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The Mozart Effect

Dr. Foy has given numerous lecture/demonstrations on the topic of the effects of music on the brain. Specifically, recent research out of Irvine has shown that Mozart’s music has the ability to enhance one’s test-taking abilities and it also has been shown to repattern diseased neurons - a type of “healing effect”. PET scans and MRI’s of brain activity is proof that music in general affects certain portions of the brain and it depends on your previous musical abilities and types of musical exposure as to how your brain will respond to the music being played. The reason Mozart’s music is so powerful on neuronal activity is that the characteristics of his music - symmetrical and sequential patterning of musical motifs - fit exactly the way the human brain is set-up to fire neurons in the cortex. It is this similarity in the way the brain fires its neurons and the way Mozart’s music is composed that makes healing and enhancing a completely natural and logical outcome of this God given phenomenon. Dr. Foy has presented many Mozart Effect lectures for: Kaiser Permanente Prevention and Self-Care Symposium as the Keynote Speaker, Hollywood Women's Club, The Humanities in Medicine Committee of Kaiser Permanente "Humanitas IX", the Los Angeles Piano Club, and at Azusa Pacific University. She won a mini-grant from the California Council for the Humanities in 1999 (an NEH affiliate) for presentation of two lectures during the Los Angeles County Open House October 2, '99 at the Baldwin Park Performing Arts Center, and at the California State University, Northridge Student Union.