Mozart effect in patients with epilepsy

Objective: to analyze available publications assessing efficacy of the Mozart effect in patients with epilepsy.Material and methods. A search for scientific publications has been performed in PubMed, Scopus and eLibrary databases by retrieving inquiries "Mozart effect" and "epilepsy" in paper title, resume and keywords. As a result, 18 studies matching inclusion and exclusion criteria were selected. The data obtained were systematized into four categories: 1) whether a single listening of Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos in D major, K.448 affect interictal epileptiform activity (IEA) immediately during an event; 2) whether a repeated (course) of listening K.448 affect IEA; 3) is there a delayed effect on IEA after a single or repeated listening of K.448; 4) how does the Mozart effect act on rate of epileptic seizures during ongoing therapy course of listening K.448 or afterwards.Results. It was found that therapy with Mozart’s sonata K.448 may lower IEA index during a single listening of this musical composition and shortly afterwards. A lowered IEA index during a course listening of K.448 lasting for some time afterwards may be observed as well. Moreover, a repeated listening of K.448 may reduce rate of epileptic seizures within entire music course.Conclusion. The analysis revealed that there are currently some reasons to consider the Mozart effect as a means of neurostimulation impacting on rate of epileptic seizures and IEA.

Mozart Effect: A Brief Retrospective

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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MUSICAL INTELLIGENCE AND THE ENHANCEMENT OF MATHEMATICAL CONNECTION ABILITY USING ETHNOMATHEMATICS AND THE MOZART EFFECT

The background of this study is mathematics learning outcomes of junior high school students in agricultural areas are still low because they are less motivated to learn mathematics, so that is has an impact on their low learning outcomes. This study aims to find the relationship between musical intelligence and the enhancement of mathematical connection ability by applying Ethnomathematics and the Mozart Effect for increasing students’ motivation to learn mathematics. This study used a quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group design in grade 7 students at SMPN Bojongsoang 1, Kabupaten Bandung. The instruments used were the test of mathematical connection ability, musical intelligence questionnaire, and observation sheets. The results showed that: (1) there were differences in mathematical connection ability of students who received Ethnomathematics and the Mozart Effect learning with students who received direct learning; (2) musical intelligence has a positive impact on the enhancement of students' mathematical connection ability; and (3) students have a positive attitude towards learning with application of Ethnomathematics and the Mozart Effect, and more motivated to learn mathematics. The conclusion of this study is that there is a relationship between musical intelligence and the enhancement of mathematical connection ability, and students are more motivated to learn mathematics. Implication of this research for future research and learning practice is that students' mathematical connection ability can be explored and improved in various ways, one of which is by applying Ethnomathematics and the Mozart Effect in mathematics learning, and can be influenced by many things, one of them is musical intelligence. Therefore, in future research, it would be recommended to study the relationship between musical intelligence and the enhancement of other mathematical abilities using Ethnomathematics and the Mozart Effect.

Pleasure plays the music: visual attention and expertise

Listening to music has powerful effects on boost emotional and cognitive processes. It is still an open question whether cognitive improvements might depend on specific musical piece features (Mozart effect) or on the pleasure that we feel while listening. The general aim was to evaluate the attentional blink effect in music experts and non-experts (Musicians and Non-Musicians). The Mozart Sonata K448 was compared to highly pleasant musical pieces, self-selected by the participants. While listening to music, a rapid serial visual presentation task (RSVP) was used to tap into temporal attentional mechanisms. The results showed (at lag 240ms) a better performance during both the Sonata K448 and the self-selected pieces. Furthermore, the effect of pleasure varied with musical expertise. The higher the perceived pleasantness was for Musicians the higher the performance was accurate. These findings highlight the role of musical pleasure on cognitive processing. Our results emphasize the pleasure feelings evoked by music, even in experts, in affecting attention by boosting positive emotions and reward.

The Michelangelo Effect: Art Improves the Performance in a Virtual Reality Task Developed for Upper Limb Neurorehabilitation

The vision of an art masterpiece is associated with brain arousal by neural processes occurring quite spontaneously in the viewer. This aesthetic experience may even elicit a response in the motor areas of the observers. In the neurorehabilitation of patients with stroke, art observation has been used for reducing psychological disorders, and creative art therapy for enhancing physical functions and cognitive abilities. Here, we developed a virtual reality task which allows patients, by moving their hand on a virtual canvas, to have the illusion of painting some art masterpieces, such as The Creation of Adam of Michelangelo or The birth of Venus of Botticelli. Twenty healthy subjects (experiment 1) and four patients with stroke (experiment 2) performed this task and a control one in which they simply colored the virtual canvas. Results from User Satisfaction Evaluation Questionnaire and the NASA Task Load Index highlighted an appropriate level of usability. Moreover, despite the motor task was the same for art and control stimuli, the art condition was performed by healthy subjects with shorter trajectories (p = 0.001) and with a lower perception of physical demand (p = 0.049). In experiment 2, only the patients treated with artistic stimuli showed a reduction in the erroneous movements performed orthogonally to the canvas (p < 0.05). This finding reminds the so-called Mozart effect that improves the performance of subjects when they listen to classic music. Thus, we called this improvement in the performance when interacting with an artistic stimulus as Michelangelo effect.