Moonlight Sonata effect on mental health and brain function. Mini Review and insights.

Classical music has been extensively employed in clinical studies as a prompt to psychological state and/or cerebral function. There are several studies regarding pieces written by Mozart, mainly on the famous Piano Sonata K.448, a musical piece that has been proved to be effective in the case of epileptic patients. On the contrary, studies on the health impact of the music excerpt “Moonlight Sonata,” i.e., Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14, Op. 27 No.2 first movement, written in C-sharp minor music scale, are much fewer. Nevertheless, during the last decade (2016 - 2026) there is some increment in those studies. This mini review summarizes the so far existing clinical data on the health impact of hearing experience of the Moonlight Sonata, on healthy humans of varying age, from neonates to grown-up young adults but also on stroke patients. Experimental results on rats and dogs are also reviewed for comparison. Furthermore, this work gives an insight into the possible mechanisms depending on the musical harmonic characteristics of the excerpt and a proposal mode for future studies. It may also serve as a guide on approaching the Moonlight Sonata as a sound experimental intervention.