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27.12.2016
2016-12-27

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Marina Levicheva

They say that if a pregnant woman listens to classical music, it can develop the intellectual abilities of the child. But if you look at the situation from a scientific point of view, things can be a little tricky.

You’ve probably heard about the impact of Mozart’s music on the brain’s ability to process information (if not in Network you can find a lot of information on the topic). The phrase “the Mozart effect” was coined in 1991, and the study was described in 1993 in the journal Nature.

Thanks to the media idea went to the masses, so much so that in 1998 Zell Miller, Governor of Georgia, requested to allocate from the state budget of the USA means that will provide every newborn a CD of classical music. But this, however, was not only about the children: a psychologist Sergio Della Sala went to the farm for the production of mozzarella in Italy where the farmer assured him that cows which are three times a day listening to Mozart, give better milk.

Whether the music Maestro has such a miraculous effect? BBC offers a look at the original study to detect in it at least two amazing things. First, the authors from the University of California has never used the phrase “the Mozart effect”. Second, children did not participate in the study, whereas it was conducted with the participation of senior students (36 people).

In the experiment, students performed a standard training task, but before that listened to either 10 minutes of silence or 10 minutes of relaxing music or 10 minutes of Mozart’s Sonata for piano in d major (K448). The study found that those who listened to Mozart’s music performed better on those tasks where they had to operate with facts in mind. The researchers stressed that the effect of the campaign is relatively small and lasts only 15 minutes.

But whether the music of Mozart affects the brain in a similar way? As it turned out, no. In 2010, a study was conducted and the results showed that similar brain activity is the music of Schubert, as well as reading aloud the novels of Stephen king. Because it is possible that we are talking about the enjoyment that we receive from works and not from its name.

And here is some information to consider: in 2006, scientists from Britain managed to prove that children sleep well under classic, but even better with a quiet pop music. So if you or your child has trouble falling asleep, this option should take note.

• children
• intelligence
• music