The Mozart effect

Rats perform tasks better when listening to Mozart

source: Gary Kliewer
New Scientist November 6 1999
starts p34, 4 pages long

Listening to Mozart appears to help both humans and rats peform tasks better. Rats can solve maze problems faster when they are raised with Mozart's music. 30 rats heard Sonata in D for 12 hours a day for more than eight weeks. Frances Rauscher, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, psychologist, found that these rats made 37% fewer mistakes in maze tests, and performed 27% faster than other rats raised with silence or white noise. She is carrying out a new study using a control group of rats with toys to play with, as well as rich social interaction, in case the original controls performed badly due to their deprived environment. There is evidence that Mozart may also help humans with conditions such as Alzheimer's and epilepsy.
RM,BT