One of the most often-cited studies of the effect of classical music was performed in 1993 by a group of researchers from the University of California in Irvine. The study seemed to conclude that after listening to 10 minutes of Mozart, the participants' scores on an IQ test improved by several points. This became known as the "Mozart Effect." An earlier study at the University of North Texas found a group of students who listened to a selection by Handel while memorizing vocabulary words were more likely to recall those words than those who did not listen to Handel.
The researchers in the UC Irvine study were not able to isolate classical music as the only possible factor for increased scores. Other leading researchers like K.M. Steele of Appalachian State University and Thompson, Schellenberg and Husain of the University of Toronto argue that the "Mozart Effect" on intelligence tests has little to do with the music itself. They maintain music merely arouses brain function. With increased or decreased "arousal" of the brain, the participant may be in a better state of mind for a test. However, they say, that arousal may be the result of social or cultural factors, not from exposure to classical music.
As founder of The Institute for Music and Brain Science at Harvard Medical School, Mark Jude Tramo studied the biology of music. Researchers in his field have tried to determine where the "music center" of the brain is, only to find evidence suggests more of a dance between the right and left lobes. Different parts of the brain help to define different experiences in music, from mathematical considerations like rhythm and frequency to more artistic impressions like emotion. The "complex structure" in classical music, notes University of Georgia researcher Diane Bales, keeps this dance of the brain most active and vibrant.
In a 1998 report, Bales qualified the effect of music on intelligence by saying, "Music seems to prime our brains for certain kinds of thinking." The "Mozart effect" researchers attributed this to a model of brain function where "similar neural firing patterns occur" with both spatial relations and music listening. Bales also thought the genre of music was important. "Researchers think the complexity of classical music is what primes the brain to solve spatial problems more quickly," she wrote.
Tramo's organization was seeking to find medical solutions through classical music. According to the brainmusic.org website, classical concerts have been organized for patients at his hospital and the grou hopes this music can prove to have an effect on autism, hearing loss and Parkinson's patients.