Overview - How It Works - Who Uses It - Case Studies

RESEARCH

IM Academic Studies (Presented at the Learning & the Brain Conference at Harvard in 2005, Appending Publication)
Click here to read the Brief of: "The Impact of Synchronized Metronome Tapping Treatments on School Achievement:  A Report of Two Preliminary Investigations."

Imaging/MRI in Defining Auditory-Motor Processing Network Study
Auditory-motor processing is complex, working through multipal neuronetworks.  This present study provides a preliminary analysis of possible structures involved, specifically: Cingulate Gyrus, Temporal Gyrus, Superior Frontal Gyrus.  Of note is the significance of bilateral activation for these tasks.  Repetitive auditory-motor training, specifically IM holds promise for neuroplasticity of higher and lower brain centers.
Click here to read the Results Summary

St. Thomas Aquinas Study
The staff of Interactive Metronome, Inc. trained 29 student/athletes from St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. IM training was conducted on a group basis with 15-17 student-athletes working in each of two groups in a computer classroom. Training occurred over a span of 15 days. Timing and focus results produced and measured by the Interactive Metronome®. Mental processing results measured by a nationally standardized test for academic achievement. Functional improvements and execution results provided by the student-athletes themselves through a written survey conducted post IM training.
Click here to Read the Results

ADHD Study
A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 9 to 12-year-old boys diagnosed with ADHD found those undergoing IM treatment showed significant patterns of improvement in attention, coordination, motor control, language processing, reading and control of aggression/impulsivity. This study was published in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy, March 2001.

Motor Control Study
In a study by P.M. Stemmer, “Improving Student Motor Integration by use of an Interactive Metronome,” presented at the 1996 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Association in Chicago, IL, a comparison of a group of special education students who received treatment with IM to a control group showed that the IM group improved significantly in both motor control and motor coordination as evaluated by independent measures (Bruininks-Oseretsky and SIPT Motor Accuracy Test). Parents of the IM group members also reported marked improvement in their children's ability to attend to tasks, read, and write as well as in their general behavior.

Timing in Child Development Study
A correlation study of 585 children in a public school district found significant correlations between IM score and academic performance in reading, mathematics, language, science, social studies, and study skills. The researchers concluded that timing and rhythmicity play a foundational role in the cognitive processes underlying performance in these academic areas. The results were published by the High/Scope Foundation, a non-profit educational research institution.

Academic Fluency Study
More than 1500 middle and high school students were pre-tested using selected subtests of the Woodcock Johnson III (WJ III) standardized test. The students then received 12 one-hour sessions of IM. When the IM treatment was complete, the students were post-tested using the same subtests of the WJ III. Analysis of the aggregate results showed statistically significant increases in students grade equivalent (GE) performances in the following areas:

• Reading Fluency increased by 2.25 (GE)
• Math Fluency increased by 1.7 (GE)

High School Academic Study
The largest public school in Florida conducted a controlled study of 360 ninth and tenth grade students to examine the correlation between improvements in students' timing and academic achievement. Post-test results showed the IM group scored significantly higher in broad reading and reading fluency as compared to the Control Group. Those students' math calculation skills, math fluency, and attention also improved significantly.

Title I Study
This study involved fourth and fifth grade students identified as Title I eligible and scoring in the lowest three stanines on the reading subtest of Stanford Achievement Test Edition Nine. Forty of the students participated in 12 sessions of IM training. Forty other students formed the Control Group and were matched to Research Group students on the basis of School Ability Index scores from the Otis Lennon School Ability Test.

• The Research and Control Groups were both pre-and post-tested with the Woodcock Johnson III reading and math fluency subtests. The Research (IM) Group achieved significantly higher post-test reading fluency performance (1.67 grade equivalency higher) than did the Control Group.
• The STAR reading assessment was also administered pre-and post-training. The results of the IM-treated students demonstrated increases averaging one to two grade levels.
• The students' pre and post-training Stanford Achievement Test Ability-Achievement Comparison (AAC) range standings were also reviewed. As a group, the students in the IM Group increased their AAC range standing from Low (achievement is below ability) to Middle (achievement is at ability level) or High (achievement is above expectations). The Control Group, on the other hand, either remained at the Low or Middle range or decreased from Middle to Low. *Title I is the largest federal aid program for elementary and secondary schools.
  Click here to read the report

Parkinson's Pilot Study (Full Article pending publication)
This pilot study examined the effect of computer-based motor training activities upon the severity of signs and symptoms in patients with mild or moderate Parkinson’s disease. Methods: Thirty-six subjects were randomly assigned to train using the Interactive Metronome (IM) device, which provides training for rhythmicity and timing, or to a control regimen consisting of motor activities directed by a rhythm or a computer (e.g., clapping or exercising to music or to a metronome tone or playing computer games). The severity of parkinsonism was compared before and after 20 hour-long training sessions as measured by the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) part 3 and, as secondary measures, the UPDRS part 2, the Hoehn and Yahr stage, a timed finger tapping test, and the timed “Up & Go” test. Results: Twelve subjects completed training with the IM device and nine completed the control regimen.

In this controlled pilot study, computer-directed movement training, both with the IM device and with the control training activities, was found to improve the motor signs of parkinsonism, both on clinical examination (UPDRS part 3) and in objective timed tests (finger tapping and the timed “Up & Go” test). This is the first direct demonstration that these types of exercises can improve parkinsonism, lending support for the phrase “use it or lose it” that is often quoted to patients. Non-pharmacologic interventions such as these are highly attractive to patients, and they help to foster a sense of higher personal control over the disease. The use of such interventions is generally embraced by patients with Parkinson’s disease.