Exploring the genetics of rhythmic perception and musical engagement in the Vanderbilt Online Musicality Study

Abstract

Uncovering the genetic underpinnings of musical ability and engagement is a foundational step for exploring their wide-ranging associations with cognition, health, and neurodevelopment. Prior studies have focused on using twin and family designs, demonstrating moderate heritability of musical phenotypes. The current study used genome-wide complex trait analysis and polygenic score (PGS) approaches utilizing genotype data to examine genetic influences on two musicality traits (rhythmic perception and music engagement) in N = 1792 unrelated adults in the Vanderbilt Online Musicality Study. Meta-analyzed heritability estimates (including a replication sample of Swedish individuals) were 31% for rhythmic perception and 12% for self-reported music engagement. A PGS derived from a recent study on beat synchronization ability predicted both rhythmic perception (β = 0.11) and music engagement (β = 0.19) in our sample, suggesting that genetic influences underlying self-reported beat synchronization ability also influence individuals' rhythmic discrimination aptitude and the degree to which they engage in music. Cross-trait analyses revealed a modest contribution 140

Confronting ethical and social issues related to the genetics of musicality

“…This finding provided face validity for the results of the initial GWAS, but falls far short of any predictive model that could be used for an individual in a clinical setting 53 . It is important to note that phenotypically measured musical engagement and training variables account for much more phenotypic variability in musical ability than PGSs 52 …”

“…53 It is important to note that phenotypically measured musical engagement and training variables account for much more phenotypic variability in musical ability than PGSs. 52…”

“…In Refs. 23, 29, and 52, PGS analyses were used to test whether genetic variation correlated with beat synchronization in one sample was, en masse, also correlated with rates of musical engagement in an independent sample. In the experiment of Ref.…”

“…First, as described above, the PGS reported in Refs. 23, 29, and 52 (as well as any future improvements and PGS of other musicality traits) can only account for a small fraction of musicality that is perceived as socially useful, for which environment, love of music, and intensive training are self‐evidently necessary, if not entirely sufficient. Second, scholars caution against the potentially negative psychosocial impacts of receiving a PGS related to ability, 77 which is a highly plastic trait.…”

Syncopation as Probabilistic Expectation: Conceptual, Computational, and Experimental Evidence

“…After the experiment, participants answered questions about their prior musical experience and engagement, including how frequently they played any instrument, and how often they listened to music. These questions were included to account for potential confounds of musical experience and engagement, which are known to be strongly linked to beat and rhythm perception (Bouwer, Burgoyne, Odijk, Honing, & Grahn, 2018; Cinelyte, Cannon, Patel, & Müllensiefen, 2022; Gustavson et al., 2023).…”