Music and Sound in Time Processing of Children with ADHD

Abstract

ADHD involves cognitive and behavioral aspects with impairments in many environments of children and their families’ lives. Music, with its playful, spontaneous, affective, motivational, temporal, and rhythmic dimensions can be of great help for studying the aspects of time processing in ADHD. In this article, we studied time processing with simple sounds and music in children with ADHD with the hypothesis that children with ADHD have a different performance when compared with children with normal development in tasks of time estimation and production. The main objective was to develop sound and musical tasks to evaluate and correlate the performance of children with ADHD, with and without methylphenidate, compared to a control group with typical development. The study involved 36 participants of age 6–14 years, recruited at NANI-UNIFESP/SP, subdivided into three groups with 12 children in each. Data was collected through a musical keyboard using Logic Audio Software 9.0 on the computer that recorded the participant’s performance in the tasks. Tasks were divided into sections: spontaneous time production, time estimation with simple sounds, and time estimation with music. Results: (1) performance of ADHD groups in temporal estimation of simple sounds in short time intervals (30 ms) were statistically lower than that of control group (p < 0.05); (2) in the task comparing musical excerpts of the same duration (7 s), ADHD groups considered the tracks longer when the musical notes had longer durations, while in the control group, the duration was related to the density of musical notes in the track. The positive average performance observed in the three groups in most tasks perhaps indicates the possibility that music can, in some way, positively modulate the symptoms of inattention in ADHD.

Clinical Implications of the Perception of Time in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A Review

“…The authors concluded that impaired perception of time was a significant component of ADHD, and further investigation into the prevalence of this symptom was needed [30]. A small study in Brazil assessed the effect of music on time processing and estimation and compared children aged between 6–14 years who had ADHD and who were treated with methylphenidate, with children with ADHD who were unmedicated, and TDCs [31]. In this study, music was used with a time estimation exercise and showed that both ADHD groups had impaired performance when compared with controls for time estimation, but that those who were medicated had slightly better estimation times compared with the controls [31].…”

“…A small study in Brazil assessed the effect of music on time processing and estimation and compared children aged between 6–14 years who had ADHD and who were treated with methylphenidate, with children with ADHD who were unmedicated, and TDCs [31]. In this study, music was used with a time estimation exercise and showed that both ADHD groups had impaired performance when compared with controls for time estimation, but that those who were medicated had slightly better estimation times compared with the controls [31]. Music reduced the symptoms of inattention of both the medicated and unmedicated groups with ADHD [31].…”

“…In this study, music was used with a time estimation exercise and showed that both ADHD groups had impaired performance when compared with controls for time estimation, but that those who were medicated had slightly better estimation times compared with the controls [31]. Music reduced the symptoms of inattention of both the medicated and unmedicated groups with ADHD [31].…”

Effect of Modified-Release Methylphenidate on Cognition in Children with ADHD: Evidence from a Temporal Preparation Task

“…It is also known that ADHD children have problems with time processing in general, which may result in time underestimation, suggesting that they have an abnormally fast internal clock with respect to controls (Luman et al, 2009;Toplak et al, 2006), although these deficits may not be observed in musical contexts (Carrer, 2015). Time processing deficits in ADHD may be related to problems with preparation and planning and with hyperactive and impulsive behavior (Oosterlaan et al, 2005;Sergeant et al, 2002).…”

Mental health and music engagement: review, framework, and guidelines for future studies

“…Regarding other aspects of externalizing, some studies demonstrate children with ADHD have poor rhythm skills, opening a possibility that working on rhythm skills may impact ADHD [78,79]. For example, music might serve as a helpful scaffold (e.g., for attention) due to its regular, predictable rhythmic beat.…”