This document discusses the influence of music on the brain and behavior. It presents research showing that listening to music can induce states of relaxation, improve cognitive performance on certain tasks, and speed recovery from fatigue. Background music is found to help students work quicker and with better quality. Experiments described found that test scores were highest when performed with background rock music or classical music by Mozart. The document proposes that music acts as a stimulus that intensifies the dominant brain region associated with the current activity.

1. Man and Music

2. Music is an integral part
of environment
Music is a part of our life.
Every day we hear it on the radio, TV,
in the street.
We sometimes hum quietly to ourselves
as we are doing something.

3. Music is the most abstract art.
It uses sounds to create art images.

4. In our project we’re
presenting the influence
of music on listener’s
brain, which interprets
and analyzes music and
afterwards directs
functions and behavior
of the whole organism.

5. Music forms functional states and
has a therapeutic effect on people
Examples of functional states:
 active state
 drowsiness
 sleeping

6. There are a lot of facts
revealing that listening to
music causes state of
relaxation and speeds up
weakening of skeleton
muscles.

7. Physiotherapy Effects of Music
 cardio-vascular system functioning,
metabolism processes, and neural-
psychic functions are getting
normalized
 mood becomes better
 breathing is getting slower
(Fried, 1990; Kabuto et al., 1993; Gumenyuk et al, 1998)

8. Music Therapy
Due to the fact that music normalizes the
rhythm of function of brain and other
organs, it can be used a so-called “music
therapy”. Nowadays, influence of music
on people with mental illnesses is studied
in a lot of researches.

9. Music influences the dominant
motivation and intellectual activity
You can read that after listening to Sonata by
W.A. Mozart, people succeed in solving
spatial-temporal problems and tests of
recognition of mirror images.
(Redeout et al., 1996; Sarnthein et al., 1997; Rauscher et al.,
1995; Jausovec et al., 2005)

10. Now we suggest listening to music
by W.A. Mozart

11. W.A. Mozart

12. Probably, it can be
explained as
follows: music
creates functional
state which is
favourable for the
next activity.
We’d like to draw
your attention to
the fact that
listening to music
before exams could
improve the further
results.
(Fudin, 1996)

13. Music influences the current
motivation or activity
The background music which students listen to
in the lessons while they are doing some tasks,
helps them to do their work quicker, more
thoroughly and with higher quality
(Tregubova,, 1976; Metelnitskaya, 1977).
It is known that students mostly prefer doing
their homework listening to music
(Patton et al., 1986).

14. Improvement of Recognition
of Mask Visual Images
Experiments prove, that
the efficiency of cognitive
recognition of mask
visual images might be
improved if people listen
to the “Third Symphony”
by P.I. Chaikovsky
or rock music
by “Rolling Stones”.

15. The most efficient volumes
of music to improve the results
of recognition are as follows:
 62 dB for classical music
 25 dB for rock music
(It has been determined by D.S. Sakharov in 2006)

16. Now let’s listen to music
by the great Russian composer
P.I. Chaykovsky

17. P.I. Chaikovsky

18. Our Research

19. Experiment terms and duration (1)
First the pupils worked in silence.
Then, as a background, there was rock
music by Russian group “Aria”.
Finally, while doing the tests,
they were listening to the classical music
by W.A. Mozart, which you have heard.

20. Experiment terms and duration (2)
Before doing the tests, the students filled
in the forms, indicating their music
preferences and experience, including
playing musical instruments skills.

21. Experiments results
The results of our experiments have
coincided with other conclusions about
influence of music upon people.
It’s curious to mention that the results do not
depend on musical preferences of the
examinees.
The diagram of the average grades for the
tests is presented at the next slide.

22. 0
1
2
3
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5
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w wh2 wk2no music with music
Hard rock Classical
We see that the best grades are for the tests
being written with background Rock music

23. There are some
interesting cases
of using music
by people.
Slow background
music we hear
in shops increases
a number of
purchases.
(Gorn, 1982)

24. Enforcing of current activity by listening to
background music can be explained with the help
of “Dominant theory” by A.A. Ukhtomsky.
action

25. Dominant is a temporally prevailing reflex
which transforms and directs other reflexes.
action
Dominant is enforced in sensory rich media

26. In this case we notice
intensification of the current
activity after stirring up other
brain centers which have no
direct connection with the current
activity. Any other activity can be
inhibited.

27. Although dominant center can be
stimulated in different ways, there
are biologically adequate stimuli.
Analyzing irritants, it’s possible to
come to a conclusion that their
frequency and amplitude change
like those of music.

28. Examples of electrical
activity of brain

29. Music as a signal

30. Paying attention to all the above, we can
assume that inventing music, ancient
people have created an irritant for the
man’s brain which intensifies current
dominant connected with different
activities, such as:
 eating
 getting asleep
 fighting

33. Nowadays we also use these irritants
in the forms of bedtime songs, which
are known to everyone, …

34. … and
military
marches.

35. We can add to the list above the
following activities:
 choosing goods in supermarkets
 supporting emotional states

37. Thank you very much
for your attention!