Connecting the ADHD Brain Through Music

The Enriching Power

Of Music

THE MUSIC & LEARNING CONNECTIONResearchers exploring the connection between music and learning noticed that musically-trained people excelled in many areas.

66% of music majors who applied to medical school were accepted, while only 44% of biochemistry majors were admitted. The very best engineers and technical designers in the Silicon Valley industry are, without exception, practicing musicians.Students who study music scored higher on both the verbal and math portions of the SAT than non music students. Students with 10 or more years of music education exhibited significantly greater creativity.They found thatMUSIC HAS THERAPEUTIC POWERMusic can actually reduce brain seizures in common forms of epilepsy.

Music is used as an intervention for controlling pain.

Music is a therapeutic tool for Alzheimer patients.

Improvisational music therapy increases communication skills in children with autism.One of the most valuable outcomes for music us is the lowering of damaging stress hormones.MUSIC CAN IMPROVEOUR HEALTH!Evidence suggests that exposure to music, even in the womb, can facilitate development. Tests with infants as young as 3 months show that they use sound cues as a means to remember.Music increases social interaction in preschoolers.The window of opportunity for music receptivity is open widest in pre-school through middle childhood. MUSIC FOR THE VERY YOUNGTHE BRAIN IS PRIMED FOR MUSICThe highest level of human auditory function is organized to process a musical element (pitch). Attention to music increases cooperation between right and left frontal lobes.Music affects cognitive states, moods, and emotions.

Short- and long-term causal relationships have been found between learning music skills and spatial-temporal reasoning ability. Music instruction involves both declarative and procedural memory. Keyboard training enhances the learning of standard subjects, including math and science.THE BRAIN IS PRIMED FOR MUSICThere are short-term spatial-temporal reasoning gains following listening to classical music like Mozarts, which has symmetry and evolving musical themes.

In the early 90s, a group of college students listened to a work by Mozart before completing a spatial temporal task. Another group performed the task without the music time. The Mozart EffectThe Mozart EffectThe scores of those who listened to the music were significantly higher than those who did not.

The bad news is that the effect only lasts about ten minutes.

Performing or learning music skills: actually builds the brain. The active participation is what is important.

LONG-TERM GAINS THROUGH MUSICEmbedding content in musical/rhythmic carriers: People who write commercials bank on the fact that their ditties will help you recall information.

LONG-TERM GAINS THROUGH MUSICUsing music to generate positive mental states (emotions) for optimal learning and recall: Music has the power to affect human emotionWhen attached to an experience, strong positive emotions stimulate long-term memory.Evidence shows that people in positive frames of mind remember information better than when affected by negative emotions.LONG-TERM GAINS THROUGH MUSICMUSIC PRIMES THE BRAIN FOR LEARNINGMusic primes learners to be receptive to an experience by invoking a suitable emotional climate.

Even when we arent consciously listening, music affects our emotional state. Think about elevators, restaurants, stores and malls.