'Mozart Effect' Helpful in Epilepsy

The Mozart Effect, treated with skepticism by many clinicians, is found to have a positive effect on people with epilepsy. A new comprehensive meta-analysis on the effect of Mozart's music has confirmed that listening to his piano music can reduce the frequency of epilepsy attacks.

The paper title Safe and sound: Meta-analyzing the Mozart effect on epilepsy is published in Clinical Neurophysiology.

‘Mozart�s music therapy is a safe, effective, and non-invasive treatment for epilepsy, which reduces the frequency of epileptic seizures by 31% to 66%.’

The relation between Mozart music and a positive effect on mental health though discovered in the early 1990s, is poorly understood. Music is prevalent in all cultures and definitely fulfills some psychological need.

For the original studies on the Mozart Effect, the sonata for two pianos, K448, was used. Mozart's sonatas have a distinctive rhythmic structure, which is particularly beneficial for epilepsy.

Dr. Gianluca Sesso and Dr. Federico Sicca from the University of Pisa reviewed twelve pieces of research which they divided into nine separate groups.

The results showed that listening to Mozart, on a daily basis, significantly reduced epileptic seizures by 31% to 66%. Music therapy also reduced the frequency of abnormal brain activities in epileptic patients called interictal epileptiform discharges.

The positive effect of music occurred after a single listening session, and the effect was sustained for a long time, though the effect can vary from person to person and according to the music stimulus.

Music therapy was explored as a possible therapy for epilepsy patients, as most of the drugs used do not work in around 30% of the patients and lead to considerable side effects. Epilepsy is very common that affects around one in a hundred worldwide. It has high social and personal costs.

There is a growing demand for non-invasive treatments of neuropsychiatric disorders, and Mozart music could be an effective, non-invasive method of neurostimulation. This reduces the frequency of epileptic seizures.

However, there is a need for further understanding of the exact mechanism of how Mozart music affects the brain regions.

Source: Medindia