I just learned that the following article is soon to be published (click here for journal info)

This is the second peer-reviewed article to demonstrate a significant positive impact of Interactive Metronome (IM) training on certain reading behaviors in a study with both experimental and control groups.  The other study was one I was involved with (Taub, McGrew, & Keith, 2007; the abstract is presented below).  You can access that complete 2007 manuscript at the Brain Clock blog.

IM-HOME readers may have wondered why I have been MIA from the IM-HOME blog. I simply have been swamped this summer.  I have been very busy accumulating the latest brain network research—research that has direct relevance to understanding how IM improves focus, controlled attention, working memory, and executive functions.  The problem has been that the research literature has been exploding at such a rate that I can barely keep up with reading it—let alone write about it.

But…I now have a goal to start blogging (again) on a regular basis.

First, I want to thank IM for the advance press regarding my IM Keynote in October.  The pressure is on.

The law of individual differences is the only proven law in psychology.  This law has resulted in decades of research regarding theories and models of intelligence and individual differences in intelligence.  Within the past two decades a general consensus has emerged from the psychometric intelligence research that the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory of intelligenceis the most empirically supported taxonomy for understanding the structure of human intelligence.

[Note – this is the first in a series of posts intended to present an integration of intelligence, cognitive neuroscience, and applied neuroscience research with the goal to advance a set of hypotheses or model(s) that explain how the Interactive Metronome® (IM) technology results in improved cognitive functioning—specifically focus or controlled attention]

By Mary Jones OTR/L, LMT, CIMT 

Frank and I had known each other for years.  We became acquainted first socially through a mutual friend and then, sadly, on a professional level.  Headaches had led to brain scans and then on to brain surgery and he had requested that I be his primary therapist.  Traditional therapies were helping but only to a point and following three months of outpatient services I was saddened to hear that his physical therapist was ready to discharge him.  Having known Frank before his accident, I had the advantage of familiarity with his drive to succeed and his passion for independence.  Despite his initial skepticism, Frank had begun to accept his fate that Interactive Metronome was the one card as yet left unturned towards his recovery.  

I have been blogging about brain-clock research at my home base (Brain Clock Blog) for many years and more recently have been blogging at the IM-Home website and blog. A problem with sharing information via blogging is that we bloggers make desired connections via hyperlinks. We insert them so the reader will read prior posts for related or background information. Often readers don’t want to take the time to bounce back and forth between linked stories...

The important of timing in Speed Skating and the use of the Interactive Metronome

Researchers at Korea University College of Medicine (Park et al, 2012) recently conducted a neural imaging study of elite speed skaters to investigate whether training of complex motor skills resulted in structural changes to the cerebellum. The cerebellum responds to intense, repetitive training with increased brain mass in areas critical for skilled motor movement, in this case for control of balance, precisely coordinated movement, and visually guided movement. The authors compared the cerebellums of professional speed skaters to individuals who did not engage in regular exercise. They found that the specific skills required for speed skating that were trained repetitively resulted in structural changes to the brain that enhanced balance and coordination. They also found that the particular side of the cerebellum that was exercised repeatedly was affected (i.e., the right side due to maintaining balance on the right foot during turns). Of note, the cerebellum is also a central part of the brain’s internal timing network. The timing and synchronization of neural signals ultimately controls balance and coordination...

ADHD as a brain network dysfunction—IM as a tool to “fine tune” and control this network.

The explosion of research on large scale brain networks, and the “resting state” or “default mode or default network” in particular, has been dizzying.  I previously reviewedkey brain network research describing the interaction between the default, salience (attention) and executive controlled networks.  The most important conclusion, which was reinforced by my personal experiencewith Interactive Metronome (IM), is that problems with controlled attention (focus) may be responsible for a number of the behavioral symptoms of ADHD—and this is due to the poor ability to suppress the random self-talk “background noise” of the default brain network.  [Click herefor related IM-HOME ADHD posts; click herefor ADHD- related Brain Clock.]

Why Can’t I use a Regular Metronome?

Some parents have asked me if they could just use a regular musical metronome and get the same results as Interactive Metronome at home or IM-Home. A standard metronome is typically used by musicians to help them practice the tempo of music. They have also been used in traditional therapy to help patients with their timing and rhythm, however there is one piece that is missing. – FEEDBACK!

Dr. Stanley Greenspan, a noted expert in autism and child development/disorders, and his team of researchers conducted a study to see whether Interactive Metronome (IM) was a beneficial treatment for children with ADHD. They compared boys who received IM to boys who received either no treatment at all or boys who only played video games to try to improve their ability to focus. They found that those children with ADHD who received IM did far better than those that did not, with significant improvement in the areas of attention, motor skills, language processing, reading, and self-control (i.e., less aggressive behavior).

Shaffer R.J., Jacokes L.E., Cassily J.F., Greenspan S.I., Tuchman R.F., Stemmer P.J. Jr. (2001). Effect of
Interactive Metronome on children with ADHD. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 55, 155–162