Rueters Washington -

Rats that have listened to Mozart sonatas since before birth learn faster than other rats, researchers say.

The scientists said their findings reinforce studies that indicate certain kinds of classical music, played to human babies before and after birth, can make them smarter.

Unfortunately for Phillip Glass fans, recordings of his minimalist compositions did not help the rats, the University of Wisconsin researchers found.

Frances Rauscher and colleagues played Mozart, "white noise," or Glass compositions to pregnant rats and their babies for two months after birth.

The researchers then trained the rats to run a maze in search of a food reward.

"The rats exposed to the Mozart work completed the maze more rapidly and with fewer errors than the rats assigned to the other groups," the researchers wrote in the journal Neurological Research.

"This suggests that repeated exposures to complex music induces improved spatial-temporal learning in rats, resembling results found in humans." They noted that spatial abilities are marked in people who are also gifted in mathematics, music or science.