Does Music Have Effect on the Brain?

     When asked about music's effect on music, Norman M. Weinbeger Ph.D answered, "Neurons learn to prioritize some sounds. When a tone becomes important--because it signals food, for instance--the cells' response to that tone increases. This finding revolutionized thinking about brain organization by showing that learning is not a "higher" brain function but rather one that occurs in the sensory systems themselves."
     A few years ago, some of Weinberger's colleauges reported the "Mozart Effect" the finding that college students who listen to Mozart for 10 minutes perform better on spatial-temporal tests, like pattern matching. Norman then added, "Regrettably, this finding sprouted wings, such as the belief that kids get smarter after 10 minutes of Mozart."
     This article is an interview between Norman M. Weinberger Ph.D and Nancy K. Dress Ph.D, a proffesor at Occidental College. The article is written by Dress, who concludes her article writing, "Perhaps if more people knew music's true benefits, it would be restored to more schools."