Running head: THE MOZART EFFECT 1 Running head: THE MOZART EFFECT 3 The Mozart Effect Abstract The Mozart Effect is a phenomenon that occurs when individuals listen to the two piano sonata. The stated results are individuals that are able to remember information easier. There are two studies that were conducted in associated with the Mozart Effect. The first study was dedicated to spatial skill performance and its neural pathway relation to music. The other study was dedicated to challenging the first study due to the argument that any type of music that is appreciated can cause the same memory effect. The second study was based on an experiment with unborn mice that heard Mozart’s piano sonata K448. The other part of the study was related to the effects of Mozart’s piano sonata K448 on patients who were suffering from epilepsy. The overall conclusion is that Mozart’s piano sonata K448 has positive effects on both animals and humans. Keywords: Mozart Effect, spatial skill performance, memory, music, neurons, neural pathways, brain, rats, and epilepsy The Mozart Effect Research and conducting experiments is the most effective way possible to gain an answer. The type of research is based on the situation, the hypothesis, and the resources the individual or group has on hand. The purpose of this research paper is to examine the Mozart Effect from two different journals and answer questions based on the research materials. The first article for examination is Music and spatial task performance.Music and Spatial Task Performance The Mozart Effect is essentially a study to determine if music helps individuals to accomplish tasks better. Memory is definitely a factor in this study. Rauscher, Shaw, Levine, and Ky (1993), hypothesized that a model of the brain and its pathways for neurons would prove that music and the ability to orient oneself with their environment can be seen using the same neural paths and they cover a large portion of the same areas in the brain. A much simpler picture would be two cars driving down the same highway to get to similar locations. The actual terminology used is spatial task performance. A quick explanation of spatial ability is necessary to understand the important of the study. Spatial skill deals with comprehension and memory related to spaces among objects (JHU). This ability can be classified as an intelligence that is set apart from others such as verbal or reasoning. It can be considered a fluid type of trait that evolves over time as people have different life experiences (JHU). The significance of spatial ability is two-fold: in application and also in occupation. In terms of application it is related to a person's ability to perform at least two tasks at the same time. For example: people who can eat and drive at the same time have developed this ability through spatial skill. Just like experience work has its spatial skill requirements. Occupations such as ma.

1. Running head: THE MOZART EFFECT 1
Running head: THE MOZART EFFECT 3
The Mozart Effect
Abstract
The Mozart Effect is a phenomenon that occurs when
individuals listen to the two piano sonata. The stated results are
individuals that are able to remember information easier. There
are two studies that were conducted in associated with the
Mozart Effect. The first study was dedicated to spatial skill
performance and its neural pathway relation to music. The
other study was dedicated to challenging the first study due to
the argument that any type of music that is appreciated can
cause the same memory effect. The second study was based on
an experiment with unborn mice that heard Mozart’s piano
sonata K448. The other part of the study was related to the
effects of Mozart’s piano sonata K448 on patients who were

2. suffering from epilepsy. The overall conclusion is that
Mozart’s piano sonata K448 has positive effects on both
animals and humans.
Keywords: Mozart Effect, spatial skill performance, memory,
music, neurons, neural pathways, brain, rats, and epilepsy
The Mozart Effect
Research and conducting experiments is the most effective
way possible to gain an answer. The type of research is based
on the situation, the hypothesis, and the resources the individual
or group has on hand. The purpose of this research paper is to
examine the Mozart Effect from two different journals and
answer questions based on the research materials. The first
article for examination is Music and spatial task
performance.Music and Spatial Task Performance
The Mozart Effect is essentially a study to determine if music
helps individuals to accomplish tasks better. Memory is
definitely a factor in this study. Rauscher, Shaw, Levine, and
Ky (1993), hypothesized that a model of the brain and its
pathways for neurons would prove that music and the ability to
orient oneself with their environment can be seen using the
same neural paths and they cover a large portion of the same
areas in the brain.
A much simpler picture would be two cars driving down the
same highway to get to similar locations. The actual
terminology used is spatial task performance. A quick
explanation of spatial ability is necessary to understand the
important of the study. Spatial skill deals with comprehension
and memory related to spaces among objects (JHU). This
ability can be classified as an intelligence that is set apart from
others such as verbal or reasoning. It can be considered a fluid
type of trait that evolves over time as people have different life
experiences (JHU).
The significance of spatial ability is two-fold: in application
and also in occupation. In terms of application it is related to a

3. person's ability to perform at least two tasks at the same time.
For example: people who can eat and drive at the same time
have developed this ability through spatial skill. Just like
experience work has its spatial skill requirements. Occupations
such as mathematics, natural sciences, and meteorology are
included in the spatial skill classification (JUH).
Notice that these types of occupations often require research.
Two important components of research are the independent
variable and the dependent variable. In this study the
independent variables are: Mozart's sonata, college students,
and three year olds (Rauscher, Shaw, & Ky, 1993). The
dependent variable in the study was memory (Rauscher, Shaw,
& Ky, 1993). The researchers focused on Mozart's sonata which
was a controlled variable because it was the only type of music
they used. This was necessary because the study itself was
music specific i.e. Mozart's sonata. There were two other
controlled variables college students and three year olds.
Controlling age ranges was important to see how memory was
affected in children and adults, namely to see who remembered
the most information for the longest period of time. Rauscher,
Shaw, & Ky (1993), presented data from two different studies:
college students with improved short-term memory due to
Mozart's sonata, and three year olds with long-term
advancements specifically in nonverbal cognitive abilities based
on listening to Mozart's sonata.
The evidence from this study was observable and valid. The
researchers Rauscher, Shaw, & Ky (1993) explained that infants
possess the highest level of ability concerning memorization
and the development of nonverbal cognitive skills. As a person
ages brain elasticity lessens and it becomes harder for a person
to grasp new material specifically memory recall and
implementation. The evidence presented did justify the
explanation and proved that music does travel along the same
neural pathways as spatial ability. The following is another
study based on the Mozart Effect. The Mozart Effect
A researcher named Jenkins analyzed the work that was done by

4. Rauscher et al (1993) concerning the Mozart effect and how it
helped to improve memory and spatial skills. There was an
initial argument that “enjoyment arousal” was the only reason
that participants did so well in the previous study (Jenkins,
2001). The two specific factors were the specific type of music
and the participants’ appreciation for the music. For example if
the participants consisted of teenagers most likely they would
respond more positively to music from Justin Beber.
In order to adequately test the challenge hypothesis animal
experiments were conducted on rats in utero (Jenkins, 2001).
The specified time frame was 60 days. The types of music the
rats were exposed to consisted of: Mozart's piano sonata K448,
limited music by Philip Glass, white noise, and silence (Jenkins,
2001). After the exposure was complete and the rats were born
they were put to another test through maze negotiation.
Interestingly, enough the findings from the maze negotiation
revealed that the rats exposed to the Mozart sonata were the
quickest and most accurate of the three groups (Jenkins, 2001).
This was very significant because it proves that Mozart's sonata
or the Mozart Effect was real, provable, and provided a positive
effect on memory. Another study was conducted that was not
related to spatial skill performance or maze navigation; it
involved individuals suffering from epilepsy. The study was
conducted with 29 patients, 23 suffered from focal discharges
and bursts/spikes (Jenkins, 2001).
When the epileptic patients listened to Mozart's piano sonata
K448 there was a noticeable decrease in epileptic activity
recorded on the electroencephalogram (EEG) (Jenkins, 2001).
The study was then narrowed down to one male who was
unconscious. Listening to the selected music it was visible that
his ictal patterns went from 62% to 21% a definite improvement
(Jenkins, 2001). According to Lin et al. (2011), Mozart K.448
was also effective in reducing the effects of epilepsy in
children. Specifically, the result was a reduction in the
frequency of the epileptic episode.
This study has merit for three reasons: (1) it proves the Mozart

5. Effect is real, (2) it proves the Mozart Effect is not based on
appreciation of the music per the unborn rats' performance in
the maze after 60 day exposure, and (3) the Mozart Effect is not
limited to spatial skill performance or memory it can also
reduce the effects of epilepsy in some patients. The study did
not take into account an individual's spatial ability. In this
particular case it appeared that all the rats had the ability to
navigate the maze. There was no indication that any of the rats
were either physically or mentally impaired.
The only different encountered was the type of music or lack
thereof that they were exposed to (Mozart's sonata, Philip
Glass, white noise and silence). The study conducted with the
epileptic patients was not about their spatial ability but rather
about the reduction in their episodes. This study can be
generalized in two ways: using different types of rats and using
different types of classical music. The first study only dealt
with seemingly healthy rats. In order to generalize this study
all types of rats should be used in order to test their spatial
skills.
These are the types of rats in particular that should be used for
the study’s generalization: mentally unstable/deficient rats,
physically deformed rats, rats that have suffered some type of
injury, rats that are blind/partially blind, deaf/partially deaf,
and lastly healthy rats. Another set of rats that could be used in
the study would be malnourished rats as well as obese rats.
With this many rats listening to the three musical selections
plus silence a broader inference can be made concerning
Mozart’s sonata and its effects on rats’ negotiation a maze. The
study concerning the epileptic patients would include additional
types of classical music not just Mozart’s sonata.
The classical music can come from any composer Bach, Brahms,
Chopin, and even consist of different types of Mozart’s music.
The idea is to find out if epileptic episodes can be decreased
with all types of classical music or simply Mozart’s sonata.
Even then would different types of Mozart’s music make a
difference in the epileptic episodes? Taking the situation

6. further the types of instruments in used in the classical music
may have an effect as well.
It was previously stated that the Mozart piece was piano. It
could be inferred that all classical pieces that use piano can
decrease epileptic episodes. Another generalization is that any
type of piano music in the soothing category lacking words
could have a positive effect on epileptic episode reduction. The
type of epileptic (just like the rats) could be a defining factor.
Does the effect only work on patients with server epilepsy or
does it work on all types of epileptic patients? Conclusion
The conclusion of this study is that the Mozart Effect is
real, provable, and it creates positive results in the participants.
The first study was based on college students and three year
olds in relation to spatial skill. It was proven that the younger
the individual the easier it is to remember information in
association with listening to Mozart’s sonata. The college
students on the other hand only retain increased memory in the
short-term.
It was also proven that music itself and spatial skill travel
along the same neurological pathways in the brain. The concept
of the study was later challenged with the express argument that
any piece of music can be used to make people smarter if they
only appreciate the piece. In other words individuals who like
jazz would be able to remember things more frequently because
they listen to jazz and like it.
That argument was disproven through an experiment
conducted on rats. While in the womb rats were exposed to
Mozart’s piano sonata K448, Philip Glass, white noise, and
silence. The rats were then expected to navigate the maze. The
study showed that rats would head Mozart performed
significantly better than those that had not. Another interesting
discovery was Mozart’s music on epileptic patients. Listening
to Mozart’s piano sonata K488 was proven to decrease the
epileptic episodes in patients.
The Mozart Effect warrants further study with different
types of rats such as blind or even ones with deformities to

7. determine if they too can negotiate the maze positively. In the
case of epileptic patients the Mozart Effect can be further tested
by using different types of soothing piano music to see if it has
the same effect of decreasing epileptic episodes.
References
Jenkins, J.S. (2001). The Mozart effect. Journal of the Royal
Society of Medicine, 94, 170-172
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1281386/
JHU. (n.d.). What is spatial ability? Retrieved September 9,
2014 from
http://web.jhu.edu/cty/STBguide.pdf
Lin, L.C., Lee, W. T., Wu, H. C., Tsai, C. L., Wei, R.C., Mok,
H.K., Weng, C. F., Lee, M. W., &
Yang, R.C. (2011). The long-term effect of listening to Mozart
K.448 decreases epileptiform discharges in children with
epilepsy. Epilepsy Behavior 21(4): 420-450. DOI:
10.1016/j.yebeh.2011.05.015
Rauscher, F. H., Shaw, G. L., & Ky, K. N. (1993). Music and
spatial task performance. Nature,
365. 6447: 611. (October 14, 1993). (ProQuest Document ID
76004658).
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED390733.pdf