Enhancing Memory Retention by Increasing Alpha and Decreasing Beta Brainwaves using Music

Abstract

Brain waves can aptly define the state of a person's mind. High activity and attention lead to dominant beta waves while relaxation and focus lead to dominant alpha waves in the brain. Alpha state of mind is ideal for learning and memory retention. In our experiment we aim to increase alpha waves and decrease beta waves in a person with the help of music to measure improvement in memory retention. Our hypothesis is that, when a person listens to music which causes relaxation, he is more likely to attain the alpha state of mind and enhance his memory retention ability. To verify this hypothesis, we conducted an experiment on 5 participants. The participants were asked to take a similar quiz twice, under different states of mind. During the experimentation process, the brain activity of the participants was recorded and analyzed using MUSE, an off-the-shelf device for brainwave capturing and analysis.