History

• In 1993, an experiment conducted at the University of California found that a group of college students, after listening to classical music for 10 minutes, temporarily experienced increased IQ scores. Specifically, the students' spatial-temporal intelligence improved, suggesting that music somehow enhances the brain's ability to reason in the abstract. Thus was born the "Mozart effect"--the theory that listening to Mozart's music increases one's intelligence--but there were errors in the original test. Since then, other tests have sought to replicate the results with more valid experiments (for example, by including control groups). Increases in technology since 1993, such as the f-MRI (functional magnetic resonance image), have helped neurologists explore how exactly music is processed in the brain.
  
  

Theories and Speculation

• Explanations abound in the scientific world regarding the exact correlation between classical music--especially Mozart--and enhanced learning. Some say that the rhythmic patterns common in Mozart's music mirror those in the brain. Skeptics claim that the rise in one's mood while listening to music animates one's ability to reason. Frances Rauscher and Gordon Shaw, who conducted the1993 study, speculated that the brain's activity during Mozart "warms up" the neurotransmitters in the cerebral cortex. Another theory states that Western harmonies call upon the parts of the brain, such as the frontal cortex, that process higher levels of complexity; in layman's terms, processing classical music is almost like doing math equations.
  
  

Evidence

• A more recent study by Rauscher and others claims to have found the molecular basis of the effect based on a study of rats: "increased gene expression of BDNF, a neural growth factor, CREB, a learning and memory compound, and synapsin I, a synaptic growth protein, in their hippocampus." Other studies not requiring knowledge of advanced biology report that Alzheimer's patients experience increased understanding and short term memory after hearing Mozart. Also, while the right hemisphere of the brain is used primarily in processing music, parts all over the brain are employed in listening to classical music, thus stimulating blood flow throughout the entire brain.
  
  

Continuing Research

• Today, the search for the link between classical music and learning charges forward. Dan Levitin, Ph.D, is director of the Laboratory for Music Perception, Cognition, and Expertise at McGill University, which has fueled dozens of articles on everything from the musicality of those with Williams syndrome to punk rock music to absolute pitch. The correlation has become increasingly popular to the general public as well, as seen in many articles in parenting magazines and Time Magazine alike. Research on the subject has also revealed how music is a healing factor in cases of depression, dementia, recovery from a stroke, and many others.
  
  

Practical Application

• One does not need to be a neurologist to be able to use music effectively in daily life as an aid to memory and learning. For instance, remembering the kings of England by putting them to a melody is a time-tested mnemonic device that remains intact, even years later, in many students' brains. Also, studies have shown repeatedly that children who take music lessons perform better in school. In anecdotal evidence, many students find that classical music especially helps them concentrate and keep it in the background while studying for an exam.