Music as Sensory Stimulation

Indianapolis, IN

The purpose of this study was to determine if music can provide sensory stimulation to increase functions that are commonly lost with age. Such functions include, short-term memory, cognition, fine motor skills, reaction time, and grip strength. It was hypothesized that classical, instrumental music will enhance these functions while popular, instrumental music will impair these functions. This study was approved by the Hanover College Institutional Review Board with regard to the use of human subjects. Fifteen subjects volunteered to participate. Participants were tested three consecutive days at the same time each day. Each day the participants were exposed to: no music, classical, instrumental, or popular, instrumental music. Short-term memory was assessed by word-list recall and 7-digit recall. Cognition was assessed by the digit substitution task used in various IQ tests. Fine motor skills were assessed by tracing a star and a mirror tracing activity. Reaction time was assessed by the ruler drop test. Grip strength was assessed using the hand grip dynamometer. Data collection is still ongoing and will be completed soon. Pilot data and actual data collected to date suggest that functions are enhanced with classical, instrumental music which supports the hypotheses. It is speculated that perhaps classical, instrumental music serves as a sensory stimulant while not distracting attention. Popular, instrumental music appears to serve as a distraction and impairs the functions of the participants; this supports the hypotheses.