From a study by Rauscher FH, Shaw GL, and Ky KN:
Motivated by predictions of a structured neuronal model of the cortex, we performed a behavioral experiment which showed that listening to a Mozart piano sonata produced significant short-term enhancement of spatial-temporal reasoning in college students. Here we present results from an experiment which replicates these findings, and shows that (i) ‘repetitive’ music does not enhance reasoning; (ii) a taped short story does not enhance reasoning; and (iii) short-term memory is not enhanced [emphasis added]. We propose experiments designed to explore the neurophysiological bases of this causal enhancement of spatial-temporal reasoning by music, and begin to search for quantitative measures of further higher cognitive effects of music.
As has been previously reported, this study replicated the finding that minimalist or “New Age” music does not produce the same effects as classical music. The predictions of the structured neuronal model of the cortex the researcher refer to has already been covered in this blog by the research into the trion model of the brain, which I encourage you to read for yourself. (And the piano sonata, incidentally, is Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos, K. 448.)
So the evidence continues to mount for classical music as a way to reprogram the brain (and not just the cortex, but the cerebellum as well), as well as for general health, because the better your brain functions, the better the rest of your body will function, too. Learn to enjoy classical music, and watch how your life can be transformed!