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PERSPECTIVE article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Developmental Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1476928
This article is part of the Research Topic Cognitive outcomes and neural mechanisms of music interventions across development View all articles

Rhythms of Relief: Perspectives on Neurocognitive Mechanisms of Music Interventions in ADHD

Provisionally accepted
Zhihui Luo Zhihui Luo 1Da-Wei Zhang Da-Wei Zhang 2*
  • 1 School of Educational Sciences, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
  • 2 Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University, Bandar Sunway, Malaysia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by multiple neurocognitive deficits. Research suggests that music interventions, both active and passive, may be an effective complementary method of addressing ADHD challenges. This narrative review discusses seven potential neurocognitive mechanisms through which music interventions may help mitigate or alleviate ADHD symptoms, including executive function enhancement, timing improvement, arousal regulation, default mode network modulation, neural entrainment, affective management, and social bonding facilitation. Our study synthesized evidence from ADHD-specific studies and examined parallels to other populations to identify possible pathways through which music therapy could exert its effect. The paper also discusses the implications of individualized music interventions tailored to specific neurocognitive profiles in ADHD, advocating additional research to refine and optimize these approaches. Overall, music therapy has substantial potential as a complementary treatment for ADHD, offering new avenues for addressing the psychosocial and cognitive aspects of this condition.

    Keywords: ADHD, Music intervention, Neurocognitive mechanism, Executive Function, Brain activity, social bonding

    Received: 06 Aug 2024; Accepted: 23 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Luo and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Da-Wei Zhang, Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University, Bandar Sunway, Malaysia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.