Effect of music as a physical agent on embryo development

The study is one of the pieces of investigation work which our group will present in the ASEBIR congress. 

Embryo quality is one of the most important factors when attempting to fall pregnant. When determining the quality of an embryo, characteristics such as the number of cells during the first three days of development and any cellular differentiation on day 5 (blastocyst formation) are taken into account. Numerous studies indicate that music as a physical agent can, amongst other things, improve cell proliferation and aid cellular differentiation. The aim of this study was to improve embryo quality by exposing the embryos to classical music for one hour a day during the 5 days of development. The results obtained do not present any significant differences in the number of good quality embryos nor in blastocyst formation rates in the two study groups (those exposed to music and those which were not). However, a trend in terms of a greater number of good quality embryos and a greater blastocyst formation rate amongst the group of embryos which were exposed to music was observed. Further studies are, therefore, necessary in order to determine the actual effect of music as a physical agent on embryo quality.