scholarly journals Music therapy as treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paloma Abrantes de Oliveira ◽  
Maria Eduarda Duarte de Oliveira ◽  
Petrina Rezende de Souza ◽  
Rafaela Duarte Silva ◽  
Ronald Godinho de Oliveira Silva ◽  
...  

Introduction: Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects social communication1 .Music is great for individuals with ASD, because it interacts with the brain, contributing with cognitive and psychosocial benefits2,3. Furthermore, music is emotional and promotes movement synchronization, being a non-pharmacological option for the treatment of ASD3 . Objective: To investigate the positive impacts of using music therapy for cognition in patients with ASD. Methodology: Controlled and randomized clinical trials, in English, performed on humans, in the last 5 years, indexed on PubMed, were selected from the descriptors “autism spectrum disorder” and “music therapy”. This review was registered on PROSPERO by protocol 254495 and the PRISMA recommendation was used to improve its organization. Results: Music therapy was efficient in improving the symptoms of children with ASD, because of the better sensitivity of individuals to music than words4 . In addition, music is able to restore brain connectivity, which is altered in TEA5 . Musical and emotional attunement allows synchronization, integrating the senses and affective regulation, improving self-awareness6. During therapy, there was a reduction in the diagnostic scale of ASD, indicating an improvement in communicative and social skills. Furthermore, it was noted that children became more socially responsive, but there were differences, suggesting the need to balance individual and methodological treatment7 . Finally, music therapy contributes to children’s well-being and health8,9. Conclusion: Evidence suggests that patients with ASD can benefit from music therapy, as it explores and expands the physical and mental limits of the autistic person, stimulating agility, communication and motor control.

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 1588
Author(s):  
Yunho Jin ◽  
Jeonghyun Choi ◽  
Seunghoon Lee ◽  
Jong Won Kim ◽  
Yonggeun Hong

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is accompanied by social deficits, repetitive and restricted interests, and altered brain development. The majority of ASD patients suffer not only from ASD itself but also from its neuropsychiatric comorbidities. Alterations in brain structure, synaptic development, and misregulation of neuroinflammation are considered risk factors for ASD and neuropsychiatric comorbidities. Electroencephalography has been developed to quantitatively explore effects of these neuronal changes of the brain in ASD. The pineal neurohormone melatonin is able to contribute to neural development. Also, this hormone has an inflammation-regulatory role and acts as a circadian key regulator to normalize sleep. These functions of melatonin may play crucial roles in the alleviation of ASD and its neuropsychiatric comorbidities. In this context, this article focuses on the presumable role of melatonin and suggests that this hormone could be a therapeutic agent for ASD and its related neuropsychiatric disorders.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Emmett Sutherland

<p>This study aimed to discover how the key competencies featured in student music therapy with three children who have autism spectrum disorder. Individual music therapy was carried out in the natural environment of a primary school and clinical notes were developed to record events and reflections on the sessions. This data was then retrospectively analysed in a process known as secondary analysis which used inductive and deductive techniques. A process of thematically analysing data revealed that the three children with autism spectrum disorder demonstrated the key competencies in diverse ways in music therapy, such as through letting their personalities shine (managing self) and relating from shared histories and relationships (relating to others), and that I assisted the development of the key competencies for children in equally diverse ways, such as, by being well-being focused, giving openly and making music therapy child-led. A clinical vignette is used to illustrate the findings. Additionally, it is suggested that the unique ways in which the key competencies are used in arts education and music therapy could be considered to a greater extent in the New Zealand Curriculum definitions of the competencies.</p>


2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S457-S457
Author(s):  
E. Zaky

BackgroundAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by impaired social and communicative abilities as well as restricted, repetitive, stereotyped pattern of behaviors, interests, and activities. Significant difficulties in social interactions in autistics are manifested by impairment in eye-to-eye contact, social reciprocity, and response to emotional cues.ObjectiveHighlighting the neurological basis of normal face processing and its abnormalities in ASD with percussions on the management plan of autistic children.SummaryHuman face processing that was proved to be compromised in autistic individuals is pivotal for proper social interactions. Such simple spontaneous perceptual task in normal children is carried out by face processing areas of the brain; fusiform gyrus, superior temporal sulcus, and amygdala. Behavioral, electrophysiological, and neuroimaging studies showed evidences of dysfunction of such areas in autistics who often focus on face periphery and cannot interpret that it tells something about a person's state of mind. Very early targeted intervention can stimulate face processing areas of the brain during the early developmental phases of social brain circuitry which in turn will help autistics to pay attention to faces and learn to understand emotional expressions.ConclusionEventually, prevention or at least significant amelioration of severity and symptomatology spectrum of autism might be possible.Disclosure of interestThe author have not supplied his declaration of competing interest.


Diagnostics ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aitana Pascual-Belda ◽  
Antonio Díaz-Parra ◽  
David Moratal

The study of resting-state functional brain networks is a powerful tool to understand the neurological bases of a variety of disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In this work, we have studied the differences in functional brain connectivity between a group of 74 ASD subjects and a group of 82 typical-development (TD) subjects using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We have used a network approach whereby the brain is divided into discrete regions or nodes that interact with each other through connections or edges. Functional brain networks were estimated using the Pearson’s correlation coefficient and compared by means of the Network-Based Statistic (NBS) method. The obtained results reveal a combination of both overconnectivity and underconnectivity, with the presence of networks in which the connectivity levels differ significantly between ASD and TD groups. The alterations mainly affect the temporal and frontal lobe, as well as the limbic system, especially those regions related with social interaction and emotion management functions. These results are concordant with the clinical profile of the disorder and can contribute to the elucidation of its neurological basis, encouraging the development of new clinical approaches.


Author(s):  
Neda Ghobadi Samian ◽  
Keivan Maghooli ◽  
Fardad Farokhi

Purpose: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by impaired social interactions. Early detection can prevent the progression of the disease. So far, much research has been done to better diagnose autism. Investigation of brain structure using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) provides valuable information on the evolution of the brain of patients with autism.   Materials and Methods: In this study, we equally selected T1-MRI data from 20 control subjects and 20 patients, aged under 13 years (male and female, right hand and left hand). MRI research has shown that the brain of autistic children has grown locally and globally. In this paper, for the brain volumetric evaluation of autistic patients, the MRI data was segmented and then analyzed with a statistical method, which has been investigated more generally, in both the cortical and subcortical areas. Results: We extracted 110 cortical and subcortical brain areas. The statistical analysis show which areas are important in discriminant between ASD and healthy control groups. According to the results of MRI, an increase in overall growth is seen in the subcortical areas of the brain (amygdala and hippocampus) as well as the cerebellum, but in adults with autism, a decrease in brain volume is seen. Conclusion: In this study, we analyze the T1-MRI data of ASD subjects for early detection of Autism disorder. Our results were shown in the 6 brain areas that have P-values under 0.005. These areas are important in the early detestation and treatment of ASD.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Emmett Sutherland

<p>This study aimed to discover how the key competencies featured in student music therapy with three children who have autism spectrum disorder. Individual music therapy was carried out in the natural environment of a primary school and clinical notes were developed to record events and reflections on the sessions. This data was then retrospectively analysed in a process known as secondary analysis which used inductive and deductive techniques. A process of thematically analysing data revealed that the three children with autism spectrum disorder demonstrated the key competencies in diverse ways in music therapy, such as through letting their personalities shine (managing self) and relating from shared histories and relationships (relating to others), and that I assisted the development of the key competencies for children in equally diverse ways, such as, by being well-being focused, giving openly and making music therapy child-led. A clinical vignette is used to illustrate the findings. Additionally, it is suggested that the unique ways in which the key competencies are used in arts education and music therapy could be considered to a greater extent in the New Zealand Curriculum definitions of the competencies.</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (40) ◽  
pp. 6771-6786
Author(s):  
Geir Bjørklund ◽  
Nagwa Abdel Meguid ◽  
Maryam Dadar ◽  
Lyudmila Pivina ◽  
Joanna Kałużna-Czaplińska ◽  
...  

As a major neurodevelopmental disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) encompasses deficits in communication and repetitive and restricted interests or behaviors in childhood and adolescence. Its etiology may come from either a genetic, epigenetic, neurological, hormonal, or an environmental cause, generating pathways that often altogether play a synergistic role in the development of ASD pathogenesis. Furthermore, the metabolic origin of ASD should be important as well. A balanced diet consisting of the essential and special nutrients, alongside the recommended caloric intake, is highly recommended to promote growth and development that withstand the physiologic and behavioral challenges experienced by ASD children. In this review paper, we evaluated many studies that show a relationship between ASD and diet to develop a better understanding of the specific effects of the overall diet and the individual nutrients required for this population. This review will add a comprehensive update of knowledge in the field and shed light on the possible nutritional deficiencies, metabolic impairments (particularly in the gut microbiome), and malnutrition in individuals with ASD, which should be recognized in order to maintain the improved socio-behavioral habit and physical health.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-174
Author(s):  
Koichi Kawada ◽  
Nobuyuki Kuramoto ◽  
Seisuke Mimori

: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disease, and the number of patients has increased rapidly in recent years. The causes of ASD involve both genetic and environmental factors, but the details of causation have not yet been fully elucidated. Many reports have investigated genetic factors related to synapse formation, and alcohol and tobacco have been reported as environmental factors. This review focuses on endoplasmic reticulum stress and amino acid cycle abnormalities (particularly glutamine and glutamate) induced by many environmental factors. In the ASD model, since endoplasmic reticulum stress is high in the brain from before birth, it is clear that endoplasmic reticulum stress is involved in the development of ASD. On the other hand, one report states that excessive excitation of neurons is caused by the onset of ASD. The glutamine-glutamate cycle is performed between neurons and glial cells and controls the concentration of glutamate and GABA in the brain. These neurotransmitters are also known to control synapse formation and are important in constructing neural circuits. Theanine is a derivative of glutamine and a natural component of green tea. Theanine inhibits glutamine uptake in the glutamine-glutamate cycle via slc38a1 without affecting glutamate; therefore, we believe that theanine may prevent the onset of ASD by changing the balance of glutamine and glutamate in the brain.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kohei Kitagawa ◽  
Kensuke Matsumura ◽  
Masayuki Baba ◽  
Momoka Kondo ◽  
Tomoya Takemoto ◽  
...  

AbstractAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by core symptoms of impaired social behavior and communication. Recent studies have suggested that the oxytocin system, which regulates social behavior in mammals, is potentially involved in ASD. Mouse models of ASD provide a useful system for understanding the associations between an impaired oxytocin system and social behavior deficits. However, limited studies have shown the involvement of the oxytocin system in the behavioral phenotypes in mouse models of ASD. We have previously demonstrated that a mouse model that carries the ASD patient-derived de novo mutation in the pogo transposable element derived with zinc finger domain (POGZWT/Q1038R mice), showed ASD-like social behavioral deficits. Here, we have explored whether oxytocin (OXT) administration improves impaired social behavior in POGZWT/Q1038R mice and found that intranasal oxytocin administration effectively restored the impaired social behavior in POGZWT/Q1038R mice. We also found that the expression level of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) was low in POGZWT/Q1038R mice. However, we did not detect significant changes in the number of OXT-expressing neurons between the paraventricular nucleus of POGZWT/Q1038R mice and that of WT mice. A chromatin immunoprecipitation assay revealed that POGZ binds to the promoter region of OXTR and is involved in the transcriptional regulation of OXTR. In summary, our study demonstrate that the pathogenic mutation in the POGZ, a high-confidence ASD gene, impairs the oxytocin system and social behavior in mice, providing insights into the development of oxytocin-based therapeutics for ASD.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document