The effect of learning to drum on behavior and brain function in autistic adolescents [Scholarly Article - PNAS, May 2022]

Title:

The effect of learning to drum on behavior and brain function in autistic adolescents

 

Authors:

Marie-Stephanie Cahart, Ali Amad, Stephen B. Draper, [et al]

Published:

PNAS, Volume 119, No 23, 31 May 2022

https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2106244119

 

Abstract:

This current study aimed to investigate the impact of drum training on behavior and brain function in autistic adolescents with no prior drumming experience. Thirty-six autistic adolescents were recruited and randomly assigned to one of two groups. The drum group received individual drum tuition (two lessons per week over an 8-wk period), while the control group did not. All participants attended a testing session before and after the 8-wk period. Each session included a drumming assessment, an MRI scan, and a parent completing questionnaires relating to the participants’ behavioral difficulties. Results showed that improvements in drumming performance were associated with a significant reduction in hyperactivity and inattention difficulties in drummers compared to controls. The fMRI results demonstrated increased functional connectivity in brain areas responsible for inhibitory control, action outcomes monitoring, and self-regulation. In particular, seed-to-voxel analyses revealed an increased functional connectivity in the right inferior frontal gyrus and the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. A multivariate pattern analysis demonstrated significant changes in the medial frontal cortex, the left and right paracingulate cortex, the subcallosal cortex, the left frontal pole, the caudate, and the left nucleus accumbens. In conclusion, this study investigates the impact of a drum-based intervention on neural and behavioral outcomes in autistic adolescents. We hope that these findings will inform further research and trials into the potential use of drum-based interventions in benefitting clinical populations with inhibition-related disorders and emotional and behavioral difficulties. 

 

FINLAND - Tablet tantrums: Toddlers use of screens leads to behavioral problems in the classroom, Finnish study finds [RT, 2021]

Title:

Tablet tantrums: Toddlers use of screens leads to behavioral problems in the classroom, Finnish study finds

Published:

RT, 18 March 2021

https://www.rt.com/news/518464-finland-children-screens-peers/

From the article:

Scientists say preschoolers who frequently play with tablets or other electronic media have a greater chance of being hyperactive. A short attention span and an inability to concentrate are also more common, and the e-toddlers will have difficulty relating to other children when they’re old enough to go to school.

Also see:

Title:

High-dose electronic media use in five-year-olds and its association with their psychosocial symptoms: a cohort study

 

Authors:

Janette Niiranen, Olli Kiviruusu, Riitta Vornanen, Outi Saarenpää-Heikkilä & Juulia Paavonen

Published:

BMJ Journals, 17 March 2021

https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/3/e040848

Abstract:

Objectives 

This study investigated the frequency of electronic media (e-media) usage by preschool children and the risks of high-dose e-media use on young children’s psychosocial well-being.  

 

Design 

Longitudinal associations between e-media use at 18 months and psychosocial symptoms at 5 years of age were studied, as well as cross-sectional associations between e-media use and psychosocial symptoms at 5 years.  

 

Setting 

Between 2011 and 2017 in Finland.  

 

Participants 

Children aged 5 years (n=699).  

 

Primary and secondary outcome measures 

Children’s psychosocial symptoms were determined at the age of 5 years using the parent-reported questionnaires Five-to-Fifteen (FTF) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).  

 

Results 

Based on our results, 95% of the preschool children exceeded the daily recommended use of e-media set by health professionals. Our results indicate that increased screen time at 5 years of age is associated with a risk of multiple psychosocial symptoms (OR 1.53–2.18, 95% CI 1.05 to 3.34, p<0.05), while increased levels of e-media use at 18 months was only associated with FTF peer problems (OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.04 to 2.41, p=0.03). Moreover, high-dose use of electronic games at the age of 5 years seems to be associated with fewer risks for psychosocial well-being than programme viewing, as it was only associated with SDQ hyperactivity (OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.08 to 2.51, p=0.02).  

 

Conclusion 

Increased screen time has multiple risks for children’s psychosocial well-being. These risk factors seem to be significant in the long term, and are related to problems in children’s socio-emotional development later on. Health professionals and paediatricians have an important role as communicators of the current research results on the safe usage time of e-media for families, and enhancing parents’ skills as regulators of children’s safe e-media use. More research is needed on the family conditions of high-dose e-media users.