Mozart sonata helps reduce brain signals associated with epilepsy in small study
Share
TORONTO -
Researchers are diving deeper into a little known avenue of treatment for those with medication-resistant epilepsy: listening to classical music.
But not just any piece of classical music.
In a small study published in the Scientific Reports on Thursday, researchers found that 16 patients who listened to a Mozart sonata for at least 30 seconds had less frequent spikes of brain activity associated with epilepsy, adding more support to something called the “Mozart Effect.”
They also found that when patients listened to music from genres they preferred, it had no significant impact, meaning Mozart might just be special.
Epilepsy is a neurological condition in which bursts of electrical activity in the brain cause repeated seizures, which can range from mild to severe. As of 2018, there were around 300,000 Canadians living with epilepsy.
While anti-seizure medications exist, around one third of people with epilepsy are considered drug-resistant, meaning that even when prescribed medication that should work for them, they continue to experience seizures.
Because what exactly triggers epilepsy is so varied and difficult to pinpoint — genetics can be a factor, as well as abnormalities in brain structure, stroke, trauma, infectious disease and unknown causes — how to treat medication-resistant epilepsy is a big question.
The idea of music as brain therapy has been investigated before, as listening to music activates the brain. And when it comes to epilepsy, one piece of music in particular has been front of the pack: Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major (K.448).
People with epilepsy experience something called interictal epileptiform discharges (IED) along with seizures, which are neural firings that serve as a biomarker in the brain for epilepsy, associated with seizure frequency and impaired cognition, the study explained.
Past studies have looked into interventions that focus on IED as a potential way to limit seizures. Listening to music as a form of “neuromodulation” has been studied before, with Mozart’s K.448 having been noted to have an impact in reducing IED in studies, with the first study dating back to 1993. In that initial study, listening to Mozart proved more helpful than listening to relaxation instructions that aimed to lower blood pressure.
“Apart from one other composition—Mozart’s Piano Sonata in C Major (K.545)—the therapeutic properties of K.448 could not be replicated with other musical stimuli,” this new study explained.
In this new study, researchers aimed to validate the findings from past research by using a new method, intracranial Stereo-EEG, in adults with medication-resistant epilepsy, and see if the “Mozart K.448 effect” works on specific parts of the brain.
Intracranial Stereo-EEG is a way for scientists to track brain activity in which electrodes are placed just inside the skull by a surgical team to record electrical signals. Most previous studies have used electrodes placed on the scalp, a less sensitive way to measure brain activity.
Researchers in this new study measured different durations of music, having the 16 participants listen to Mozart K.448 for either 15 seconds or 90 seconds.
Subjects had more than 60 electrodes implanted for the study.
Researchers found that the duration of the music did have an impact. After listening to 90 seconds, patients had a “significant reduction” in IED rates across the brain, including inside the “seizure onset zone,” whereas listening to only 15 seconds did reduce IED rates, but not by a significant amount.
Patients had a 66.5-per-cent average global IED reduction in the study, and researchers concluded that it was necessary for patients to listen to at least 30 seconds to see any benefit.
When looking at the regions of the brain where IEDs were reduced the most, researchers found that significant reductions were observed mostly in the bilateral frontal cortices. The frontal lobes of the brain are the largest, and are vital to numerous important functions, including speech, working memory and voluntary movement.
When researchers looked at which specific intervals of the music were best, they found that the boundaries of the preferred segments matched up with a professional musician’s notation of the piece.
“There was a significant association between increased frontal theta activity and transitions from longer musical boundaries,” the study stated, though it noted that other musical segment categories didn’t have specific associations. Longer musical sequences meant segments that were more than 10 seconds with no break or shift in musical theme.
Another big aspect of the study was testing if music preference for each subject, and different types of music, had an impact.
But patients had no significant reduction in IED when listening to music they preferred.
“Our theory for the “Mozart K.448 effect” raises a critical distinction between subjective emotional responses to music and internal, evoked emotional brain responses,” the study stated.
Researchers added that “the musical structure defined by the sonata form may elicit positive emotional responses that may be important for anti-epileptic effects.”
It may be possible to find more music that has the same anti-epileptic effect if we pay close attention to the musical structure of Mozart K.448, the study suggested. The first 90 seconds of the music, for instance, has contrasting melodic themes with underlying harmonies. Another piece of music that the study looked at, Wagner’s Prelude to Act I of Lohengrin, begins with only static chords followed by “small shifts in instrumentation and harmony,” and was not associated with significant reductions of IED.
“This work was selected to control for the effect of melody-with-harmony versus harmony alone,” the study explained.
Researchers noted that they found that 90 seconds of listening to music isn’t enough exposure to have a lasting impact on neural activity once the study was over, and acknowledged that the study was limited by its small number of participants.
“Our null IED findings for the altered music, music matched to K.448, and music from subject-preferred genres reinforce the claim that there might be something special about Mozart’s original composition, especially for interacting with the pathology of epilepsy,” the study said.
“These findings reveal the importance of stimulus duration and encourage future work to determine the optimal duration of music for generating enduring therapeutic responses.”
The widow of Johnny Gaudreau called her husband 'the absolute best dad in the world' and thanked him for 'the best years of my life' in two Instagram posts shared Saturday.
Ontario Provincial Police were busy on Saturday morning issuing tickets to distracted drivers allegedly using their phones to film a serious crash on Highway 401 in eastern Ontario.
Social media influencers, reality stars and TV personalities were among the guests as the Norwegian king's eldest child, Princess Martha Louise, married an American self-professed shaman on Saturday in a wedding ceremony following three days of festivities.
Fatman Scoop, the rapper who topped charts in Europe with 'Be Faithful' in the early 2000s and later lent his distinctive voice and ebullient vibe to hits by such artists as Missy Elliott and Ciara, died after collapsing on stage at a show in Connecticut, according to officials and his family.
Forecasters are expecting further Bank of Canada interest rate cuts, but does that mean it's a good time to buy or sell a home? Real estate analyst Jason Mercer shares his predictions with CTV Your Morning.
The regional president of the union representing Canadian correctional officers in the Atlantic region says officers are at their ‘wits’ end’ when it comes to the number of drugs, overdoses and violent incidents in federal institutions.
Ontario Provincial Police were busy on Saturday morning issuing tickets to distracted drivers allegedly using their phones to film a serious crash on Highway 401 in eastern Ontario.
Police said Saturday that a man will face misdemeanour charges after he stormed into the press area at Donald Trump's rally in Johnstown, Pa., before being surrounded by authorities and eventually subdued with a Taser as the former president spoke at the campaign stop.
Seven people were killed and dozens were injured in Mississippi after a commercial bus overturned on Interstate 20 on Saturday morning, according to the Mississippi Highway Patrol.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is suing the North Carolina State Board of Elections in a last-ditch attempt to get his name removed the state’s ballot ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Social media influencers, reality stars and TV personalities were among the guests as the Norwegian king's eldest child, Princess Martha Louise, married an American self-professed shaman on Saturday in a wedding ceremony following three days of festivities.
The world’s most frequently launched rocket — the SpaceX Falcon 9 — is cleared to fly again, federal regulators announced Friday evening, putting the vehicle back on track for two high-profile human spaceflight missions.
As university students head back to campuses across Canada this school year, fewer international students will be among them, but the dip in enrolment is deeper than the federal government had designed.
A Federal Court judge has ordered a full hearing to review the Public Service Alliance of Canada's (PSAC) application to quash the new three-day-a-week office mandate for federal workers this fall, according to the union.
Matthew Perry's 2023 death from what the Los Angeles County medical examiner's office determined were 'the acute effects of ketamine' cast a shadow over a medication that has been enjoying growing popularity as therapy for depression and other mental health conditions.
The end of summer means the return to packing lunches, and that rings alarm bells for parents of children with severe food allergies. Bans on nuts and peanuts were once a staple of school rules, and while a growing number of institutions have done away with those policies, advocates say the lesson should be to focus on prevention and treatment.
It's normal for kids and teens to get butterflies in their stomachs as the first day of school approaches, but those who struggle with chronic anxiety may need extra support, mental health experts say.
The world’s most frequently launched rocket — the SpaceX Falcon 9 — is cleared to fly again, federal regulators announced Friday evening, putting the vehicle back on track for two high-profile human spaceflight missions.
Preserved brain samples dating back to early 17th-century Milan have tested positive for cocaine, a team of Italian researchers has found, but it's not immediately clear how it got into their systems.
Fatman Scoop, the rapper who topped charts in Europe with 'Be Faithful' in the early 2000s and later lent his distinctive voice and ebullient vibe to hits by such artists as Missy Elliott and Ciara, died after collapsing on stage at a show in Connecticut, according to officials and his family.
Some Oasis fans celebrated like a champagne supernova, while others looked back in anger on Saturday as online ticket sites strained under demand for the band's first shows for 15 years.
Forecasters are expecting further Bank of Canada interest rate cuts, but does that mean it's a good time to buy or sell a home? Real estate analyst Jason Mercer shares his predictions with CTV Your Morning.
Brazil started blocking Elon Musk's social media platform X early Saturday, making it largely inaccessible on both the web and through its mobile app after the company refused to comply with a judge's order.
Japan, a nation so hardworking its language has a term for literally working oneself to death, is trying to address a worrisome labor shortage by coaxing more people and companies to adopt four-day workweeks.
If you're planning to have a child or are curious about the costs of raising one in today's economy, personal finance contributor Christopher Liew has some tips to help you budget for a new baby, and explains some of the benefits and tax credits available to new parents.
The widow of Johnny Gaudreau called her husband 'the absolute best dad in the world' and thanked him for 'the best years of my life' in two Instagram posts shared Saturday.
Tess Routliffe felt back where she belonged and Nicholas Bennett rose to the occasion for a pair of Paralympic Games silver medals in the pool Saturday.
Regular car maintenance can prevent unexpected breakdowns in your vehicle while keeping you safe on the road, and looking after the vehicle's tires is as important, according to experts.
Unless policies or technologies change, the ownership cost of electric vehicles needs to decrease by 31 per cent if Canada wants to reach its sales target of 60 per cent EVs by 2030, according to a new report released Thursday by Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux.
A 70-year-old from Ottawa is facing charges after clocking 160 km/h on Highway 417 to "get away from a bad driver" Wednesday afternoon, according to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
A family-owned B.C. wilderness resort designed and built by HGTV's Timber Kings – who said it was one of the "coolest and most challenging" projects they have undertaken – has hit the market for $21.5 million.
A First Nations community west of Calgary has officially reclaimed its traditional Stoney Nakoda name. The Stoney Nakoda Nations held an event on Thursday to officially rename Morley to Mînî Thnî.
The owner of Inspire Studio in Minnedosa is dealing with a bit of a head-scratcher, as the statue outside her business has been vandalized three times, the most recent incident happening this past weekend.
Forty restaurants in 60 days seems like a tall task, but it was a challenge Moncton foodie Jason Gallant took head on to find the best lobster rolls and fried clams in southern New Brunswick.
A registered nurse in B.C. has had limits imposed on their practice by the regulatory body for the profession after they were found to have diverted narcotics from the workplace.
Enjoyable company can turn a good kayak session into a great one, but in the case of Scott Suffron, it was two unexpected companions in the waters of Indian Arm that catapulted one kayak experience into core memory territory.
Toronto police have identified a 64-year-old man as the victim who was fatally gunned down in a shooting in Scarborough’s Oakridge area late Friday night.
Forecasters are expecting further Bank of Canada interest rate cuts, but does that mean it's a good time to buy or sell a home? Real estate analyst Jason Mercer shares his predictions with CTV Your Morning.
The widow of Johnny Gaudreau called her husband 'the absolute best dad in the world' and thanked him for 'the best years of my life' in two Instagram posts shared Saturday.
Calgary’s water consumption was 492 million litres Friday, which was five million more than the city consumed Thursday and 42 million litres more than the target of 450 million litres a day that the city has set for residents.
All that stood between five-year-old Emma Shingleton -- who has a rare neurodegenerative disease that has rendered blind, and unable to walk, talk or crawl -- and a robotic walker that could make her life a little bit brighter was about $50,000 and with a little help from complete strangers, an A&W and the folks in Auburn Bay, and a lot of bottle drives, she got one.
Ontario Provincial Police were busy on Saturday morning issuing tickets to distracted drivers allegedly using their phones to film a serious crash on Highway 401 in eastern Ontario.
A man is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries after an overnight stabbing at the O-Train Hurdman Station. The Ottawa Paramedic Service says emergency crews responded to a call for a stabbing at the station at approximately 12:30 a.m.
A 14-year-old girl has died after being struck by a vehicle while riding her bicycle on County Road 2 in South Stormont Township, said the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
A 47-year-old man accused of murder appeared in Joliette court on Saturday following a fatal shooting in Saint-Lin-Laurentides. Stephane Lamaute, a resident of Saint-Lin-Laurentides, faces a charge of second-degree murder in the death of 51-year-old Pierre-Daniel Bentivegna.
Doctors explain IVF is often reserved for complex medical problems or infertility, with difficulties even-split between the male and female partners. In about 20 per cent of cases, both partners have troubles.
Walking into the "Agriculture du coin'" store may feel like something out of a science fiction movie. Lab-like equipment, where vegetables are grown, is everywhere. According to the store's founder, Daniel Feinglos, the urban hydroponic systems are the future of farming.
The Saint John Police are seeking the public’s assistance in locating Glendon Shields, wanted in relation to an ongoing assault and threats investigation.
A Cambridge, Ont. woman hasn't been able to live in her rental home for six months because of mould and she's upset her landlord isn't doing anything about it.
A 29-year-old in North Bay is facing several disturbing charges – including manslaughter – in a case where he is accused of giving young people drugs, then sexually assaulting them.
After meeting with transit workers and local Mayor Matthew Shoemaker on Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continued his visit to Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
A Cambridge, Ont. woman hasn't been able to live in her rental home for six months because of mould and she's upset her landlord isn't doing anything about it.
Ontario residents will soon be able to pop into their local corner store to grab beer, wine, and ready-to-drink cocktails as the province proceeds with a plan to expand the alcohol retail marketplace.
Ontario residents will soon be able to pop into their local corner store to grab beer, wine, and ready-to-drink cocktails as the province proceeds with a plan to expand the alcohol retail marketplace.
After Kevin Falcon suddenly withdrew candidate endorsements—so some could be poached by the BC Conservatives—many BC United candidates who were suddenly left in the lurch are angry.
With mid-summer temperatures in the forecast for the long weekend, the City of Lethbridge issued a reminder Thursday that a Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) advisory remains in effect for Henderson Lake Park.
A Crown prosecutor says two men convicted of mischief and weapons offences at the 2022 border blockade at Coutts, Alta., should spend nine years in prison, but defence lawyers think their clients have already spent enough time behind bars.
After meeting with transit workers and local Mayor Matthew Shoemaker on Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continued his visit to Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrapped up his visit to Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., on Friday, without any official announcements being made. One political expert believes these types of ‘photo-op only’ visits will become the norm across northern Ontario for federal politicians.
A 16-year-old biennial event aimed at fostering business in the country's eastern Arctic and northern regions has been cancelled indefinitely as a dispute unfolds between Inuit in Canada and a Labrador group claiming to share their heritage.
The federal government has temporarily paused parts of the newly reinstated commercial northern cod fishery off the east coast of Newfoundland as landings approach the seasonal limit.
The final edition of The Telegram newspaper’s daily print hit the stands in St. John's, N.L., on Saturday, marking the end of a 145-year run and a move to weekly print version with daily stories online.