Introduction
The purpose of this pilot study was to explore the potential for the use of binaural
auditory beat stimulation to reduce the symptom of inattention in children and adolescents
with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Methods
This pilot study had a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design. Twenty
participants were randomly assigned to listen to either an audio program on compact
disk that contained binaural auditory beats or a sham audio program that did not have
binaural beats for 20 minutes, three times a week for 3 weeks. The Children's Color
Trails Test, the Color Trails Test, the Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA), and
the Homework Problem Checklist were used to measure changes in inattention pre- and
postintervention.
Results
Repeated measures analysis of variance was used to analyze pre- and postintervention
scores on the Color Trails Tests, Homework Problem Checklist, and the TOVA. The effect
of time was significant on the Color Trails Test. However, there were no significant
group differences on the Color Trails Test or the TOVA scores postintervention. Parents
reported that the study participants had fewer homework problems postintervention.
Discussion
The results from this study indicate that binaural auditory beat stimulation did not
significantly reduce the symptom of inattention in the experimental group. However,
parents and adolescents stated that homework problems due to inattention improved
during the 3-week study. Parents and participants stated that the modality was easy
to use and helpful. Therefore, this modality should be studied over a longer time
frame in a larger sample to further its effectiveness to reduce the symptom of inattention
in those diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Key words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 04, 2009
Footnotes
Oral Presentation-National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties, April 22, 2006, Orlando, FL.
Identification
Copyright
© 2010 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
