New studies show music lessons can help treat ADHD in kids

According to a new study by the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), taking music lessons increases brain fiber connections in children and may be useful in treating autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

For the study, researchers examined 23 healthy children between the ages of five and six years old. None of the children had been trained in any artistic discipline in the past.

The study participants underwent a pre and post musical training evaluation with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of the brain. DTI is an advanced MRI technique, which identifies microstructural changes in the brain's white matter.

DTI produces a measurement called fractional anisotropy, of the movement of extracellular water molecules along the brains axons. In the brain’s healthy white matter, the direction of extracellular water molecules is fairly uniform and measures high in fractional anisotropy. When water movement is more random, fractional anisotropy values decrease, suggesting abnormalities.

After the children in the study completed nine months of musical instruction using Boomwhackers--percussion tubes cut to the exact length to create pitches in a diatonic scale, DTI results showed an increase in fractional anisotropy and axon fiber length in different areas of the brain, which indicates no abnormalities.

"It's been known that musical instruction benefits children with these disorders," said Pilar Dies-Suarez, M.D., chief radiologist at the Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez in Mexico City.

"But this study has given us a better understanding of exactly how the brain changes and where these new fiber connections are occurring."

The researchers believe that the results of this study could aid in creating targeted strategies for intervention in treating disorders like autism and ADHD.