By: Lindsey Murphy, OTR/L
We’ve all had those mornings when our timing is less than ideal. We might oversleep, move too slowly while getting ready, spill our coffee, burn the breakfast, drive too quickly to work, and realize we’ve forgotten the lunch that we hastily packed at home. Fortunately, we are often able to remedy these occasional deficiencies in our neural timing as the day goes on in order to regulate to a more natural rhythm in which to complete our activities.
While these mornings are often an aberration for many individuals, struggling to maintain a consistent rhythm throughout activities can be a daily occurrence for others. Children or adults with cognitive, sensory, motor, and/or neurological impairments often require additional training in order to synchronize the neural pathways in the brain to improve rhythm and neural timing.
What is the concept of neural timing and why is it so critical to daily functioning? If we picture the brain as a complex highway system, neural timing is similar to the flow of traffic on the road. A variety of factors affect a car’s ability to travel across and properly navigate this complex highway system: the number of other cars on the road, the amount of available routes, and the ability to navigate around gridlocks. In relation to the brain, the neural pathways are the highways that must be both accessible and available in order to perform all daily tasks. Neural timing is what connects our thoughts with physical movements and impacts every activity that a person does throughout the day: speaking, walking, reading, playing sports or instruments, focusing, self-care, interacting with others, etc. Without precise neural timing, children or adults may experience difficulty with attention, coordination, self-regulation, sports performance, sensory integration, memory, sequencing, math, writing, reading, language, and a variety of other critical skills.
As the utilization of these skills is imperative for all individuals throughout their daily activities, it is very necessary to accurately measure and improve neural timing. One evidence-based tool that is widely used as a therapy tool is the Interactive Metronome (IM) program. This computer program is interactive and motivating for many individuals through the use of games, visuals, and feedback. It is designed to measure how many milliseconds an individual is from the beat. The “beat” or metronome sound is generally set at 54 beats per minute due to research that shows that this is the ideal rate for most people’s daily performance. This rate allows people to rhythmically and leisurely find the beat while synchronizing the brain at the same time. IM uses a variety of triggers that participants can hit in order to accurately measure and eventually self-correct their natural timing and rhythm. When utilizing the hand trigger and moving both arms simultaneously in an outward arcing circle, this repetitive movement can increase the skill of bilateral coordination.
One of the benefits to using the Interactive Metronome program with trained therapists is that a variety of other skills can be incorporated in addition to the standard use of this tool in order to further maximize progress. A few of the many skills that can be incorporated while simultaneously improving neural timing and rhythm include divided attention, balance, gross motor, midline crossing, pressure gradation, impulse control, coordination, reflex integration, finger isolation, etc.
To receive more information on the Interactive Metronome program or to read a variety of success stories and research articles, visit www.interactivemetronome.com. Occupational therapists at PK Therapy are trained and certified in the Interactive Metronome program and can provide additional requested information as well.