Science Forums 2

[Michaelangelica]

Listening To Music Can Change The Way You Judge Facial Emotions

ScienceDaily (May 7, 2009) — It is often said that music is the language of emotions. Simply, we are moved by music. But can these musically induced emotions arising through the auditory sense influence our interpretation of emotions arising through other senses (eg visual)?

Listening To Music Can Change The Way You Judge Facial Emotions
An this is not obvious because. . .?

Music Reduces Stress In Heart Disease Patients

ScienceDaily (Apr. 16, 2009) — Listening to music may benefit patients who suffer severe stress and anxiety associated with having and undergoing treatment for coronary heart disease. A Cochrane Systematic Review found that listening to music could decrease blood pressure, heart rate, and levels of anxiety in heart patients
. . .
The researchers reviewed data from 23 studies, which together included 1,461 patients. Two studies focused on patients treated by trained music therapists, but most did not, using instead interventions where patients listened to pre-recorded music on CDs offered by healthcare professionals.

Music Reduces Stress In Heart Disease Patients

Some Vocal-mimicking Animals, Particularly Parrots, Can Move To A Musical Beat

ScienceDaily (May 1, 2009) — Researchers at Harvard University have found that humans aren’t the only ones who can groove to a beat — some other species can dance, too. The capability was previously believed to be specific to humans. The research team found that only species that can mimic sound seem to be able to keep a beat, implying an evolutionary link between the two capacities.

Some Vocal-mimicking Animals, Particularly Parrots, Can Move To A Musical Beat

Brain Music: Putting The Brain's Soundtracks To Work

ScienceDaily (Apr. 28, 2009) — Every brain has a soundtrack. Its tempo and tone will vary, depending on mood, frame of mind, and other features of the brain itself. When that soundtrack is recorded and played back -- to an emergency responder, or a firefighter -- it may sharpen their reflexes during a crisis, and calm their nerves afterward.
Over the past decade, the influence of music on cognitive development, learning, and emotional well-being has emerged as a hot field of scientific study. To explore music's potential relevance to emergency response, the Dept of Homeland Security's Science & Technology Directorate (S&T) has begun a study into a form of neurotraining called "Brain Music" that uses music created in advance from listeners' own brain waves to help them deal with common ailments like insomnia, fatigue, and headaches stemming from stressful environments. The concept of Brain Music is to use the frequency, amplitude, and duration of musical sounds to move the brain from an anxious state to a more relaxed state.. . .

Brain Music: Putting The Brain's Soundtracks To Work
Homeland Security!!!
What next??

Baroque Classical Music In The Reading Room May Improve Mood And Productivity

ScienceDaily (Apr. 26, 2009) — Baroque classical music in the reading room can help improve radiologists work lives, potentially improving diagnostic efficiency and accuracy, according to a study performed by researchers at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, MD, Harbor Hospital in Baltimore, MD, and the University of Pennsylvania Health System in Philadelphia, PA.
Eight radiologists participated in the study and rated their mood, concentration, perceived diagnostic accuracy, productivity and work satisfaction on a seven point scale. “The greatest positive effects were noted with regard to mood and work satisfaction, with 63% and 50% of respondents reporting a positive impact,” said Sohaib Mohiuddin, MD, and Paras Lakhani, MD, lead authors of the study. “No participants indicated a negative effect on mood, perceived diagnostic accuracy, productivity or work satisfaction. Only one participant (12.5%) indicated a negative effect of music on concentration,” they said.

Baroque Classical Music In The Reading Room May Improve Mood And Productivity
How can they say anything meaningful after such a small sample of such a select group?