PLAYING a musical instrument requires precise coordination between hearing and movement, a process that relies heavily on children with ADHD engaging in auditory-motor integration. This integration involves combining auditory cues with motor actions, supported by visual and tactile inputs. Musical training strengthens pathways linking auditory and motor systems, improving both sensorimotor skills and broader cognitive functions such as attention, communication, and executive functioning. Key brain regions involved include the superior temporal areas, corpus callosum, and right inferior frontal gyrus, all essential for synchronising perception and action.
Rhythmic Training Supports Cognitive Skills in Children with ADHD
One critical aspect of executive functioning, inhibition control, allows children with ADHD to suppress automatic responses and maintain focus during musical activities. This skill supports timing, synchronisation, and error correction, particularly in ensemble performances. Studies show musicians, including children, demonstrate faster response times on cognitive tasks and stronger neural responses to errors, suggesting enhanced inhibitory control. Rhythmic training, such as clapping or drumming to a beat, further improves interference control and cognitive flexibility, helping children with ADHD maintain attention despite distractions.
Practical Implications for ADHD Interventions
Children with ADHD often display timing and attentional deficits, including difficulty tracking rhythms and impulsive behaviours. Gamified rhythmic training directly targets these deficits, engaging brain areas like the premotor cortex, cerebellum, and basal ganglia while supporting executive functions. In a recent proof-of-concept study, participants completed a tablet-based rhythmic training programme with an 87% completion rate. Results showed improvements in rhythmic abilities, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility.
An active control game was used to ensure that improvements were due to rhythm synchronisation rather than general engagement. High enjoyment ratings indicate that children would be willing to participate in longer training sessions, and even relatively short sessions were sufficient to produce measurable cognitive benefits.
Overall, targeted rhythmic training offers a promising approach to support children with ADHD, enhancing executive functioning, attention, and sensorimotor skills through engaging, evidence-based musical interventions.
Reference
Jamey K et al. Can you beat the music? Validation of a gamified rhythmic training in children with ADHD. Behav Res Methods. 2025;57(11):303.
