Mozart, Not Beethoven, Makes You Smarter

Amadeus Mozart's music has helped to increase brain wave activity linked to memory, understanding and problem-solving, says research, according to dailymail.

However, Beethoven's music does not have such an effect on our minds. Hence, Mozart's music creates something special in our brains, said scientists.

Research from Sapienza University of Rome shows that the impact is most effective in young and elderly adults. Said scientists: "These results may be representative of the fact that Mozart's music is able to 'activate' neuronal cortical circuits (circuits of nerve cells in the brain) related to attentive and cognitive functions." They added that the results were "not just a consequence of listening to music in general."

The study, published in Consciousness and Cognition, is based on using EEG machines to record the electrical activity of their brains.

Before and after listening to 'L'allegro con spirito' from the Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major K448 by Mozart, compared to listening to 'Fur Elise' by Beethoven, recordings showed that Mozart has a stronger impact on brains.

"The results of our study show an increase in the alpha power and MF frequency index of background activity in both adults and in the healthy elderly after listening to Mozart's K448, a pattern of brain wave activity linked to intelligent quotient (IQ), memory, cognition and (having an) open mind to problem solving. No changes in EEG activity were detected in both adults and in the elderly after listening to Beethoven. This result confirms that the observed EEG patterns are the result of the influence of Mozart's sonata and not just a consequence of listening to music in general. The preliminary results allow us to hypothesize that Mozart's music is able to 'activate' neuronal cortical circuits related to attentive and cognitive functions not only in young subjects, but also in the healthy elderly."

Rational and highly organised arrangement of the sonata may 'echo the organisation of the cerebral cortex' (the part of the brain responsible for high-level mental functions).

Scientists at Stanford University, in California, have shown that the Mozart Effect---not other music---has a molecular basis. Dr. Rauscher and her colleague H. Li, a geneticist, have discovered that even rats, like humans, perform better on learning and memory tests after listening to a Mozart sonata, according to howtolearn.

"One of the distinctive features of Mozart's music is the frequent repetition of the melodic line; this determines the virtual lack of 'surprise' elements that may distract the listener's attention from rational listening, where each element of harmonic (and melodic) tension finds a resolution that confirms listeners' expectations," they wrote.

A previous study, published in 1993, found that listening to K448 could also improve spatial reasoning skills for a short time afterwards.