Mozart has the key to raising intelligence

TEN minutes of Mozart can improve your intelligence by nearly 10 per cent, scientists report today. The catch, however, is that the effect wears off after 15 minutes, writes Steve Connor.

Mirroring Andy Warhol's prediction that everyone will be famous for 15 minutes, psychologists said that anyone can improve their IQ after listening to a complex composition. They found that 10 minutes of Mozart's sonata for two pianos in D major improved the IQ scores of 36 volunteers by an average of nine points.

Prior exposure to silence or simple sounds, such as a relaxation tape, had little effect, the researchers report in the science journal, Nature. 'We predict that music lacking complexity or which is repetitive may interfere with, rather than enhance, abstract reasoning,' the psychologists, from the University of California, Irvine, say.

The theory is that complex musical patterns stimulate nerves in the brain. Listening to Mozart for long periods, however, still only gives a temporary improvement. Leading article, page 19