title: Perception of strong-meter and weak-meter rhythms in children with spina bifida meningomyelocele.
abstract: Neurodevelopmental disorders such as spina bifida meningomyelocele (SBM) are often associated with dysrhythmic movement. We studied rhythm discrimination in 21 children with SBM and in 21 age-matched controls, with the research question being whether both groups showed a strong-meter advantage whereby rhythm discrimination is better for rhythms with a strong-meter, in which onsets of longer intervals occurred on the beat, than those with a weak-meter, in which onsets of longer intervals occurred off the beat. Compared to controls, the SBM group was less able to discriminate strong-meter rhythms, although they performed comparably in discriminating weak-meter rhythms. The attenuated strong-meter advantage in children with SBM shows that their rhythm deficits occur at the level of both perception and action, and may represent a central processing disruption of the brain mechanisms for rhythm.
authors: Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. t.hopyan@utoronto.ca
authors: Talar
authors: T
authors: Hopyan
authors: E Glenn
authors: EG
authors: Schellenberg
authors: Maureen
authors: M
authors: Dennis
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000293:Adolescent; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008591:Meningomyelocele / Q000150:complications*; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011571:Psychoacoustics; D016135:Spinal Dysraphism / Q000150:complications*; D013997:Time Factors; D013998:Time Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult