BLACKSBURG, Va. – A study at Virginia Tech is working to discover if learning to DJ could help improve symptoms of ADHD.
Neuroscientist Julia Basso and hip-hop scholar Craig Arthur are co-leading the effort, which tests music-making as a “creative, movement-based form of non-drug therapy.”
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“This isn’t about replacing medication. ADHD medications can be effective, but they don’t work for everyone. They can come with side effects, and for some people, the effects wear off by the end of the day. We’re exploring whether something like DJing could be another tool people can use to manage their symptoms and support their well-being.”
Jullia Basso, assistant professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise
Basso has previously researched dance as a way to study social and neural development in those with autism, as well as musical theatre training’s connections with attention and emotion, as well as how exercise, yoga and music therapy can help improve health and cognition.
Arthur was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, and found that the activity helps him focus.
60 participants, mostly Virginia Tech students, joined the study. Half joined a DJ Workshop taught by Arthur, and half worked as a control group that watched hip-hop documentaries and music videos.
In the study four week study, participants met twice a week where their brainwave activity was tracked, as well as physiological responses and self-reported assessments of mood, focus, and executive functioning.
Participants earned $100 for their help, and learned about a new hobby.
One of the participants, Virginia Tech senior Sophia Barthlow, said the following about the study:
“I get through my classwork because I know I’ve got DJing later. It doesn’t necessarily make me more motivated to do stuff I don’t care about, but it makes me feel less terrible doing it because I have something I’m really excited about.”
Sophia Barthlow, senior at Virginia Tech
Julio Gagnon, a mechanical engineering major, also highlighted the pros of the experiment.
“It’s like my brain always has too many tabs open. DJing helped me quiet the noise and channel my energy. If I can afford it, I’ll probably buy my own [DJ] controller.”
Julio Gagnon, mechanical engineering major
The data collected is now being analyzed, and the findings are being prepared for publication.
For the full write-up on the study, click here.