Working in Movement

One of the things humans are particularly good at is learning. The human nervous system can organize itself to learn in almost any circumstance, and this provides an amazing amount of adaptability. But we also see that the quality of the environment surrounding the learning can have a big impact on its effectiveness. Trying to learn something when there are unpleasant loud noises, foul smells, etc. can put the brakes on taking in knowledge.

Faced with a learning task, how can you enhance your surroundings to encourage those spiffy frontal lobes of yours to give you all they are capable of? It may be as simple as listening to some agreeable music, at least according to a recent study at Ohio State University. Music + Sweat = Sharp describes the study.

The study measured the effects of listening to music while exercising in cardiac rehab patients. (Compromised cognitive function can be an effect of cardiac trouble.) The cognitive task was to name as many words starting with a single letter in one minute. Each patient performed the test before and after exercise. Half listened to music during the exercise (The Four Seasons--Vivaldi's, not Frankie Valli's) , and the other half didn't.

It turned out that the exercisers who listened to music could name twice as many words after exercise than they had named before. The non listeners showed no improvement.

Why choose to test the effects of listening to music instead of some other activity? Listening to music is more complex that it might seem. In listening, the nervous system has to sort out tones, and timing, and sequencing of various sounds, to comprehend music. Those sorts of requirements should engage the frontal lobe of the brain, the part of the brain that is associated with higher mental functions, like thinking abstract thoughts, or planning for the future. So the naming the words task was a natural to test this idea.

While the cognitive function of naming words in a timed trial is not the most important learning requirement, the study does illustrate the importance of encouraging learning with an agreeable environment. A future phase of the study will let patients choose their own music. Maybe Frankie Valli will make it in after all.