dopamine is released and we become calm and relaxed, which in turn improves focus. In 2011, eight students at McGill University underwent brain scanning while they listened to classical music. Dopamine levels in the brain rose by 9%.
Michael Schneck, a Chicago neurologist explains that listening to the harmonies and rhythms of classical music may provide a calming effect for people that lowers blood pressure, resulting in a 26% increase in blood flow, an effect which is also beneficial for the brain. Schneck explains that classical music can help relieve anxiety by lowering cortisol levels which are associated with stress.
Observational data from caregivers has shown that patients with late-stage dementia who no longer interact with others, become brighter and a little more animated when listening to classical music. This effect has been noted when listening to Mozart but not to other types of music. A 1990 study published in Nature compared subjects who listened to relaxation tapes, sat in silence, or listened to Mozart. Ten minutes later the group that listened to Mozart showed a 10-point improvement in spatial IQ scores.
Kiminobu Sugaya, a professor of medicine at the University of Central Florida and head of the neuroscience department states that in experiments with local community residents, listening to classical music resulted in a 50% increase in brain function.Since then, other studies have confirmed improved cognition after listening to Mozart, including higher school grades, improved spatial reasoning skills, and reduced risk of brain atrophy.
Micheal Trimble, a retired professor of neurology and neuropsychiatry at the University College London Institute of Neurology, claims that the use of carefully selected and edited classical music can be used to train the brains of persons with epilepsy and normalize their brain waves. To date the only music that has shown this effect are Mozart’s piano concertos K448 and K545.
One might ask, “why does classical music have this effect and other types of music do not? Clara James, a neuroscientist at the University of Geneva, Switzerland explains that classical and pop music differ in complexity,mathematical logic, and structure. Classical music adheres to strict structural and harmonic rules. It places a significant emphasis on proportion, balance, and harmony. Other forms of music do not adhere to these rules. The human brain likes the rules of music. Trimble explains that these certain musical tones are deeply embedded within the central nervous system. Mozart’s music has lower harmonic frequencies than the earlier baroque period music and this may relate to cognitive improvements impacted by Mozart’s music.
Pop music has continual repetition around the same musical frequencies, providing information that is vague, lacking originality, and lacking the subtle development and variation that is seen in the progression of classical music. Pop music maintains a regular rhythm in contrast to the wide range of rhythm to extremely loud or soft, slow or fast sections of classical music, all seamlessly integrated. Classical pieces are typically long from 30 minutes or more. This allows the brain sufficient time to process the information.
Some forms of modern rock cause excessive excitement and melancholy. Trimble believes that this type of music arouses anger and negative emotions. Some new age music also promotes negative emotions. In a study published in the journal Alternative Therapies,(1998) subjects reported reduced tension after listening to 15 minutes of classical music as compared to subjects who listened to New Age music. The later group reported lower tension but also lower mental clarity and lower feelings of caring and relaxation.
In our modern world, people’s brains are showing a gradual decline in volume and loss of neurons associated with aging. A study published in Neuroimage (2002) found that orchestral musicians do not exhibit atrophy in Broca’s area, the part of the brain that is responsible for spoken language and visuospatial and audiospatial localization as seen on MRI. In fact, these areas increased in size for the musicians.
The grey matter of the brain has been seen to increase after listening to classical music. This is attributed to an increase in strength of the connections between neurons. The memory center or hippocampus “lights up” when listening to classical music. The hippocampus helps people understand music. If this part of the brain is not engaged, a listener will not comprehend what they hear.
Music stimulates the release of endorphins, enkephalins, dopamine and serotonin in the brain. This release induces pleasure and relaxation and promotes physical comfort and sleep. Beautiful music also releases oxytocin, a hormone also known as the love hormone. This is why you appear more charming to your date if you take her to a classical music concert.
Photo credit: Marius Masalar
