Music and Attention and Executive Function and Creativity

 

There has been recent research on attention, executive function and music. This research seems to me to be interesting as far as ASD and ADHD are concerned and has some relevance here in my research. Here is an excerpt from an online article, Music and Attention and Executive Function and Creativity by Rachel Guetta and Psyche Loui-

 

“Executive functions (EFs) include processes related to planning and self-control, as well as attention, working memory, mental inhibition, and cognitive flexibility. This subset of cognitive function enables us to readily manipulate and prioritize information, filter through distractors, balance our thoughts, and switch between tasks to optimize cognitive performance.

 

The fundamental EFs, namely inhibition, interference control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility, play important roles in development, intelligence, and social and cognitive health. The question as to whether and how EFs are enhanced through either passive music listening or more active long-term musical training has gained increased attention.

 

The proposition that music and musical training may influence executive functioning has been a topic of debate in recent years, perhaps first widely popularized in media and public interest by the Mozart Effect. The idea that merely listening to music could improve our grades in school, our ability to focus, or even our general IQ was at once exciting and applicable, not to mention marketable. Since the inception of the Mozart Effect, however, research has debunked the idea that passively listening to Mozart can transfer to cognitive gains outside of the musical domain. And so, the questions remain: Does music training confer non-musical advantages? If so, how? The long-term effect of music training is arguably the most active area of music and the brain research today”. Rachel Guetta and Psyche Loui.

 

This kind of research could have a significant effect on the study of inattention with ADHD and hyperfocus with ASD. It seems music has a quantifiable effect on cognitive processes according to this study and brings up the question of music and music composition being a reliable tool to help with the effects of ADHD and does it help to maintain focus whilst composing and listening to other musical examples whilst researching. Is music an ideal tool for the neurodivergent and is it a factor when it comes to executive function and performing mundane tasks related to study?

 

Another study sheds positive light on creativity and the ADHD brain. This study hypotheses that inattentiveness can help towards a flexibility in creative thinking and moving successfully from task to task. -

 

“Creative processes, particularly those requiring flexibility, are associated with cognitive processes and personality traits that also play a role in ADHD. For example, cognitive arousal and high energy are associated with increased flexibility and originality in idea generation. People with (symptoms of) ADHD score higher on aspects of extraversion and openness to experience – personality traits that are associated with flexible creative processes: they are impulsive, highly sensitive to positive, rewarding stimuli, and engage in novelty seeking and risky behaviour more often than people without such symptom. Moreover, a certain degree of distractibility seems to improve flexibility in the generation of ideas and problem solutions.

 

When people take a break from thinking about a creative problem and perform a relatively easy, unrelated task, they subsequently generate more original ideas and solve more problems than people who keep focusing on the problem for extended periods of time. Presumably, the (unconscious) processing of task-unrelated information during creative problem solving expands the associative network so that uncommon associations are activated, resulting in original combinations of information. Thus, being easily distracted by irrelevant information during tasks that require flexible creative processes could be an advantage rather than an obstacle”.  Boot, N,  Nevicka, B,  Baas, M.

 

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