Objective: The study investigated the influence Mozart's music has on brain activity in the process of learning. A second objective was to test Rauscher et al.'s (1993) priming explanation of the Mozart effect. Methods: In Experiment 1 individuals were first trained in how to solve spatial rotation tasks, and then solved similar tasks. Fifty-six students were divided into 4 groups: a control one - CG who prior to and after training relaxed, and three experimental groups: MM - who prior to and after training listened to music; MS - who prior to training listened to music and subsequently relaxed; and SM - who prior to training relaxed and afterward listened to music. The music used was the first movement of Mozart's sonata (K. 448). In Experiment 2, thirty-six respondents were divided into three groups: CG, MM (same procedure as in Experiment 1), and BM - who prior to and after training listened to Brahms' Hungarian dance No. 5. In both experiments the EEG data collected during problem solving were analyzed using the methods of event-related desynchronization/synchronization (ERD/ERS) and approximated entropy (ApEn). Results: In the first experiment the respondents of the MM, MS, and SM groups showed a better task-performance than did the respondents of the CG group. Individuals of the MM group displayed less complex EEG patterns and more α band synchronization than did respondents of the other three groups. In Experiment 2 individuals who listened to Mozart showed a better task performance than did the respondents of the CG and BM groups. They displayed less complex EEG patterns and more lower-1 a and γ band synchronization than did the respondents of the BM group. Conclusions: Mozart's music, by activating task-relevant brain areas, enhances the learning of spatio-temporal rotation tasks. Significance: The results support Rauscher et al.'s (1993) priming explanation of the Mozart effect.

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   |wiki=    Wicri/Musique
   |area=    MozartV1
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   |clé=     Pascal:07-0042273
   |texte=   The influence of Mozart's music on brain activity in the process of learning
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