Mozart, MD – Music for the Mind and Body

Music not only soothes the savage beast; it heals the critically ill.

A study in Critical Care Medicine evaluated the mechanisms of music-induced relaxation in critically ill patients. The researchers measured blood pressure and heart rate, brain electrical activity, serum levels of stress hormones and cytokines, requirements for sedative drugs, and level of sedation before and after an hour of listening to piano sonatas through headphones.

Researchers found that patients who listened to the sonatas required less medication to achieve a comparable level of sedation, compared to those who didn’t.

One of the remarkable things about the study is that the researchers also found that serum levels of growth hormone went up after listening to music, while those of epinephrine and interleukin-6 went down. The levels of all three should decrease with lowered stress. The jury’s definitely still out on the mechanism by which this might occur, and bear in mind that this was an extremely small study: a total of just 10 patients in both intervention and control groups.

But not just any music will do. It has to be Mozart.

Another study compared the effect of listening to either Eine Kleine Nachtmusik or New Age music on relaxation states. Subjects were assigned to listen to either one for 28 minutes a day on three consecutive days. At the outset, all subjects scored similarly on the Smith Relaxation States Inventory.

On Day 2, Mozart listeners reported higher levels of a relaxation state called “At Ease/Peace” and lower levels of negative emotion. On Day 3, Mozart listeners reported substantially higher levels of the states of Mental Quiet, Awe and Wonder, Mystery, At Ease/Peace, and Rested/Refreshed than did those who listened to New Age music.

Researchers have demonstrated that listening to Mozart for ten minutes briefly improves performance on tests of spatial temporal reasoning and, most astoundingly, reduces epileptiform brain activity and clinical seizures. Mozart even works for mice. Those who were exposed to Mozart’s piano sonata K448 en utero and for 60 days after birth performed better at maze tests than mice who were exposed to silence, white noise, or music composed by Phillip Glass.

Computer analysis of the music of 58 composers revealed that Mozart was distinct in using long-term periodicity; that is, musical phrases lasting between 10 and 60 seconds with a definite beginning and end. Of all the music analyzed, only the Bach boys, J.S. and C.P.E., included similar periodicity.

Take two sonatas and call me in the morning.

References

Conrad, C., Niess, H., Jauch, K.W., Bruns, C.J., Hartl, W., Welker, L. (2007). Overture for growth hormone: requiem for interleukin-6?. Critical Care Medicine, 35(12), 2709-2713.

Hughes, J.R., Fino, J.J. (2000). The Mozart effect: distinctive aspects of the music–a clue to brain coding?. Clinical EEG, 31(2), 94-103.

Smith, J.C., Joyce, C.A. (2004). Mozart versus new age music: relaxation states, stress, and ABC relaxation theory. Journal of Music Therapy, 41(3), 215-224.

Source: Brain Blogger

Before You Open Your Mouth: The Keys to Great Public Speaking, Nick Morgan

Why is most public speaking so awful? You know what I’m talking about because you’ve been there, sitting in a meeting room with 50 other hapless colleagues—or 375 other disheartened conference-goers—and listened with increasing desperation as the speaker droned on, reading from Power Point slides so detailed that you couldn’t make out the words, talking about a subject so filled with jargon and clichés that the topic got less and less clear as time went on... and on... and on. It’s a near-death experience. Why is most public speaking so awful? Why do we subject our fellow human beings to this form of torture when there are so many better things we could all be doing, like cutting our toenails, baking snickerdoodles, or watching re-runs of The Prisoner?

Click to read more ...

The CLF Roundtable on Creative Leadership in Times of Uncertainty

Facilitated by;
Ralph Kerle, Executive Chairman, the Creative Leadership Forum.

We are finding more than ever senior executives are uncertain of what the future holds and are seeking information, dialogue and conversation amongst their peers and stakeholders, customers and shareholders alike. Our Chairman has recently been involved in designing and running a series of highly successful Roundtables for Australia's leading executive education institution and one of Australia's leading IT companies and their clients with the purpose of surfacing an understanding of what is occurring now in their industry sector, what the emergent future might look like and how they might approach that emergent future creatively. The Roundtables consist of no more than 12 people, needs to be in a private dining room and run from 12noon to 2.00pm with the option of an extension when the conversations become interesting as they have - one lasting well into the afternnon. Guests must be senior decision makers only.

If you would like to know more about how these events operate, please contact Grant Crossley on gc@thecreativeleadershipforum.com

Why Big Brands Struggle With Social Media

Social media continues to grow globally in terms of adoption, usage, interest and impact in a massive way. It’s undeniably changing the way that content and information work particularly in terms of the publishing of consumer opinion. This has transformed the way that consumers relate to brands and the way that brands should operate, driving direct interaction, transparency and a more consultative approach. However, we still operate in a system defined by the old media world and consequently big brand involvement is still in the main tentative and sporadic. From my experience of trying to get big brands to embrace the social revolution, there are a number of reasons why they have yet to embrace the real opportunities that involvement can deliver: 1. Social Media is often viewed as just another marketing channel: It is of course so much more

Click to read more ...

What Social Media Is and What Social Media Is Not

This post touches upon what I feel social media is and isn’t. It does not matter what your purpose is for using social media. The key elements are and always will be the same. Your desired outcome is dictated by the basic fundamentals of the core of what social media is. This post touches upon the most important ones. I could have went on and on with this list, but I don't think that was needed to drive home what I'm trying to get across. Please feel free to add to it by leaving your thoughts and opinions in the comments.

Click to read more ...