Aim: 

To evaluate the effect of Mozart's sonata (K. 448) on changes in dopamine (DA) levels in corpus striatum (CS), prefrontal cortex (PFC) and mesencephalon and prolactin (PRL) secretion in adult male Wistar rats.

Methods: 

To carry out this study, the rats were divided into six groups: i) control; ii) treated with bromocriptine (Br: 1 mg/kg sc; two doses for day, in the morning and in the afternoon, during two days); iii) treated with haloperidol (Hal: 2 mg/kg sc, in a single dose); iv) music (the animals received sessions of 5 hours during six days); v) music plus Br; and vi) music plus Hal. The animals were sacrificed two hours after injections of Hal.

Results: 

Music induced a fall in plasma levels of PRL of healthy rats (P<0.05) and harnessed the reduction of PRL caused by Br (P<0.001), whereas it reversed the increase triggered by Hal (P<0.001). Additionally, music prompted the significant increases on DA levels in all groups, being these remarkable in PFC and CS (P<0.001)

Conclusion: 

Having presented that Br is agonist and Hal is antagonistic of D2 receptors, our results suggest that music harnesses the activity and turnover of brain DA.