Does Music Have Any Effects On The Brain?

Does medicament Have exclusively Effects On The Brain?medicine washstand shoot a very strong crook is it strong enough to affect your wiz? Music is an art of sound that be bes ideas and emotions through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and colour. The power and influence of medicinal drug on several(prenominal)s is a psychological process involving the homophile ears, personify, straits, and nervous system. anyway its pleasing effect to the ears, it has been established that medicament asshole have an influence on our horny state of being. soda ashulate bear in mind to medicament for antithetical reasons and at different times. In recent days, however, a question has been raise with regards to medicine and its effectuate on the brain Does sense of hearing to medicament sponsor improve our physical and mental abilities?Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (the most popular Ameri ignore Poet in the 19th century, 1807-1882) wrote Music is the universal langu maturate of mankind. It brings us unitedly as a society and unites tidy sum of different cultural backgrounds. It is a very important element which send away be use for umpteen purposes much(prenominal) as entertainment, sleeping serve, pain relief, relaxation tool, eliminate stress, mad purposes, provide means of self-importance-expression, aid develop the skills necessary at workplace, infrastructure or general environment and so much more than than. It is similarly use for special occasions such as funerals, weddings, graduations, soldiers marching off to war, uninfected n mavinthelessts, prayer, romantic dinners and parties.Music is in the main utilise in these types of events because it has the influence to ad alonement our atmosphere and provide us with a sense of pleasure, comfort and happiness. It alike enhances teamwork skills and discipline in churches and in bands where all team members involvement and conjunction is required to produce a fair song. Res earch shows that certain types of medicinal drug such as neoclassic unison, yoga harmony or nature medicament creates a calming effect on us which processs shrink our gist rate. This whitethorn enable us conquer anxiety and gain self confidence. Music can help us communicate with all(prenominal) opposite when dustups are different. Before the invention of mails and teleph angiotensin converting enzymes, certain tribes use to contact each other with drumbeats. Sound travels at ab come to the fore 350 meters per second in teetotal air at 20 C (68 F) and this was quicker and efficient in liveting a message across to each other in the Ancient times which required some skills and knowledge. There was a vector and a receiver who would interpret the message to the Leader of the village. This was in the main perform in Africa and Asia and is still practised in some parts of the world. The drawbacks were messages could be interpreted wrongly by the receiver or conveyed wrongl y by the sender which cause inconvenience.There are many uses and benefits of melody which are soon enough to be disc overed. In recent age, scientists have been astonished by the personal effects practice of medicine has on children. Babies are mostly lulled to sleep with lullabies due to its cognize calming effects on the brain and body. Experiment has proven that introducing toddlers to good euphony literary genres such as classical at an early age enables them become more creative, add their level of imagination and their magnate to beget and develop different skills in later career. During childhood we are all expected to learn nursery rhymes reason being melody is know to be a kick-start to learning and known to provide long life benefits. Also as individuals we all need diversity in our lives to poke out our knowledge and develop strong relationships in life. On Sunday, 21 February 2010, one of the major British watchwordpapers The Guardian, which has a certif ied sightly daily circulation of 358,844 copies, create an article on medicament and its power to shape a childs mind. (Source http//www.independent.co.uk/news/science/music-has-the-power-to-shape-a-childs-mind-1905967.html).The article discusses some of the profound effects of music on the nervous system and encourages schools to manage it a core subject. Schools which fail to make music a core subject are making a mistake, because it has advantages for the growing brain and would help all children, including those with dyslexia and autism, neuroscientist Professor Nina Kraus said. Professor Krauss team at North-western University in Chicago, Illinois, have shown that the nervous system responds to the acoustic properties of lecture and music with sub-millisecond precision. The effectiveness with which the nervous system interprets sound patterns is linked to melodious ability.Scientists have been amazed by some of effects of music can be have individuals. This has led to the establishment of a field of goodness care known as Music Therapy. Therapists use the benefits and positive effects of music to improve and carry their patients emotional, physical, aesthetic, mental, social, and spiritual well being. Those who practice music therapy are aligning it very useful and effective which enables them live a normal life. It is utilize to help patients with cancer, neurodevelopment disorders such as dementia, children with ADD and autism. A National Autistic Society spokeswoman explained how many children with autism respond well to music. It helps children in communication and interaction. It in like manner creates a calming effect on the patients which enables them express some level of emotion. This has resulted in many patients overcoming certain illnesses. Hospitals are in any cutting beginning to use music and music therapy to help with pain management. In some hospital theatres such as Bay Medical midst located in both Northeast Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (America), music is used to help ward off patients first and ease muscleman tension. Many patients reacted positively to especially classical music as it generated a comforting environment and calmed patients which enabled doctors progress during operations.However, it could be argued that music can be an addiction and if non constantly vie to these patients could cause further depression in some cases.Scientist have conducted further research and found that music with a strong beat can stimulate brainwaves to resonate in sync with the beat, with abstainer beats bringing sharper concentration and more alert cerebration to the get winder. Slower music genre such as classical helps promote a relaxed and meditative state (source http//www.brainskills.co.uk/MusicTherapy.html ).Over the days scientist have been looking at some other benefits music can offer. Athletes such as cyclist and marathon runners are known to find music very useful during g rooming sessions. Most of these athletes con cheekr music as a motivation and a relaxation tool which helps form the body and mind for a lengthy workout. There are believes that prodigal music can help athletes train faster and better during training, star to a good workout. To determine the actual effects of music on the performance of athletes, Scientists at St. Scholastica College in Duluth, Minnesota conducted a test with cardinal men and five women on a 15 second gear treadwheel at 5.5 mile per hour on each runner. The runners were categorised into a group of three. Group1 and 2 consisted of dickens masculines and two fe anthropoids and group 3 consisted of two males and one female. Group 1 were made to take heed to a fast pace beat, group 2 were made to listen a verbose beat and group 3 listened to no music. This was observed for 15 minutes and in the study, it was discovered that group 1 burned 10 exceptional calories over 15 minutes, an spear carrier 40 calories per hour. This may seem a small gain but if practised constantly over just three hours a week, you may be able of burning an extra 2 pounds of fat in the course of a year. This will help towards the individuals stamina and be of great advantage to his/her mental health. This research also betokened that music if combined with appropriate imagery can have each a calming effect on the individual during physical training which helps improve the cardiovascular system by maintaining adequate circulation of oxygenated blood nigh the vascular network of the body. However, there is no firm evidence that provoke that the tranquilising effects of music can promote better performances when athletes listen to the music before performing. The research, however, implies that listening to music during training sessions can for certain improve workout quality. (Effect of Up-Beat Music on Endurance Performance, Medicine and information in Sports and Exercise, volume 27(5), Supplement, 853, p. S151, 1995 and The Impact of Music and Imagery on sensual Performance and Arousal Studies of Coordination and Endurance, Journal of Sport Behaviour, volume 15(1), pages. 21-33, 1992)Music is mostly divided into genres and subgenres. Some of the main genres are flutter/Pop, Jazz, Hip hop, World, Nostalgia, Blues, Country, diffuse Listening, Folk, Ethnic, Metal and other subgenres.Classical music is one of the oldest genres encircling a broad era from roughly 1750s to date (source http//www.musiclessonsonline.co.uk/ClassicalMusic.html ). It has inspired and influenced other genres such as hip hop and RB. It is accepted by nearly each generation ever since its establishment. Researchers have come across some instead amazing benefits of classical music. It holds one of the largest listeners due to its calming effects which aid the mind and its ability to inspire its listeners. Amongst the results it was found that classical music has the ability to reduce crime. British Transpor t Police supplied classical music into capital of the United Kingdom Underground stations in 2004 in some of the areas most serious neighbourhoods. After playing the music for six months, robberies were cut by 33 percent, staff assaults decreased by 25 percent and vandalism went subdue 37 percent.This was not the first time classical music had been used in preventing crime. In 2001, police in West Palm Beach, Florida installed a CD player and speakers on an abandoned building in a crime-ridden neighbourhood. After playing classical music mostly Mozart, Bach and van Beethoven 24 hours a day for around three months, shootings, thefts, loiterers and drug deals decreased. (Source http//hypo re symbolizey.com/forums/music-studies/14554-help-me-describe-why-music-education-5.html )It was also discovered that if you walk into a store thats playing classical music you are likely to spend more. It is used as an tool to get you to purchase more items, as consumer advocate and columnist Bri an Vaszily entertainingly explains in How Stores are secretly using music to lure their customers. Music can help shape customers time perception, lower sales resistance and increase willingness to spend, says James Kellaris, a marketing professor at the University of Cincinnati. The complexity of classical music makes your brain work harder, causing it to overcompensate and make you savor like youve been in the store for less time than you actually have. Meanwhile, the music can make it more difficult for shoppers to use critical thinking in deciding whether to buy a product. The end result is expense more time in the store, buying more, and spending more money. (Source http//www.sixwise.com/newsletters/06/10/05/how_classical_music_can_reduce_crime_benefit_your_mood_and_increase_your_spending.htm)All these events reveal that music can control our brains and has the dexterity to diversify our live style and behavioural patterns.Scientists wanted to prove scientifically how liste ning to a song helps develop the brain. Several experiments were conducted to find out which side of the brain is activated and improved when we listen to music. Mozarts music and fancy music, with a 60 beats per minute beat pattern, activates the left and right brain. The coincident left and right brain action maximizes learning and retention of information. information activates the left brain while the music activates the right brain. Also, activities which engage both sides of the brain at the same time, such as playing an instrument or singing, causes the brain to be more capable of processing information. check to The Center for New Discoveries in Learning, learning potential can be increased a minimum of five times by using this 60 beats per minute music. For example, the ancient Greeks sang their dramas because they understood how music could help them remember more easily. A renowned Bulgarian psychologist, Dr. George Lozanov, intentional a way to teach foreign language s in a particle of the normal learning time. Using his system, students could learn up to one fractional of the vocabulary and phrases for the whole school term (which amounts to almost 1,000 words or phrases) in one day. Along with this, the average retention rate of his students was 92%. Dr. Lozanovs system involved using certain classical music pieces from the baroque period which have around a 60 beats per minute pattern. He has proven that foreign languages can be learned with 85-100% cleverness in only thirty days by using these baroque pieces. His students had a recall accuracy rate of almost 100% even after not reviewing the material for four years.Music has also been used by Doctors to heal the human mind and also cure diseases. It has been used as a means of overcoming depression and reducing chronic pain. Music can be described as a tool used to capture and transmit emotions. One of the advantages of music is its ability to reach out more than one objective at a time . Elevating music can amuse the mind and revive the soul. Sad and soulful music can offer solace, encourage and support psychological work and set free emotions. When unresolved to the worlds dilemmas, some depend on drugs and others relate to music to help thrash these obstacles. Some of these dilemmas can lead to Depression which reduces the activities that occur in our brains and obstructs the minds capability to arrange and carry out responsibilities. The lack of the neurotransmitter and Serotonin leads to a discourage state of mind. It has been discovered by scientist that listening to music could help reduce chronic pain and depression by a quarter (http//www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060524123803.htm). People react to music in different ways. Singing and dancing to your best-loved music is known to help increase the flow of serotonin in the brain by bringing about pleasure and excitement to the individual.I was greatly astonished by some of the experiments and di scoveries mostly carried out by scientists, therapist and authors involving this topic. This influenced me to create a questionnaire to discover how music influences its listeners and what music genre generates the most effects.This is a summary table of the research questionnaire I created and pass out to a assay audience of fifty. To obtain varied and authentic results I decided on a 50 percent male audience and 50 percent female.i.e. Every bar in this chart is out of a 100%. This is because I designed my questionnaire so population could tick many answers for a particular question. I then counted the numerate of people who listened to music for entertainment purposes out of number of audience I have and multiplied it by 100%. This enabled me convert all my figures into percentage.I decided on a 50 sample audience as it is large enough to obtain varied results, to help structure my represent and in order not to obtain decimal figures when converting to percentage. This was prepared to achieve reliable results. The data also indicates that 46 (92%) of the sample audience listen to more than 1 type of music. This proves that music is universal and its effects are not limited to one genre of music.As seen in the graph 82% of my sample audience listened to music for entertainment purposes. This proves that music provides comment and entertainment at the most fundamental level. 60% of my sample audience listened to music to help eliminate stress. This shows that music helps takes your mind temporally out from problems and it has the effect of eliminating tension from the mind. 30% of my audience listen to music for emotional purposes. This proves that music can help provide solace to its listeners. Four of my sample audience listened to music whilst studying and two suggested it helped improve their grades at school. last one person suggested it helped them gain confidence. My questionnaire also generated a link mingled with music for entertainment pur poses and stress elevation. Majority of my sample audience who listened to music for entertainment purposes also suggested it helped in eliminating stress.As shown in figure 2 above, modern music genres such as Hip hop and Rock/Pop is the most listened to probably due to its relatable lyrics.An epitome of the data by age groups also shows that 71% of the under 18s age group listen to music for entertainment purposes. 91% of the 18-21 age group that is 10 out of 11 people also listened to music for entertainment purposes. Of the 22 years and above age group, 17 out of 31 representing 55% listened to music to help eliminate stress.An analysis on gender shows that out of 25 females the influence of music is graduate(prenominal) amongst 5 representing 20% of the sample audience, 6 of them (25%) found the influence of music to be low. However, majority of them that is 12 (48%) indicated the effects of music to be medium.Out of 25 people in the male group, 5 representing 20% found the e ffects of music to be high and 12 representing 48% found it to be medium. This shows that music on an average has a medium effect on both male and female.Of the dismissed group of 4, three indicated the effects of music to be low. This may suggest that they need more than just music to entertain them and relieve stress.Writers mostly consisting of neurologist have published several books on the subject of music and its effects on the brain. Musicophilia is a highly recommended book, a New York measure bestseller. Written by Oliver Sacks (Author) and published by Picador on the 2nd of November 2007. It has been awarded one of the Best Books of 2007 by the Washington Post and the editors of Amazon.com. According to Oliver Sacks, Music can move us to the heights or depths of emotion. It can persuade us to buy something, or remind us of our first date. It can rustle us out of depression when nothing else can. It can get us dancing. But the power of music occupies more areas of our br ain than language does man are a musical species.In this book Oliver Sacks tells interesting tales of individuals modify with the worse case of neurological conditions but are perfectly capable of memorising and composing songs on the piano. This has in effect changed the way we view the human brain. In Musicophilia, he cautiously explores the influence of music through the individual experiences of patients suffering from Parkinsons disease, Alzheimers or amnesia, stroke and many more. It also involves musicians, performers and normal individuals who have been greatly affected by music. There are also scenarios of people struck by lightning and are suddenly moved to become pianist, to an inherent group of children with Williams syndrome who are hyper musical right from birth.Oliver Sacks scientifically explains why music is at times haunting, memorable and irresistible. The extraordinary neural robustness of music is also brought out in the following letter I was sent, about a well-known pianist. The pianist is now 88 and has lost language but he plays every day. When the Mozart is read, he points back and ahead well in advance of the repeats. Two years ago he enter a complete four-hand repertoire of Mozart that he had recorded in the fifties (Page 336). Whiles his language has began to fail him, I love his recent playing and initiation even more than the earlier recording a colleague stated.another(prenominal) letter was written to Oliver by one man briefly explaining how his married woman was diagnosed with a brain disorder but still plays the piano on a daily basis. Although my wife has Alzheimers diagnosed at least seven years ago-the essential person miraculously remainsShe plays piano several hours daily, very well. Her present ambition is to memorize the Schumann A-minor Piano Concerto (Page 337). Alzheimers is a progressive and fatal brain disease. Alzheimers destroys brain cells, causing memory loss and problems with thinking and behaviour serious enough to affect work, lifelong hobbies or social life. Alzheimers gets worse over time, and it is fatal. Today it is the seventh-leading cause of death in the United States. Alzheimers disease accounts for 50 to 80 percent of dementia cases. And yet this woman who is, in most other spheres, grossly forgetful and disabled memorises plays full songs on the piano.Music can survive the most devastating brain damage. A herpes infection left Clive Wearing, a musicologist and musician, with a memory span of no more than a few seconds. His entire life form was overturned. But, confronted with a piece of music, he would first insist he had never played it before and then play it flawlessly. The process of making the music overcame his handicap. His wife wrote to Sacks of Clives at-homeness in music . . . where he transcends amnesia and finds continuum. Or there is the case of Tony Cicoria, a man struck by lightning in a address box. A few weeks later, he was overcome by an insati able require to listen to piano music. He bought CDs and sheet music and began to resurrect his childhood piano lessons. Then, involuntarily, he began to compose music in his head. A alcoholic of notes came, he said, from heaven. Cicoria now lives in music.Oliver Sacks concentrates on stories written or told by the victim or the victims relative rather than theory he does not come to a definite conclusion about music in his book but our intuition is reinforced by elaborate analysis of particular situations.Music genres such as hip hop, rock and pop has been known to help promote crime. Violence, racism, homophobic behaviours or sexist lyrics in much of todays popular music could have an impact on easy young people who are just developing a sense. many studies indicate that a preference for heavy metal music may be a significant marker for alienation, substance abuse, psychiatric disorders, suicide risk, sex-role stereotyping or risk-taking behaviours during adolescence. (Source American Academy of Pediatrics, 1999)In conclusion music is a very powerful tool that creates a connection to the human soul, body and mind. As shown in my work music is used to entertain, as therapy in hospitals to relieve stress, help in communication, express emotions, enhance concentration and maintain alertness and vigilance. It is also used in stores to promote sales and to motivate the workers.