Interactive Metronome (IM) was developed in the
early 1990s and is used to help children with learning and
developmental disorders as well as adult neuro rehabilitation
patients. IM is a neuro-motor assessment & treatment tool used
in therapy to improve the neurological processes of motor planning
and sequencing.
Motor planning and sequencing are central to
human activity. From the coordinated movements needed to walk, to
the order of words in a sentence, planning and sequencing are
critical to efficient human function. Interactive Metronome (IM) is
the only therapy tool that improves motor planning and sequencing by
using neuro-sensory and neuro-motor exercises developed to improve
the brain's inherent ability to repair or remodel itself through a
process called neuroplasticity.
Clinical Foundation
The human brain's
efficiency and performance depend on the seamless transition of
neuronetwork signals from one area of the brain to another. Findings
in a recent study by Neal Alpiner, MD, "Functional MRI Study of the
Effects of IM on Auditory-Motor Processing Networks", suggest that
IM works by augmenting internal processing speed within the
neuroaxis. The key regions of the brain that are affected appear to
include the cerebellum, prefrontal cortex, cingulate gyrus and basal
ganglia. These parts of the brain are responsible for human timing
as well as other day to day functions such as: sustained attention,
language formulation, motor coordination and balance.
The IM
program provides a structured, goal-oriented process that challenges
the patient to synchronize a range of hand and foot exercises to a
precise computer-generated reference tone heard through headphones.
The patient attempts to match the rhythmic beat with repetitive
motor actions. A patented auditory-visual guidance system provides
immediate feedback measured in milliseconds, and a score is
provided.
Over the course of the treatment, patients learn
to:
- Focus and attend for longer periods of time
- Increase physical endurance and stamina
- Filter out internal and external distractions
- Improve ability to monitor mental and physical
actions as they are occurring
- Progressively improve coordinated performance.
Such patients include:
- Sensory Integration Disorder
- ADD/ADHD
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
- Cerebral Vascular Accident (CVA)
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Cerebral Palsy
- Non-verbal Learning Disorder
- Balance Disorders
- Limb Amputation
- Parkinson's Disease
- Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
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