A Mozart sonata that can calm epileptic brain activity may have its therapeutic power thanks to melodies that evoke a sense of wonder, according to a study published Thursday. Research conducted on 16 patients hospitalized with epilepsy that has not responded to the drug has given hope that music could be used for new non-invasive treatments.
“Our ultimate dream is to define the ‘anti-epileptic’ music genre and use music to improve the lives of people with epilepsy,” said Robert Kwon of Dartmouth College. Study published in Scientific Reports.
Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major K448 is known for its effects on cognition and other brain activity, but researchers are still trying to understand why.
In this study, scientists played the piece to patients equipped with brain implant sensors to monitor the occurrence of IEDs – brief but damaging brain events suffering from epilepsy between seizures.
They found that IEDs decreased after 30 seconds of listening, with significant effects in parts of the brain associated with emotion.
When they compared the response to the structure of the work, they found that the effect increased during transitions between long musical phrases—those that lasted ten seconds or more.
Kwan says the findings suggest that long phrases can create a sense of anticipation — and then respond to it in an unexpected way “creating a positive emotional response.”
The so-called ‘Mozart Effect’ has been the subject of research since in 1993 scientists claimed that people who listened to K448 for 10 minutes showed improvements in spatial reasoning skills.
Subsequent research has tested the effects of K448 on various brain functions and disorders, including epilepsy.
But the writers said it was the first to break down the comments based on the song’s structure, which they described as “contrary to the melodic themes, each organized with its own inherent harmony”.
As in previous studies, patients showed no changes in brain activity when exposed to other auditory stimuli or pieces of music that were not K448—even from their preferred musical styles.
The patients in this study listened to 90 seconds of Wagner’s work, which was characterized by alternating harmonics but “no recognizable chord”.
Listening to Wagner had no calming effect, leading the researchers to home in on the key melody in K448.
The study further states that further tests for comparison may use other carefully chosen pieces of music to further pinpoint the sonata’s therapeutic components.
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