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Washington DC [USA] Nov. 7 (ANI): According to a new study, participating in musical activities such as singing and playing an instrument during an individual therapy can enhance social communication skills autistic children and improve their family's quality of life, as well as increase brain connectivity in key networks.
The study was published in the Journal of Translational Psychiatry. The link between Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and music dates back to the first description of autism more than 70 years ago, when nearly half of these had a "perfect tone" . Since then, many anecdotes about the profound impact that music can have on people with ASD, but little convincing evidence of its therapeutic benefits
To get a more accurate picture, researchers at the International Laboratory University's Brain, Music and Sound Research Center (BRAMS) and the McGill School of Communication (SCSD) asked 51 children aged 6 to 12 with ASD to participate in a clinical trial involving a musical intervention for three months.
First, parents completed questionnaires about their child's social communication skills and quality of life, as well as the severity of their child's symptoms. Children underwent MRI to establish a basis of brain activity.
The children were then randomly divided into two groups: one involving music and the other not. Each session lasted 45 minutes and was held at Westmount Music Therapy
In the music group, the children sang and played different musical instruments, working with a therapist to engage a reciprocal interaction. The control group worked with the same therapist and also engaged in reciprocal play without any musical activity.
Following the sessions, parents of children in the music group reported significant improvements in their children's communication skills and quality of family life. for the control group. Parents of children from both groups did not report any reduction in the severity of autism.
"These results are exciting and very promising for an autism intervention," said author of the study, Megha Sharda.
Data collected during MRI examinations suggest that improved communication skills in children who have undergone musical intervention could be the result of increased connectivity between brain regions auditory and motor, and a reduced connectivity between the auditory and visual areas, which are generally seen as being too connected in people with autism.
Sharda explained that optimal connectivity between these regions is crucial for the integration of sensory stimuli into our environment and is essential for social interaction. For example, when we communicate with another person, we must pay attention to what she says, plan in advance to find out when it is our turn to talk and ignore irrelevant noise. . For people with autism, this can often be a challenge.
This is the first clinical trial showing that musical intervention with autistic children of school age can lead to improved communication and connectivity of the brain, and provides a possible neuroscientific explanation.
"The universal appeal of music makes it universally applicable and can be implemented with relatively few resources on a large scale, in many contexts such as home and school," explained Aparna Nadig, lead author of the study.
Source: ANI
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