Can Drumming Improve Brain Function in Autism?
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Can Drumming Improve Brain Function in Autism? An investigation into the efficacy of a drumming intervention on neural connectivity, social skills, anxiety and repetitive behaviour in a group of 16-19 year olds with Autism Spectrum Disorder
IRAS ID
244623
Contact name
Steven Williams
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Kings College London
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 12 days
Research summary
In this study we are testing the effect of learning to drum on brain structure and function in 16-19 year olds with autism. For our principal research question, we aim to replicate the main effect of drum training on brain plasticity as reported earlier in healthy volunteers (Amad et al., 2016) and explore the effect of drum training on the autistic brain vs neurotypical, age and gender matched controls.
We will recruit the projected sample of 32 participants largely from an existing database of individuals diagnosed with autism who have participated in previous MR experiments and consented to be contacted about further studies but we will also recruit some participants from within SLAM(South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust). Once the participants have passed a screening process and agreed to participate in our study, they will be invited to the Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences to be assessed for their drumming skills (30 minutes), undergo some psychological testing (60 minutes) and receive an MRI scan (60 minutes). Psychological testing will include a cognitive test battery assessing IQ, symptom intensity of the autistic phenotype and fine motor skills. After this initial assessment, half of the participants will receive drum training (for 30 minutes, three times per week) over an eight week period and half will not. Drum Training will take place at a variety of locations best suited to the volunteers in order to minimise inconvenience to the participants. This will include access to appropriate facilities both locally in London and at the University of Chichester. All MRI scanning, assessing of drumming abilities and cognitive testing before and after drum training will be done at the Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences at King`s College London. After the drum training has been finished, all participants undergo the same testing battery as on the initial assessment.
REC name
London - City & East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/1153
Date of REC Opinion
10 Aug 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion