Music, memory and emotion

Previous research has shown that music can be an effective stimulus for\ud influencing arousal level. In addition, Brunye, et al (2009), showed that arousal level can\ud have an effect on spatial memory. The present study examined physiological arousal\ud responses to music and the subsequent effects on global and local spatial memory. Two minute music clips were used to manipulate arousal level while continuous EEG, heart rate, and skin conductance responses were recorded. The spatial memory tests required participants to study an aerial perspective map and later answer questions about relative locations of landmarks and roads. We found that high arousing music led to a right hemisphere specific increase in EEG activity in the beta frequency band, increased heart rate, as well as a higher reported arousal level. These physiological changes were accompanied by increased performance on the spatial memory task, specifically that a high arousal state led to the use of a global framework in the retrieval of spatial information. The implications for these findings are discussed in terms of music\ud cognition as well as spatial memory literature