Effects of Focus@Will Music on Brain Function: A Study on Attention and Brainwave Activity, Exercises of Music

Download Effects of Focus@Will Music on Brain Function: A Study on Attention and Brainwave Activity and more Exercises Music in PDF only on Docsity!         The  Mind  Body  Room   A  program  for  resilience  and  optimal  performance   Integrating  the  most  advanced  scientific  and  behavioral  technologies  for   optimal  mind  and  body  functioning   Stephen  I.  Sideroff,  Ph.D.   Department  of  Psychiatry  &  Biobehavioral  Sciences   UCLA     Focus@Will  music  effects  on  brain  electrical  activity  and  brain  function     White  Paper       This  research  project  was  designed  to  test  the  effects  of  using  music  created  by  Focus@Will  on   attention  and  on  brainwave,  or  electroencephalographic  activity  during  a  70  minute  reading   experience.       Methodology:   Subjects:  Subjects  were  recruited  through  an  advertisement  on  Craig’s  list,  offering  to  pay  $25   for  participation  in  the  one  and  one  half  hour  study.    Subjects  were  between  the  ages  of  18  and   50,  with  the  requirement  that  English  be  their  native  language,  no  neurological  or  psychiatric   conditions  and  no  chemical  addictions.   Reading  music:  two  types  of  background  music  were  employed  during  the  study:  music   preferred  and  selected  by  each  subject,  or  music  designed  by  Focus@Will.  The  latter  music  was   designed  specifically  to  improve  focus  and  concentration  during  reading  or  other  types  of  work   performance.   Reading  materials:  subjects  had  a  choice  of  three  different  biographies  to  read  from:  Barack   Obama,  Stephen  Jobs,  or  Oprah  Winfrey.   Procedures:  Subjects  completed  a  brief,  one  page  questionnaire  about  their  work,  study  and   reading  habits.    Subjects  were  then  connected  to  a  Thought  Technology  Infiniti  biofeedback   system  via  surface  recording  electrodes.  Two  active  electrodes  were  placed  bilaterally  over  P3   and  P4,  based  on  the  International  10-­‐20  system,  to  detect  and  record  electroencephalographic   (EEG)  activity  under  the  surface  of  the  electrodes.  These  placements  were  chosen  as  relevant  to   reading  and  other  performance  variables.    Once  connected,  each  subject  experienced  the   following  procedures:     Two  minutes  pre-­‐baseline  recording,  while  sitting  quietly  in  the  chair  without  any  music  or   reading;   Two  minutes  in  which  music  –  either  experimental  or  control  –  was  added.    One  half  of  the   subjects  were  randomly  assigned  to  listen  to  the  experimental  music  during  this  first  part  of  the   session,  while  the  other  half  of  the  subjects  listened  to  the  control  music.    Music  selection  was   reversed  during  the  second  part  of  the  session.   Thirty  minutes  in  which  the  subjects  read  from  one  of  the  biographies,  while  the  same  music   was  being  played.   Two-­‐minute  baseline,  with  subjects  sitting  with  no  reading  or  music;   Two-­‐minute  baseline,  in  which  music  was  added  (music  selection  during  this  portion  of  the   study  was  reversed  from  the  original  selection)     30  min.  in  which  the  subject  read  from  the  biography,  while  the  same  music  was  played;   Two-­‐minute  post  session  baseline:  no  music  or  reading.   Total  time  of  research  session  was  70  min.     Results:     Figure  1  presents  the  mean  spectral  magnitudes  for  each  EEG  frequency  band  during  the  first   and  last  five  minute  reading  periods  for  experimental  and  control  music  conditions.  When  the   means  for  the  two  conditions  during  the  last  five  minutes  of  the  reading  periods  were   compared,  we  found  an  increase  of  11%-­‐12%  in  the  theta  and  beta  frequency  bands  in  the   experimental  condition  compared  with  the  control.    The  difference  at  the  P3  site  was  significant   at  the  0.03  level  for  theta,  and  at  the  0.04  level  for  beta  frequencies.    At  the  P4  site,  the  theta   and  beta  frequency  differences  were  significant  at  the  0.05  level.       Other  frequency  bands  also  showed  an  increase  in  spectral  magnitude  in  response  to  the   experimental  music,  but  did  not  reach  statistical  reliability.    Similar  comparisons  of  the  two   conditions  during  the  first  five  minutes  of  reading  also  did  not  show  significant  differences.     Discussion:   Location  of  the  active  electrodes  at  P3  and  P4  was  determined  based  on  the  functions  served   by  these  areas.    They  are  situated  over  brain  area  39,  which  bilaterally  serves  functions  such  as   processing  language,  reading,  spatial  focusing  and  executive  control.  On  the  left  hemisphere   site  P3,  there  is  involvement  in  reading  and  symbol  manipulation,  while  on  the  right   hemisphere  P4  is  involved  in  focused  audio  attention,  perspective  taking,  visuospatial  and  other   functions.     The  increased  mean  spectral  magnitude,  found  in  the  theta  and  beta  brain  wave  frequency   bands  when  compared  with  control  music  presentation  indicates  greater  organized  firing  of   nerve  cells.  In  other  words,  there  is  increased  neural  synchronization  associated  with  the   experimental  music.  This  is  suggestive  of  greater  focus  which  occurs  when  there  is  such  a   mobilization  of  a  population  of  nerve  cells  for  a  specific  task.     It  should  be  remembered  that  the  control  music  was  chosen  by  each  subject.  It  is  likely  that   their  music  selection  could  be  having  a  positive  effect  of  its  own  in  activating  the  brain.    Thus,   the  experimental  music,  in  achieving  significantly  higher  levels  of  activation  is  even  more   impressive.    The  fact  that  no  significant  differences  were  found  during  the  first  five  minutes  of   reading  may  be  a  reflection  of  situation  novelty  which  was  true  for  both  conditions.    This   novelty  might  be  expected  to  wear  off  by  the  last  five  minute  period.