Music therapy: Latest News

If you want your child or teen to retain more when cramming for a test, or to have laser-like focus when completing homework assignments, crank up the study music.Research indicates that music strengthens areas of the brain that, in children with ADHD, are weak. Music strengthens the auditory, visual/spatial, and motor cortices of the brain.

Do you find your foot tapping or your body swaying almost automatically when a good song begins playing? Our bodies naturally want to synchronize with the rhythms in music. This phenomenon is musical entrainment, a useful tool that helps us use music to regulate not just our motor movements, but our heartbeat and breathing, too.In my clinical experience as a music therapist, I’ve seen how music and other sensory experiences help individuals improve their focus, impulse control, and emotional regulation. Try these fun (and whimsical!) activities, designed to stimulate the sensory pathways (sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell) to relax the body and mind.Grab a light scarf.

May 21, 2025Listening to music while practicing mindfulness exercises may improve focus, mood, and emotional wellbeing in people with symptoms of ADHD, anxiety, and depression, according to two new studies.A systematic review examining the relationship between music and ADHD found that music listening activates brain regions involved in sensory processing, motor control, and motivation — networks that are often dysregulated in individuals with attention deficit.1Traditional thinking suggests that quiet environments help sustain attention; however, the opposite may be true. The review, published in Behavioral Science, indicated that music, especially calm music with or without lyrics, can improve focus and performance in individuals with ADHD, especially when it is heard before or during tasks.

Music therapy‘Music therapy helps to calm people with dementia if they experience states of agitation,’ says Professor Felicity Baker, University of Melbourne. Felicity’s research shows that singing to people with dementia improves their symptoms. ‘This is amazing because dementia is a degenerative disease,’ she says.‘Music also generates autobiographical recall.  If someone with dementia listens to music they know, it stimulates their memories.

website and social media channels.House Party, as the fundraiser is titled, coincides with World Gin Day. Viewers will be able to donate to Nordoff Robins, the UK’s largest musical therapy charity, during the livestream.