[01] Maybelline Quek Ju Hui, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College (MMMC), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [02] Priyanka a/p Santharisegar, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College (MMMC), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [03] Nur Farina Azwa Binti Roslan, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College (MMMC), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [04] Zizy Ezreen Binti Ezie Elman, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College (MMMC), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [05] Karthigesan a/l Arumugam, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College (MMMC), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia.

Human brain had shift to a mode for appreciation of sound and music art proven by using brain imaging which shown that the non-dominant hemisphere is more likely to be activated when exposed to music in terms of imagining and emotion. The memory mechanisms of the brain have been proved being improved by listening to music mainly when an event in your past engages with music and now it replays where you tend to recollect every detail of the event. Hence, the objectives of this study is to evaluate the effect of different types of music on visual, number and verbal memory, concentration and reaction time. A randomized controlled trial was conducted in Melaka Manipal Medical College from October-November 2019. A total of 58 students were randomly assigned to either the music group (classical and heavy metal) or control group (did not listen to any music at all). All participants were asked to gather at the computer lab and asked to perform the specific cognitive tests (visual memory, verbal memory, number memory, continuous concentration and reaction time.). Music was played for group A and B before they performed the online test while listening with headphones while for Control group, tests were done without any music intervention. From this study, we found that there is no significant difference (P value >0.05) between the classical, heavy metal and no music group in the verbal memory, visual number memory, concentration and reaction time. Even though not significantly different (P value=0.550), heavy metal group had higher mean score of verbal memory (mean 55.5) than no music group (mean 50.6) and classical (mean 44.5). In this study, classical music does influence visual memory whereas heavy metal music influence verbal and number memory. Besides that, heavy metal music was revealed to have a positive impact on reaction time by having more rapid response.

Randomized Controlled Trial, Music, Intellectual Ability, Cognitive Function, Medical Student

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