SynthesisJournal of medical Internet research2023
Effects of Music on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Potential Application in Serious Video Games: Systematic Review.
Synthesis in Journal of medical Internet research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- A narrative review on the psychological mechanisms and efficacy of music interventions for improving symptoms of patients with ADHD.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Review
- Article
- How Familiarity, Musical Affinity, and ADHD Shape Adolescents' Perception of Musical Emotions.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Holistic Management of Adult ADHD with a History of Addiction: Emphasis on Low-Addiction-Risk Psychopharmacotherapy.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Effectiveness of Serious Games as Digital Therapeutics for Enhancing the Abilities of Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): Systematic Literature Review.JMIR serious games · 2025Review
- Exploring the Intersection of ADHD and Music: A Systematic Review.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Effectiveness of a Virtual Reality Serious Video Game (The Secret Trail of Moon) for Emotional Regulation in Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Randomized Clinical Trial.JMIR serious games · 2025Article
- Rhythms of relief: perspectives on neurocognitive mechanisms of music interventions in ADHD.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Enhancing cognitive abilities in young adults with ADHD through instrumental music training: a comparative analysis of musicians and non-musicians.Psychological research · 2024Article
- Effects of Background Music on Attentional Networks of Children With and Without Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Case Control Experimental Study.Interactive journal of medical research · 2024Article
- Measuring attention of ADHD patients by means of a computer game featuring biometrical data gathering.Heliyon · 2024Article
- Effectiveness of a Serious Video Game (MOON) for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Protocol for a Randomized Clinical Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2024Article
- Integrating music therapy and video games in cognitive interventions: innovative applications of closed-loop EEG.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has a considerable impact on an individual's daily life. Some difficulties with timing deficits may be associated with deficiencies in attention, reading, language skills, or executive function. Music therapy, either active (playing an instrument) or passive (listening to music) has demonstrated its efficacy in reducing symptomatology in many disorders. Video games may prove to be a useful assessment and treatment tool in compensating for the difficulties with multimodal treatment in ADHD.
objectiveThe aim of the study is to (1) analyze the evidence that music is beneficial in reducing the symptomatology of ADHD using systematic review and (2) propose the application of music in video games following music therapy strategies.
methodsSearches were conducted in PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane, and gray literature (Google Scholar and WorldCat). We used the following search syntax: ((music[Title/Abstract]) or (music therapy[Title/Abstract])) and (attention deficit disorder[MeSH or thesaurus term]).
resultsOf the 70 records identified, 17 provided findings that music can be beneficial in various domains of ADHD. Active music therapy improves hemispheric synchrony, social skills, aggressivity, and impulsivity. Passive music therapy improves academic skills like arithmetic, drawing, and reading comprehension, as well as attention and disruptive behaviors. The effects depend on the music genre, tempo, or task difficulty. Music in video games was generally found to be beneficial for people with ADHD. Music improves immersion and flow while playing video games. Using rhythm may also improve timing skills and immersion in patients with ADHD. Regarding the proposed application of aspects of music to therapeutic video games for ADHD, some paradigms in timing and music therapy were considered in the proposed design of video games.
conclusionsImproving ADHD treatment through the application of music in video games is proposed.
trial registrationPROSPERO CRD42021288226; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=288226.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.