Publication detail

The Mozart effect. Why is Mozart better than Haydn?

REKTOR, I. STRÝČEK, O. ŠTILLOVÁ, K. MEKYSKA, J. KISKA, T. BARTONOVÁ, M.

Original Title

The Mozart effect. Why is Mozart better than Haydn?

Type

abstract

Language

English

Original Abstract

Background and aims: Music exposure is a potential method of therapy in neuropsychiatric diseases including epilepsy. We raised the hypothesis that the ‘Mozart effect’ can be explained by the music’s acoustic properties. Methods: Eighteen epilepsy surgery candidates with intracerebral electrodes implanted in the temporal cortex listened to the Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos K448 and to the Haydn’s ‘Surprise’ Symphony. Musical features with respect to rhythm, melody, and harmony were analysed. Results: Epileptiform discharges (ED) in SEEG were reduced by Mozart’s music. Listening to Haydn’s music led to reduced ED only in the women; in the men, the ED increased. The acoustic analysis revealed that non-dissonant music with a harmonic spectrum and decreasing tempo with significant high-frequency parts has a reducing effect on ED in men. To reduce ED in women, the music should additionally be, in terms of loudness, gradually less dynamic. These acoustic characteristics are more dominant in Mozart’s music than in Haydn’s music. The fMRI brain activation during listening to music showed stronger functional connectivity in salient, sensorimotor and memory networks in 20 professionals as compared to non-musicians. In men more frontal and in women more parietal areas were activated. Conclusion: We confirmed the ‘Mozart effect’ in epilepsy. The acoustic characteristics of music are responsible for supressing brain epileptic activity. We suggest the use of musical pieces with well-defined acoustic properties and well-defined characteristics of studied persons are important for studying the ‘Mozart effect’ in neuropsychiatric diseases.

Keywords

Epilepsy; Mozart effect

Authors

REKTOR, I.; STRÝČEK, O.; ŠTILLOVÁ, K.; MEKYSKA, J.; KISKA, T.; BARTONOVÁ, M.

Released

1. 6. 2021

ISBN

1351-5101

Periodical

European Journal of Neurology

Year of study

28

Number

1

State

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Pages from

301

Pages to

301

Pages count

1

URL

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ene.14974

BibTex

@misc{BUT175138,
  author="REKTOR, I. and STRÝČEK, O. and ŠTILLOVÁ, K. and MEKYSKA, J. and KISKA, T. and BARTONOVÁ, M.",
  title="The Mozart effect. Why is Mozart better than Haydn?",
  year="2021",
  journal="European Journal of Neurology",
  volume="28",
  number="1",
  pages="301--301",
  issn="1351-5101",
  url="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ene.14974",
  note="abstract"
}