Marion Simpson investigates an unusual exam aid

If there is an easy way of doing a difficult task we will take it every time. So it is easy to see why the experiments carried out by Rauscher and colleagues in the University of California in 1993 caused such a stir in the popular press.1 They suggested that something as simple as listening to a Mozart piano sonata might improve your aptitude for complex tasks.

The authors based their claims on a series of experiments with 36 college students in which volunteers were subjected to 10 minutes of one of three conditions: silence, a relaxation tape designed to lower blood pressure, or a recording of Mozart's Sonata in D Major for Two Pianos, K448. After this period, participants' spatial reasoning skills were tested using a set of tasks which included pattern analysis and paper folding and cutting. When their performance was translated into IQ scores, the group which listened to Mozart displayed a mean nine point lead over the other two groups.

Why was Mozart chosen?

The original theory behind the "Mozart effect" experiments was derived from a mathematical model of the cerebral cortex.² The same research group also subjected music of various types to mathematical analysis and proposed that certain features of Mozart's music meant that it would resonate with certain brain regions, notably those cortical areas involved with spatial reasoning, "priming" them so that they would be quicker and more efficient on future use. This idea of "use dependence" is a popular one in neuroscience, and the cellular mechanisms involved are a hot topic in current research.

Controversy and misconception

The original results caused great excitement, generating wild ideas about the mind expanding powers of the composer. This was bound to lead to disappointment when the hypotheses were subjected to more stringent testing. Rauscher and colleagues never claimed that Mozart could enhance all aspects of brain function. Perhaps it was misleading to translate their subjects' scores on the spatial reasoning tasks into IQ ratings, but the authors did not suggest an effect on general intelligence. Even now, however, debate continues about the authenticity of the original results.³

Criticism has been directed at the small scale of the original study and the suitability of the controls used, and attempts to replicate the original findings have yielded varying degrees of success, depending on the test paradigms used.⁴

Other groups have suggested that enjoyment of the music and resultant arousal could explain the improvements seen,³ although studies designed specifically to examine the influence of musical preference have not supported this.⁴ More recently, rats exposed to Mozart in the uterus have shown improved aptitude for navigation around a t-maze.⁵ This is further evidence for an enhancement of spatial reasoning in the absence of conscious musical appreciation.

Mozart as medicine

More recently, electroencephalography (EEG) in patients with epilepsy and those who were unconscious has shown changes in brain activity in response to Mozart. This argues against the enjoyment arousal theory, at the same time as suggesting interesting and novel avenues for treatment. EEG measurements taken while patients were having seizures have shown as much as a 41% reduction in epileptiform events while Mozart's K448 was being played, with a significant beneficial effect being retained after the music stopped.⁶

Similar results were found in both conscious and unconscious patients, arguing against simple relaxation or enjoyment.

One possible explanation is that features of Mozart's music induce patterns of neuronal activity which somehow disrupt those necessary for the seizure to proceed, "resetting" the brain's electrical activity. Certainly, various reports have been made of epileptic seizures being triggered by certain pieces of music.⁷

It is not implausible that other pieces could have a beneficial effect. Anecdotal evidence suggests that Mozart might be of benefit in other neurological conditions, notably Alzheimer's disease, stroke, and Williams syndrome.⁸

The general consensus

Opinion is still divided on the evidence for the "Mozart effect," both in itself and as a potential neurological treatment. Its original proponents defend it vociferously, and are in the process of developing a mathematics teaching programme for primary school children, based on their neural model. Longer term studies with children have yielded encouraging results in terms of subsequent successes in maths after musical training,⁹ but the precise explanation remains cloudy. Music seems to enhance self esteem and motivation to attend school, which could account for a proportion of the effect: thus the debate rages on.

So Mozart might not be able to turn us into a mathematical or any other type of genius, he might not be able to cure neurological diseases, but it certainly cannot do any harm.

My radio is now tuned to Classic FM and will certainly stay that way in the run up to exams. It's worth a try.