Music and the brain

A lot of research has been done in the past years to see how music actually affects the brain: whether that be listening to, composing, creating, improvising, etc. What we’re starting to see is that music affects the brain holistically, incorporating more brain activity than almost any other activity! In fact, it’s documented that musicians have the largest corpus calossum than any other people … pianists having the second largest (as they need to coordinate both hands primarily) and drummers the largest (as it requires coordination of both hands and feet at the same time!)

Here’s a few links of interest:

Music Moves Brain to Pay Attention – From Science Daily
Daniel Levitan’s research on Music and f-MRI – As a note, Daniel Levitan is leading the study of learning how music affects brain activity at McGill: his book This Is Your Brain on Music is incredible!
Is the brain pre-wired for music? Click here to find out!

A Lot of Research on ADHD and Music Therapy

I found this page which lists and summarizes research articles and websites related to ADHD and music therapy.  Topics include how to reinforce good behaviour, general knowledge on the practice of music therapy, and references for music therapists.

Definitely worth checking out!

Punk music??

I found this website, and thought it was interesting, continuing on the same vein as my previous “tempo” post …
This is the website of an American music therapist, who uses traditional music therapy interventions with kids with attention deficit disorders, but also hard rock and punk music, finding that it’s beneficial for kids struggling with attention issues.

Take a look here!

Study using music with kids with ADHD in US

Here’s an collection of abstracts of studies that have been done in the United States, and published by the American Music Therapy Association, seeing whether music therapy interventions are helpful with kids suffering with attention disorders. Brief, but insightful!

Click here to read

Music therapy interventions and resources for ADHD

I found this website of a music therapist, and music therapy professor outlining how music therapy can be used with children with attention disorders.

Click here to read!

Music Therapy Resources

For people who want to find out more about music therapy in Canada, go to:

MTABC – Music Therapy Association of British Columbia
CAMT – Canadian Association of Music Therapists
MTAA – Music Therapy Association of Alberta

Also, there are several programs for Music Therapy training in Canada:

Capilano University
Acadia University
Wilfred Laurier Univeristy
Canadian Mennonite University
Concordia University
University of Windsor

Arithmetic Test Studies

Just found this pdf! Thought it was intriguing, as it details a study as to how kids with and without ADHD did on an arithmetic test with music, speech, and silence surrounding them.

http://www.ccta.us/downloads/research/MT_ADHD.pdf

Interestingly, non-afflicted children performed similarly under all 3 conditions, while ADHD children found significant improvement when surrounded by music rather than speech or silence.

Again, constant rhythm seems to get children with ADHD into a more constant, organized mindset!

More from Therapist Stephen Williams

I asked Mr. Williams a few more questions. Here are his replies:

1. Assuming the therapist is conducting one 45 minute sessions per week with the child, approximately how long until the parents begin to notice a difference in their child’s behavior (attention, impulsivity, hyperactivity)?
  Unfortunately, it depends on the child.  When I work with a child for the first time, I encourage the parents to sit in on the session for a number of reasons: they can see how I work, and carry a few techniques into the home regarding behaviour; children often feel more comfortable with a stranger when the parents are nearby; and this gives me a chance to assess the family unit to see if there is a larger systematic problem.  From a Music Therapy perspective, the parents might notice a difference if they use some of the techniques at home in about three sessions.  A Music Therapist then might continue working with the child for a year or more.

2. What is the main difference in the child’s behavior that the parents’ first notice? (How can they be sure they are getting their money’s worth?)
  If the parents have a drum set, a congo drum, a piano or other instrument that the child can go to, they may notice the child chooses to go to an instrument to express their hyperactivity and impulsiveness.  This is likely a huge change compared to the first Music Therapy session.   Also, your question is probably very difficult to prove, given the children I know with ADHD are in a variety of therapies – often in four or more therapies regularly.

3. If therapy is discontinued after a certain amount of time, does the child’s behavior tend to revert back to its former ways, or can the effects of therapy stay with a child long after the sessions have stopped?
  This all depends on when the therapy was stopped. After a year of therapy, I would hope the therapist has established an internal locus of control in the child, an outlet for expression for the child, and has helped the parents set some behaviourial boundaries.

Stephen Williams is a registered Music Therapist and is also the coordinator for the MT program at Capilano University in Vancouver BC.

A Conversation on Music and ADD/ADHD

I came across this (http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59278) online message board conversation between many people with ADD and ADHD regarding the benefits they have found from listening to music and using it as a tool to help them focus.

A Summary of Research on Music Therapy and ADHD

The American Music Therapy Association has this (http://www.musictherapy.org/factsheets/Research_ADHD.pdf) summary of 6 scholarly journal articles, one of which you can actually read online.

All 6 articles show that music therapy may be beneficial to children with ADHD