Music has beneficial effects on all
of us, but children beginning in the womb who are exposed to music can reap
additional benefits in brain development. Singing, listening to music and
learning to play a musical instrument affects the brain in ways we are just
beginning to understand. This essay
reviews how unborn babies are able to hear music, respond to voices, and are
able to remember. In addition we will review how children exposed to music and
taught music test better academically and there are measurable differences in
the brains of musicians versus non-musicians.
In almost every culture all over the world music plays an important role. There
may be chanting and singing as part of religious ceremonies. Social customs may
involve group singing, listening or playing music. Mothers sing to their babies
instinctively; music is a part of being human. According to a study released by
Ted Melnechuk, at the Institute for the Advancement of Health, there was a
direct relationship between music and the opiate-like endorphins released by
the brain. Endorphins and stimulates the pleasure centers in the brain. Music
makes us feel better.
We are now learning that babies begin to learn and
interact with their environment before they are born. According to Janet Hopson in the 1998
article Fetal Psychology in Psychology
Today, fetal learning begins as early as 32 week gestation. While fetuses
spend most of their time sleeping, REM sleep patterns are observed suggesting
dreaming. She cites research by Anthony James DeCasper, Ph.D., and colleagues
at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, who devised a method using a
sucking device that showed that within hours of birth, a newborn already
prefers its mother's voice to a stranger's, and prefers a story read to it
repeatedly in the womb over a new story introduced soon after birth.
Numerous researchers have shown that the fetus can
respond to, and even remember music. Kisilevsky and colleagues in the 2004
article in Developmental Science Maturation
of fetal responses to music demonstrated how playing a five-minute
recording of Brahms’ Lullaby to a fetus at 28-32 weeks showed an increase in
fetal heart rate, and a fetus over thirty-three weeks showed more sustained
heart rate changes and changed in movement leading researcher to the conclusion
that an older fetus is able to process complex sounds better and are able to
pay attention longer than younger fetuses. A study by DK James and colleagues from the School
of Human Development, University
of Nottingham Queen's Medical
Centre in Fetal learning: a prospective
randomized controlled study concludes prenatal music exposure alters the
fetal behavioral state and is carried forward to the newborn period.
Cathelijne and colleagues in the
2000 study Fetal Learning and Memory published in The Lancet, showed fetuses had both long and short
term memory. They were able to determine
this using habituation and vibroacoustic stimulus. Habituation is the decrease,
and eventual cessation, of the response that follows the repeated application
of the same stimulus. They concluded that fetuses are able to learn: they have
a short-term memory of at least 10 minutes, and a long-term memory of at least 24
hours.
We know by the research done with
children and middle school that music can help learning, aid in the ability to
stay on task and stay focused. Yiftach
Levy (N.D.) from the Department of Educational Technology at San
Diego State University
review of the recent literature on the effects of background music on learning
showed certain types of music are
beneficial in several learning situations. Levy reported that “the use of easy-listening
background music was effective in increasing on-task-performance of children in
an elementary science classroom” (p.1)
In addition
to background music, music lessons, and learning music has been shown to have a
beneficial effect on learning according to Leah Ariniello in the Journal of
Neuroscience May 2000 article Music
Training and The Brain. Ariniello describes how music lessons boosts brain
circuitry and increases certain mental functions. She
reports that brain imaging shows specific brain areas are larger in adult
musicians than in non-musicians. These areas include the primary motor cortex
and the cerebellum, which are involved in movement and coordination, and the
corpus callosum, which connects the two sides of the brain. The implications of
larger areas of the brain are yet to be fully understood, but the fact there is
a measurable difference is worthy of notice.
Olin Chism in the 1999 article Classical: The thinking child’s music: studies suggest link between
exposure and improved brain functioning from The Dallas Morning News
cited a number of studies which showed the
beneficial effects of listening and playing music on the learning process.
While more research is needed to be done, so far it
is pretty clear that fetuses are capable of learning, listening, and responding
to music and other external stimuli. A
larger body of research has been done to show that music helps both children
and adults learn. Music has been shown positive effects on the brain, and the
evidence seems to suggest the earlier exposure, beginning in the womb, the
better.
References:
Ariniello, L. (2000) Music
Training and The Brain. The Journal of Neuroscience Retrieved
3/5/06 from: http://web.sfn.org/content/Publications/BrainBriefings/music_training_and_brain.htm
Cathelijne, F., van Heteren, P., Boekkooi,
F., Henk, W., Jongsma, J., Nijhuis, G.(2000)
Fetal Learning and
Memory [Electronic version].The Lancet,
Volume 356, September 30, 2000,
pp 1169-1170
Chism,
O. (1999) Classical: The thinking child’s music: studies suggest link between
exposure and improved brain functioning from The Dallas Morning News 1/12/99 p.5C
James, DK., Spencer, CJ., Stepsis, BW., Fetal learning: a prospective randomized
controlled study. [Electronic version].Ultrasound
Obstet Gynecol. 2002 Nov;20(5):431-8.
Hopson,
J (1998) Fetal Psychology Retrieved 3/1/2006
from
http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/tul/psychtoday9809.html
Kisilevsky
B.S.; S.M.J. Hains; A.-Y. Jacquet; C. Granier-Deferre; J.P.
Lecanuet
(2004) Maturation of fetal responses to music [Electronic version]. Developmental Science, Volume
7, Number 5, November 2004, pp. 550-559(10).
Kenyon, T, (2005) Theoretical Constructs of ABR Technology
Retrieved 3/5/06 http://www.tomkenyon.com/abr.html
Levy, Y. (N.D.) The Effects of Background Music on Learning:
A Review of Recent Literature. Retrieved
3/5/06 from:http://edweb.sdsu.edu/Courses/Ed690DR/Examples/LitRev/Levy.htm