1043-3155 Pediatr Neurol Briefs pedneurbriefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs Pediatric Neurology Briefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs 2166-6482 1043-3155 2166-3155 Pediatric Neurology Briefs Publishers Chicago, IL, USA PNB-12-32-b 10.15844/pedneurbriefs-12-4-13 Attention Deficit and Learning Disorders Neurology Pediatrics Nervous System Diseases Child Development Brain Diseases Neurosurgery Child Infant The Mozart Sonata and Spatial-Temporal Reasoning http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0173-7931 Millichap J. Gordon MD 1 2 * Division of Neurology, Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL Correspondence: Dr. J. Gordon Millichap, E-mail: jgmillichap@northwestern.edu 04 1998 01 05 2016 12 4 32 32 Copyright: © 1998 The Author(s) 1998 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Persistent patterns of brain activity: An EEG coherence study of the positive effect of music on spatial-temporal reasoning

The positive effect of music on spatial-temporal reasoning has been demonstrated in college students using coherence analysis of electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings at the Center for Neurobiology of Learning and Memory and Department of Physics, University of California, Irvine CA.

 Mozart Spatial-Temporal Reasoning Electroencephalographic

The positive effect of music on spatial-temporal reasoning has been demonstrated in college students using coherence analysis of electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings at the Center for Neurobiology of Learning and Memory and Department of Physics, University of California, Irvine CA. Right frontal and left temporo-parietal coherent EEG activity was induced by listening to 10 minutes of Mozart (Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major), and enhancement of spatial-temporal reasoning was carried over in 3 of 7 subjects. The long-lasting coherent EEG pattern might indicate structured sequences occurring in cortical function and extending over minutes. [1]

COMMENT. Spatial-temporal reasoning is required for chess, mathematics and music appreciation. Exposure to music, specifically Mozart, has been found to enhance cortical activity used in spatial-temporal reasoning, whereas relaxation tapes and minimalist music had no effect. EEG coherence correlates to complex higher brain function, and patterns of cortical activity induced by listening to Mozart carry over to tasks involving spatial-temporal reasoning.

Sarnthein J vonStein A Rappelsberger P Petsche H Rauscher FH Shaw GL Persistent patterns of brain activity: An EEG coherence study of the positive effect of music on spatial-temporal reasoning Neurol Res 1998 Apr 19 2 107 116 9175137