How Music Affects The Brain

http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/nsfall05/LabpacketArticles/HowMusicaffectsConcentrat.html

How Music affects Concentration and Work Efficiency-Lab Packet
Abstract:
Research on the brain has been immense. The scientific study of the brain has become an essential endeavor in understanding human life. Music has been found to have profound effect on the brain. Psychologists and scientists have been looking at the link between music, with mood, work efficiency and concentration for years. In our experiment, we hope to find a correlation between a specific genre of music and greater work efficiency and concentration. We plan to give Miami University students a brief reading comprehension test while listening to a certain genre of music (rock,
There have been countless studies performed to understand the complex correlation of the complicated brain and music. For example, in a study performed by Mark Tarrant, David Hargreaves, and Adrian North, the men sought to examine the manipulation of the mind based on music. In the study, they played music in a gym and examined the moods through testing their subjects immediately following their workout. They offered the participants the ability to help out a charity, thus examining the affect that the music had on them. They measured two different groups, those who listened to annoying music and those who listened to uplifting music. The results revealed that the uplifting music did in fact manipulate the mind by causing the subjects to be more supportive, while the people who listened to the annoying music were short-tempered and unhelpful. Another famous study has dealt with how MozartÕs masterpieces help concentration and memorization when studying for academics. It has been found in many different studies that because of the mathematical rhythms in MozartÕs musical pieces, mental clarity is enhanced, therefore improving study skills. After researching this study, our group was able to construct our own hypothesis. The study also made us more hopeful that our hypothesis would turn our conclusive. An experiment performed by Teresa Lesiuk dealt with the
Their experiment explores the relationship between the cerebral structures and music appreciation. It is essential that we look at medical journal articles so we understand the medical basis to our experiment. Our mind is complex and extraordinary and music plays a profound affect on our brain and the way it works.
McCraty, R. "The Effects of Different Types of Music on Mood, Tension, and Mental Clarity." Pub Med. 1998 Jan; 4 (1): 75-84. 7 Sep 2005. .
This journal article touched on not only music and its effect on work efficiency, but also music's effect on tension, mood and mental clarity. Because it includes more than just mental clarity, it gives us more information and research to work with. The study found that designer music (music made to have a specific effect on the listener) increased positive feelings and concentration levels. This journal article has many similarities to our experiment and coincides with our hypothesis.
Florentine, Mary. "On the Behavioral Characteristics of Loud-Music Listening." Ear and Hearing: The Official Journal of the American Auditory Society. 19(6):420-428, 1998