The Mind Music And Behavior Essay Research

The Mind, Music, And Behavior Essay, Research Paper

The Mind, Music, and Behavior

abstract

The main purpose of the paper is to investigate and present the relationship

between the mind, music, and human behavior. For this purpose, research is

presented on previous works and studies that link music with the mind. Based on

this research, music increases neurotransmitter levels. Soft or mellow music has

a tendency to promote tranquillity, while music with tempo sometimes distracts.

Human memories can be cued by music, and music can promote improved learning.

The brain is a two and a quarter pound piece of living organic tissue that

controls the human nervous system. Music is a collection of sound waves that

propagate through the air, and has varying frequencies and tones following a

discernible order. Yet we all recognize the significance of the brain beyond its

physical function. Our minds are the essence of what we are. The brain

enigmatically stores memories, and lets people experience such things as emotion,

sensations, and thoughts. In the same sense, music is more than just a

collection of vibrations. This leads to the question of how does music affect

the mind, and in addition, how does music affect human behavior. The reader

might ask why such a question should be relevant. If more is known about the

psychological and neurophysiological effects of music on the human mind, then

the possibilities of this knowledge are unbounded. Music can be used to treat

social and behavioral problems in people with disabilities. The use of music in

the classroom might enhance or weaken a student’s work characteristics.

Therefore, whether the influence of music is positive or negative, much needs to

be explored about the link between the mind and music.

Physiologically, the brain receives information about sound waves from the ear

through the auditory nerve. This information is then processed by the brain and

analyzed for the juxtaposition of melody and rhythm. The mixture of melody and

rhythm is what we commonly refer to as music. However, our minds interpret this

auditory information as more than just sound signals; somehow, we are able to

differentiate between certain types of music, and develop preferences for these

different types. Yet, what are the ways in which the effects of music manifest

themselves.

First, there are particular biochemical responses in the human body to music.

Research shows that college students, when listening to music, have more

galvanic skin response peaks, as opposed to when they were not listening to

music. This research also indicates a significant decrease of norepinephrine

levels in students while they listen to “preferred” music. Norepinephrine is a

neurotransmitter that arbitrates chemical communication in the sympathetic

nervous system of the human body. The release of this neurotransmitter, as a

consequence of a function of the brain, results in an increased heart rate and

heightened blood pressure. Therefore, the decrease of norepinephrine in these

college students results in a more “relaxed” state. This could suggest that

favored or pleasant music somehow affects the mind, resulting in the relaxing of

the body. Another research project, undertaken at the Tokyo Institute of

Psychiatry, focuses on the effects of music on the mind using

electroencephalograms (EEG). An electroencephalograph is a medical instrument

that is capable of showing the electrical activity of the brain by measuring

electrical potentials on the scalp. In this experiment, volunteers were exposed

to silence, music, white noise (simulated hiss), and then silence. The result of

this experiment coincides with the previous findings. The volunteers all

reported feeling a calming sensation. However, the researches did not attribute

the lowered tension to reduced neurotransmitter levels. While listening to music,

“many of the subjects reported that they felt pleasantly relaxed or comfortable.

Music may evoke more organized mental activities which result in subjectively

comfortable feelings.” The white noise in the experiment produced an even

greater effect; the volunteers were so relaxed that many felt drowsy and

soporific. This sleepy effect can be explained by the monotonous characteristics

of white noise, in contrast to the variations in tone and melody of normal music.

Furthermore, the researchers found, based on the EEGs, that while listening to

music, the volunteers maintained a higher consciousness than when they were

exposed to silence or white noise. What this experiment shows is that there is a

change in the mental state of people while listening to music; that is, music

has certain psychophysiological effects on humans.

Along with these psychophysiological effects, music has an impact on memory as

well. In one experiment, words were presented to test subject

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