Classical music, whether you love it or hate it, has been a powerful cultural force for centuries. While it no longer dominates the music scene, the argument for continued appreciation of the genre goes far beyond pure aural aesthetics. Classical music has been lauded for its ability to do everything from improve intelligence to reduce stress, and despite some exaggeration of its benefits, science shows us that it actually does have a marked effect on the brain in a number of positive ways.
With September being Classical Music Month, there’s no better time to learn a bit more about some of the many ways classical music affects the brain. Over the past few decades, there have been numerous studies on the brain’s reaction to classical music, and we’ve shared the most relevant, interesting, and surprising here, some of which may motivate you to become a classical aficionado yourself.
1. Emotional expression in music and speech affect the brain similarly. Music is a very strong form of emotional communication across all cultures, but why? Research may have the answer. Studies show that music, including classical arrangements, has the ability to send chills down your spine or make your heart swell with joy through its use of different musical modes. For example, in Western music, the major mode is associated with excited, happy emotions, the minor with sad emotions. Similar results were found in other cultures around the world despite differences in the emotions that these cultures associate with the varying modes. The reason these musical modes have the ability to convey so much emotion is because they imitate the tonal characteristics of emotion in the voice, tapping into our innate communicative abilities and our cultural associations alike.
2. Music can help the body recover after organ transplants. Listening to classical or operatic music after a heart transplant could just make the difference between a successful transplant and an unsuccessful one, or so new research from The Journal of Cardiothoraic Surgery suggests. Previous research has found that the effect of music on transplant patients is multifaceted. It has been found to help reduce anxiety, pain, and nausea and some research even points to it having an effect on the parasympathetic nervous system (the part of our nervous system responsible for functions we can’t consciously control, like digestion). In one Japanese study, mice were given heart transplants then exposed to music. Researchers found that playing opera and classical music for the mice increased the time before transplanted organs failed. What’s more, playing other kinds of music did not affect success rates. Researchers linked the improved success to an immune boost, but the reasons for this influence of classical music on the immune system are still not clear.
3. Classical music can help reduce pain and anxiety. Certain medical procedures aren’t especially pleasant to undergo, leaving patients feeling uncomfortable and anxious. Music, research suggests, can be a helpful remedy. Researchers at Duke Cancer Institute found that wearing noise-canceling headphones playing classical music (in this case concertos by Bach) reduced the pain and anxiety of a prostate biopsy. Generally, the procedure causes a spike in diastolic blood pressure as the result of stress and anxiety, but in the men who listened to the music, there was no such spike. Additionally, those who wore headphones reported significantly less pain associated with the procedure. Researchers believe that this method will be an inexpensive way to help make this and other medical procedures less frightening for patients by altering their mental and physical responses to them through use of classical music.
15 Studied Effects of Classical Music on Your Brain
ReplyDeleteby Melanie Foster
OnlinePhDPrograms.com
http://www.onlinephdprograms.com/15-studied-effects-of-classical-music-on-your-brain/
Classical music, whether you love it or hate it, has been a powerful cultural force for centuries. While it no longer dominates the music scene, the argument for continued appreciation of the genre goes far beyond pure aural aesthetics. Classical music has been lauded for its ability to do everything from improve intelligence to reduce stress, and despite some exaggeration of its benefits, science shows us that it actually does have a marked effect on the brain in a number of positive ways.
ReplyDeleteWith September being Classical Music Month, there’s no better time to learn a bit more about some of the many ways classical music affects the brain. Over the past few decades, there have been numerous studies on the brain’s reaction to classical music, and we’ve shared the most relevant, interesting, and surprising here, some of which may motivate you to become a classical aficionado yourself.
1. Emotional expression in music and speech affect the brain similarly. Music is a very strong form of emotional communication across all cultures, but why? Research may have the answer. Studies show that music, including classical arrangements, has the ability to send chills down your spine or make your heart swell with joy through its use of different musical modes. For example, in Western music, the major mode is associated with excited, happy emotions, the minor with sad emotions. Similar results were found in other cultures around the world despite differences in the emotions that these cultures associate with the varying modes. The reason these musical modes have the ability to convey so much emotion is because they imitate the tonal characteristics of emotion in the voice, tapping into our innate communicative abilities and our cultural associations alike.
ReplyDelete2. Music can help the body recover after organ transplants. Listening to classical or operatic music after a heart transplant could just make the difference between a successful transplant and an unsuccessful one, or so new research from The Journal of Cardiothoraic Surgery suggests. Previous research has found that the effect of music on transplant patients is multifaceted. It has been found to help reduce anxiety, pain, and nausea and some research even points to it having an effect on the parasympathetic nervous system (the part of our nervous system responsible for functions we can’t consciously control, like digestion). In one Japanese study, mice were given heart transplants then exposed to music. Researchers found that playing opera and classical music for the mice increased the time before transplanted organs failed. What’s more, playing other kinds of music did not affect success rates. Researchers linked the improved success to an immune boost, but the reasons for this influence of classical music on the immune system are still not clear.
3. Classical music can help reduce pain and anxiety. Certain medical procedures aren’t especially pleasant to undergo, leaving patients feeling uncomfortable and anxious. Music, research suggests, can be a helpful remedy. Researchers at Duke Cancer Institute found that wearing noise-canceling headphones playing classical music (in this case concertos by Bach) reduced the pain and anxiety of a prostate biopsy. Generally, the procedure causes a spike in diastolic blood pressure as the result of stress and anxiety, but in the men who listened to the music, there was no such spike. Additionally, those who wore headphones reported significantly less pain associated with the procedure. Researchers believe that this method will be an inexpensive way to help make this and other medical procedures less frightening for patients by altering their mental and physical responses to them through use of classical music.