Annotated Bibliography

How Can Music Affect the Brain?

Elora Dash
Professor Malcolm Campbell
3/8/15

Croom, Adam M. "Music, Neuroscience, and the Psychology of Well-Being: A Prcis." Frontiers in
Psychology. Frontiers Research Foundation, 2 Jan. 2012. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.
This article is about how listening or playing music can improve your general well-being.

Gholipour, By Bahar. "4 Unusual Ways Music Can Tune Up the Brain." LiveScience. TechMedia
Network, 30 May 2014. Web. 06 Mar. 2015.
This article details four unusual ways music can improve brain functions. *maybe introduce
where the article came from?* Firstly, listening to music can help bring back memories to
patients who have suffered brain damage and memory loss. According to the study published in
the journal Neuropsychological Rehabilitation in 2013, listening to old hit songs can bring back
memories better than an interview can. As mentioned in the following radio article, listening or
playing music can improve emotion-sensing skills. In a study published in the European Journal
of Neuroscience in 2009, a group of thirty people watched a subtitled nature film while listening
to a very short, almost undetectable clip of a baby's cry. The researchers looked at the brain's
electrical waves to measure how sensitive the people were to the sound, and whether their brain's
emotional circuits were evoked. The researchers found that the musicians' brains responded more
quickly and accurately than the brains of non-musicians, suggesting the musicians may be better
at perceiving emotions even when music isn't being played, the researchers said. *assess the
validity of the source: where did it come from? Is it reliable? Then assess whether or not it will
be beneficial to you and why or why not*

Hicks, George. "How Playing Music Affects The Developing Brain." CommonHealth RSS. 90.9
WBUR, 17 July 2014. Web. 09 Mar. 2015.

This radio article discusses how music can affect intelligence, specifically in students. They say
that studies show that students who listen to a Mozart sonata before taking a spatial reasoning
test do better than students who dont. Playing or listening to music doesnt necessarily make
you smarter or raise your IQ, but it does improve emotional responses and multitasking, which
can help you improve your test scores. In fact, a Boston elementary school implements this into
their curriculum. The Conservatory Lab Charter School in Boston uses a Venezuelan method of
learning called El Sistema. All students are required to be in an orchestra and learn an
instrument. Children ages 5-10 are able to learn a new skill and produce music, and then perform
for their parents at the end of the year. Diana Lam, the head of the school, says that
implementing El Sistema has increased the childrens test scores over the years. *same as above:
assess the validity and usefulness of the source*

I thought your summaries were very comprehensive and detailed. They provide good
information regarding the articles you read, just make sure you put in plenty of assessment at the
end.