Could a Mozart song help scientists find effective therapy for people with epilepsy? Yes, according a new study.Published on Thursday in Scientific Reports, the study underlines how a Mozart sonata helps with therapy for patients of epilepsy when traditional treatments fail.?
The study was conducted on 16 patients hospitalised with epilepsy and found that Mozart's one particular sonata may be effective in calming epileptic brain activity.How does the Mozart sonata calm down people, you wonder? It's quite simple, scientists say.?The therapeutic power of the song lies in its element of surprise.?
Robert Quon of Dartmouth College said that their ultimate dream is to create an "anti-epileptic" genre of music to make lives of those with epilepsy easier.Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major K448 seems to have some sort of effect on one's cognition as well as brain activity, but it's still a surprise to them.?
In the study, researchers played the sonata for patients who were implanted with brain sensors to assess IEDs (brain events that happen to people with epilepsy in-between seizures).?
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After 30 seconds of listening to Mozart's magic, the IEDs decreased. Scientists also noted significant changes in parts of brain that are associated with emotion.?
Upon comparing the response of patients to structure of songs, scientists found that the effects of Mozart on patients increased during transitions longer than 10 seconds.Scientists believed that a sense of anticipation and surprise that follows transitions, helping create positive emotional responses.
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The effect was not reproduced when epileptic people were exposed to other genres of music or any piece of music that wasn't K448.The "Mozart effect" was first discovered by scientists in 1993 when 10 minutes of listening to K448 improved spatial reasoning skills among people.?
Mozart's therapeutic characteristics could help people improve their quality of lives if the research bears fruit.?