Losing the beat: deficits in temporal coordination.
Tapping or clapping to an auditory beat, an easy task for most individuals, reveals precise temporal synchronization with auditory patterns such as music, even in the presence of temporal fluctuations. Most models of beat-tracking rely on the theoretical concept of pulse: a perceived regular beat generated by an internal oscillation that forms the foundation of entrainment abilities. Although tapping to the beat is a natural sensorimotor activity for most individuals, not everyone can track an auditory beat. Recently, the case of Mathieu was documented (Phillips-Silver et al. 2011 Neuropsychologia 49, 961-969. (doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.02.002)). Mathieu presented himself as having difficulty following a beat and exhibited synchronization failures. We examined beat-tracking in normal control participants, Mathieu, and a second beat-deaf individual, who tapped with an auditory metronome in which unpredictable perturbations were introduced to disrupt entrainment. Both beat-deaf cases exhibited failures in error correction in response to the perturbation task while exhibiting normal spontaneous motor tempi (in the absence of an auditory stimulus), supporting a deficit specific to perception-action coupling. A damped harmonic oscillator model was applied to the temporal adaptation responses; the model's parameters of relaxation time and endogenous frequency accounted for differences between the beat-deaf cases as well as the control group individuals.
Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 1B1 Center for Research on Brain, Language and Music, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3G 2A8 caroline.palmer@mcgill.ca.
Caroline
C
Palmer
Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 1B1 Center for Research on Brain, Language and Music, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3G 2A8.
Pascale
P
Lidji
Center for Research on Brain, Language and Music, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3G 2A8 Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H2V 2S9.
Isabelle
I
Peretz
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009146:Music; D046709:Pattern Recognition, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D010468:Perceptual Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010507:Periodicity; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D013998:Time Perception / Q000502:physiology*
beat deafness; endogenous frequency; entrainment; error correction; synchronization; temporal adaptation