Tune in: Music education may help treat ADHD, autism

Researchers have found that children who take music lessons may have improved brain fiber connections, which could potentially be useful in treating autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

“It’s been known that musical instruction benefits children with these disorders,” said Pilar Dies-Suarez, MD, chief radiologist at the Hospital Infantil de Mexico Federico Gomez. “But this study has given us a better understanding of exactly how the brain changes and where these new fiber connections are occurring.”

The work was presented Nov. 30 at RSNA 2016 in Chicago. Previous studies have found that musical activities at a young age can lead to better brain development and improving creativity. This study assessed how musical intervention influences children with ADHD and autism. Examining 23 healthy children from 5 to 6 years old with no previous artistic training, the study had participants undergo pre- and post-musical training evaluations with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to identify tiny changes in white matter in the brain.

Using the DTI fractional anisotropy (FA) measurement, researchers are able to analyze how music affects the brain. With previous studies linking autism and ADHD with low fiber connections and FA, the intervention of music could have an adverse effect and improve patient outcomes.

After nine months of musical training using percussion tubes that create pitches in a diatonic scale, the DTI showed an increase in FA and fiber length in different parts of the brain. These results, according to researchers, could assist in the development of treatment strategies for disorders like autism and ADHD.

“When a child receives musical instruction, their brains are asked to complete certain tasks,” Dies-Suarez said. “These tasks involve hearing, motor, cognition, emotion and social skills, which seem to activate these different brain areas. These results may have occurred because of the need to create more connection between the two hemispheres of the brain."