Music has sometimes been described as one of the "healing arts." Therapists at MCG Health System certainly think so. They have adapted a tool commonly used by music students and are using it to treat adults and children with ADHD, and other cognitive and physical difficulties.

Known as the interactive metronome, this computer-based program has come a long way from the little ticking box so many of us remember. Patients slip on headphones and listen to auditory tones that mimic a metronome’s steady timing and rhythm. Then they are asked to perform a series of exercises where they clap or tap in time to the tones while wearing special gloves or standing on a special floor mat that records their responses. Guide tones alert the patient if their response was on time, early or late.

The immediate goal of the program is to train the patient to keep time with the metronome’s beat. But this simple action has been found to have profound effects on attention, coordination, control of aggression/impulsivity, motor control and coordination, and even reading, math and language processing.

"Studies have found that timing and rhythm play a basic role in the cognitive process," said Beth Bishop, an occupational therapist at MCG Health System. She compares it to when a child first learns to write his or her ABCs. "You’re taught to write the letters over and over again, until the act of writing becomes an inherent motor response. In the same way, by guiding these patients through certain repetitive exercises, we can transform their brain function."

The interactive metronome affects brain function by retraining the neural pathways to improve timing and synchronization, information processing, focus and concentration, learning and use of both sides of the brain. The simple act of responding in sync to the metronome requires precise, consistent and efficient physical movement and coordination; planning and sequencing of mental processes, accurate recall, and information organization and rapid processing; intense periods of focus, both for short and long durations, and maintenance of focus; and coordinated effort of the left and right sides of the body and brain.

The interactive metronome’s effects are cumulative and can help patients with ADHD/ADD and other learning disorders, autism, sensory integration disorder, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and other degenerative diseases that affect the coordination of brain and muscles.

To make an appointment, please contact the MCG Department of Occupational Therapy and Rehabilitation at 706-721-2481.

MCG Health System is composed of three separate organizations -- MCG Health, Inc. and the clinical services offered by the faculty employees of the Medical College of Georgia and the members of the MCG Physicians Practice Group Foundation. The physicians of MCG Health System are community physicians, faculty employees of the Medical College of Georgia, or employees of the MCG Physicians Practice Group Foundation, not employees of MCG Health, Inc. MCG Health, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation operating the MCG Medical Center, MCG Children’s Medical Center, the MCG Sports Medicine Center, MCG Ambulatory Care Center, the Georgia Radiation Therapy Center and related clinical facilities and services. MCG Health, Inc. was formed to support the research and education mission of the Medical College of Georgia and to build the economic growth of the CSRA, the state of Georgia and the Southeast by providing an environment for faculty employees of the Medical College of Georgia and the MCG Physicians Practice Group Foundation and community physicians to deliver the highest level of primary and specialty health care. For more information, please visit www.MCGHealth.org.