ZusammenfassungDie vorliegende Studie stellt das deutschsprachige Gold-MSI-Fragebogeninventar vor, mit dessen Hilfe selbsteingeschätzte musikalische Fähigkeiten und musikalische Expertise erhoben werden können. Der Gold-MSI orientiert sich am mehrdimensionalen Konstrukt der Musikalischen Erfahrenheit, das davon ausgeht, dass musikalische Fähigkeiten und Umgangsweisen nicht allein durch Unterricht an einem Musikinstrument, sondern auch durch die aktive Auseinandersetzung mit Musik in all ihren Facetten erworben werden können. Der an einer großen englischsprachigen Stichprobe entwickelte Fragebogen (Müllensiefen et al., 2014) erfasst musikalische Expertise mittels fünf Faktoren sowie einem globalen Faktor der Allgemeinen Musikalischen Erfahrenheit. Der englische Gold-MSI-Fragebogen wurde ins Deutsche übersetzt, und anhand einer deutschsprachigen Stichprobe (N = 641) konnte die Faktorenstruktur mittels einer konfirmatorischen Faktorenanalyse bestätigt werden. Des Weiteren weisen alle fünf Einzelfaktoren sowie der globale Faktor Allgemeine Musikalische Erfahrenheit gute bis sehr gute Reliabilitäten auf (Werte von Cronbach's alpha zwischen 0,72 und 0,91). Zusätzlich werden Zusammenhänge zwischen Variablen des sozioökonomischen Status und den Faktoren des Gold-MSI in der deutschen Stichprobe anhand eines Strukturgleichungsmodells dargelegt. Das statistische Modell zeigt positive Zusammenhänge zwischen Einkommen und beruflichem Status auf der einen und musikalischer Ausbildung, Wahrnehmungsfähigkeiten und emotionalem Umgang mit Musik auf der anderen Seite

BackgroundStress and anxiety during pregnancy and childbirth have negative consequences for both mother and child. There are indications that music has a positive effect in this situation. The present study investigates the influence of music during the caesarean on anxiety and stress of the expectant mother.MethodsThe SAMBA study is a single-centre, controlled, randomized study including 304 patients. Women in the intervention group heard music via loudspeakers from one of four self-selected genres. The control group had standard treatment without music. The caesarean was performed in regional Anesthesia. At admission, at skin incision, during skin suture and two hours after completion of surgery, different subjective (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, visual analogue scale for anxiety) and objective parameters (salivary cortisol/amylase, heart rate, blood pressure) were collected. Mixed-factorial Analysis of variances as well as independent sample t-tests were applied for data analysis.ResultsAt skin suture, significantly lower anxiety levels were reported in the intervention group regarding State anxiety (31.56 vs. 34.41; p = .004) and visual analogue scale for anxiety (1.27 vs. 1.76; p = .018). Two hours after surgery, the measured visual analogue scale for anxiety score in the intervention group was still significantly lower (0.69 vs. 1.04; p = .018). The objective parameters showed significant differences between the groups in salivary cortisol increase from admission to skin suture (12.29 vs. 16.61 nmol/L; p = .043), as well as systolic blood pressure (130.11 vs. 136.19 mmHg; p = .002) and heart rate (88.40 vs. 92.57/min; p = .049) at skin incision.ConclusionsMusic during caesarean is an easy implementable and effective way of reducing stress and anxiety of the expectant mother.Trial registrationGerman registry for clinical trials (DRKS00007840). Registered 16/06/2015. Retrospectively registered.

Purpose The COVID-19 vaccination is probably the most important source to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. However, recommendations and possibilities for vaccination for pregnant and breastfeeding women are inconsistent and dynamically changing. Methods An anonymous, online, cross-sectional survey was conducted among pregnant and breastfeeding women in Germany between 30th March and 19th April 2021 addressing COVID-19 vaccination attitudes including the underlying reasons for their decision. Additionally, anxiety regarding a SARS-CoV-2 infection and a symptomatic course of the infection were evaluated. Results In total, 2339 women (n = 1043 pregnant and n = 1296 breastfeeding) completed the survey. During pregnancy the majority (57.4%) are not in favour of receiving the vaccine, 28.8% are unsure and only 13.8% would get vaccinated at the time of the survey. In contrast, 47.2% would be in favour to receive the vaccine, if more scientific evidence on the safety of the vaccination during pregnancy would be available. Breastfeeding women show higher vaccination willingness (39.5% are in favour, 28.1% are unsure and 32.5% not in favour). The willingness to be vaccinated is significantly related to the women’s anxiety levels of getting infected and to develop disease symptoms. Main reasons for vaccination hesitancy are the women’s perception of limited vaccination-specific information, limited scientific evidence on vaccination safety and the fear to harm the fetus or infant. Conclusions The results provide important implications for obstetrical care during the pandemic as well as for official recommendations und information strategies regarding the COVID-19 vaccination.

Functional neuroimaging studies have shown activation of the supramarginal gyrus during pitch memory tasks. A previous transcranial direct current stimulation study using cathodal stimulation over the left supramarginal gyrus reported a detrimental effect on short-term pitch memory performance, indicating an important role of the supramarginal gyrus in pitch memory. The current study aimed to determine whether pitch memory could be improved following anodal stimulation of the left supramarginal gyrus. The performances of non-musicians on two pitch memory tasks (pitch recognition and recall) and a visual memory control task following anodal or sham transcranial direct current stimulation were compared. The results show that, post-stimulation, the anodal group but not the control group performed significantly better on both pitch memory tasks; performance did not differ on the face memory task. These findings provide strong support for the causal involvement of the left supramarginal gyrus in the pitch memory process, and highlight the potential efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation as a tool to improve pitch memory.