Retracted: Prenatal Exposure to Classical Music Improves Learning and Memory in Adult Rats <subtitle>Possible Anxiolytic or Antistress Effects</subtitle>

Abstract. Background: Exposure to music during pregnancy enhances brain development and improves learning in neonatal rats. Methods: In these experiments, we examined the effects of exposure to silence, hard rock, classical, and rap music in utero plus 60 days postpartum on learning and memory in ad...

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Main Authors: Yuantian Zhang, Morvarid Vatanpour, Marjan Vatanpour, Sepideh Tayyebi, Omid Baghani, Maliheh Abbasnejad
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hogrefe Publishing Group 2024-12-01
Series:European Journal of Psychology Open
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Online Access:https://econtent.hogrefe.com/doi/10.1024/2673-8627/a000018
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author Yuantian Zhang
Morvarid Vatanpour
Marjan Vatanpour
Sepideh Tayyebi
Omid Baghani
Maliheh Abbasnejad
author_facet Yuantian Zhang
Morvarid Vatanpour
Marjan Vatanpour
Sepideh Tayyebi
Omid Baghani
Maliheh Abbasnejad
author_sort Yuantian Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract. Background: Exposure to music during pregnancy enhances brain development and improves learning in neonatal rats. Methods: In these experiments, we examined the effects of exposure to silence, hard rock, classical, and rap music in utero plus 60 days postpartum on learning and memory in adult Wistar rats. Passive avoidance learning (PAL) was assessed at age 60 days, and a retention test was done 24 hours after training. Elevated plus maze (EPM) was also used as a standard behavioral task for assessing the effects of music therapy on anxiety. Furthermore, we measured serum corticosterone levels and adrenal weight at the end of experiments to show the possible effect of stress on the rats’ behavior. Results: Hard rock music impaired acquisition, increasing the number of trials to acquisition in PAL task. Hard rock music also impaired the retrieval process by decreasing step-through latency and increasing time spent in the dark compartment during the retention trial. Further, in the hard rock group, there were increases in serum corticosterone and adrenal weight of rats. Classical music, in turn, improved acquisition learning and retention memory and decreased serum corticosterone levels compared to the silence group. Rats’ exposure to rap music did not show any significant change in acquisition and retrieval processes compared to the silence group. In the EPM task, classical music exposure had anxiolytic-like effects revealed in an increase in the number of entries into open arms and time spent in the open arms. However, in this task, hard rock music induced an anxiogenic effect. Conclusions: Prenatal and postnatal exposure to music improves PAL and memory in adult rats. The effects of music therapy with classical music might be related to stress reduction by lowering corticosterone as a stress biomarker or anxiolytic effects; this deserves further examination.
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spelling doaj-art-57c5976ebc124e3eac7f6ea58508125c2025-01-09T13:30:24ZengHogrefe Publishing GroupEuropean Journal of Psychology Open2673-86272024-12-0183418719510.1024/2673-8627/a000018Retracted: Prenatal Exposure to Classical Music Improves Learning and Memory in Adult Rats <subtitle>Possible Anxiolytic or Antistress Effects</subtitle>Yuantian Zhang0Morvarid Vatanpour1Marjan Vatanpour2Sepideh Tayyebi3Omid Baghani4Maliheh Abbasnejad5Hoarded Fortune Group (Singapore), SingaporeDepartment of Anatomy and Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, IranDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar, IranDepartment of Psychology, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar, IranDepartment of Applied Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Sciences, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar, IranDepartment of Statistics, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar, IranAbstract. Background: Exposure to music during pregnancy enhances brain development and improves learning in neonatal rats. Methods: In these experiments, we examined the effects of exposure to silence, hard rock, classical, and rap music in utero plus 60 days postpartum on learning and memory in adult Wistar rats. Passive avoidance learning (PAL) was assessed at age 60 days, and a retention test was done 24 hours after training. Elevated plus maze (EPM) was also used as a standard behavioral task for assessing the effects of music therapy on anxiety. Furthermore, we measured serum corticosterone levels and adrenal weight at the end of experiments to show the possible effect of stress on the rats’ behavior. Results: Hard rock music impaired acquisition, increasing the number of trials to acquisition in PAL task. Hard rock music also impaired the retrieval process by decreasing step-through latency and increasing time spent in the dark compartment during the retention trial. Further, in the hard rock group, there were increases in serum corticosterone and adrenal weight of rats. Classical music, in turn, improved acquisition learning and retention memory and decreased serum corticosterone levels compared to the silence group. Rats’ exposure to rap music did not show any significant change in acquisition and retrieval processes compared to the silence group. In the EPM task, classical music exposure had anxiolytic-like effects revealed in an increase in the number of entries into open arms and time spent in the open arms. However, in this task, hard rock music induced an anxiogenic effect. Conclusions: Prenatal and postnatal exposure to music improves PAL and memory in adult rats. The effects of music therapy with classical music might be related to stress reduction by lowering corticosterone as a stress biomarker or anxiolytic effects; this deserves further examination.https://econtent.hogrefe.com/doi/10.1024/2673-8627/a000018musicmemorylearninganxietyrats
spellingShingle Yuantian Zhang
Morvarid Vatanpour
Marjan Vatanpour
Sepideh Tayyebi
Omid Baghani
Maliheh Abbasnejad
Retracted: Prenatal Exposure to Classical Music Improves Learning and Memory in Adult Rats <subtitle>Possible Anxiolytic or Antistress Effects</subtitle>
European Journal of Psychology Open
music
memory
learning
anxiety
rats
title Retracted: Prenatal Exposure to Classical Music Improves Learning and Memory in Adult Rats <subtitle>Possible Anxiolytic or Antistress Effects</subtitle>
title_full Retracted: Prenatal Exposure to Classical Music Improves Learning and Memory in Adult Rats <subtitle>Possible Anxiolytic or Antistress Effects</subtitle>
title_fullStr Retracted: Prenatal Exposure to Classical Music Improves Learning and Memory in Adult Rats <subtitle>Possible Anxiolytic or Antistress Effects</subtitle>
title_full_unstemmed Retracted: Prenatal Exposure to Classical Music Improves Learning and Memory in Adult Rats <subtitle>Possible Anxiolytic or Antistress Effects</subtitle>
title_short Retracted: Prenatal Exposure to Classical Music Improves Learning and Memory in Adult Rats <subtitle>Possible Anxiolytic or Antistress Effects</subtitle>
title_sort retracted prenatal exposure to classical music improves learning and memory in adult rats subtitle possible anxiolytic or antistress effects subtitle
topic music
memory
learning
anxiety
rats
url https://econtent.hogrefe.com/doi/10.1024/2673-8627/a000018
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