Sensorimotor and working memory systems jointly support development of perceptual rhythm processing

Abstract

We studied the role of sensorimotor and working memory systems in supporting development of perceptual rhythm processing with 119 participants aged 7–12 years. Children were assessed for their abilities in sensorimotor synchronization (SMS; beat tapping), auditory working memory (AWM; digit span), and rhythm discrimination (RD; same/different judgment on a pair of musical rhythm sequences). Multiple regression analysis revealed that children's RD performance was independently predicted by higher beat tapping consistency and greater digit span score, with all other demographic variables (age, sex, socioeconomic status, music training) controlled. The association between RD and SMS was more robust in the slower tempos (60 and 100 beats‐per‐minute (BPM)) than faster ones (120 and 180 BPM). Critically, the relation of SMS to RD was moderated by age in that RD performance was predicted by beat tapping consistency in younger children (age: 7–9 years), but not in older children (age: 10–12 years). AWM was the only predictor of RD in older children. Together, the current findings demonstrate that the sensorimotor and working memory systems jointly support RD processing during middle‐to‐late childhood and that the degree of association between the two systems and perceptual rhythm processing is shifted before entering into early adolescence.

Rhythmic motor behavior explains individual differences in grammar skills in adults

“…In this task, participants were required to verbally re-organize a series of alternating numbers and letters in ascending orders (e.g., for K3F7R5, the correct answer is 357FKR). Working memory has been shown to be positively associated with a wide range of music and language abilities including sentence comprehension 33 and grammaticality judgment 34 , as well as timing 35 , perceptual rhythm 25 , and motor rhythm 36 . Thus, we included the working memory measure as a covariate along with demographic variables of age, gender, and music background in the regression analyses.…”

“…For the synchronization tapping data, we computed a circular metric ( SI ) based on Shannon entropy ( SE ): where M is the number of bins, covering the range from − 180° to + 180°; p ( i ) is the probability of tap timings (i.e., relative phase angles with respect to nearest beat timings) assigned to i th bin; N is the total number of tapping responses. The bin size was set to 15° based on an optimal bin search procedure described in Kim et al 25 The SE quantifies the degree of spreading of a data distribution, i.e., the relative phase distribution in our data. We derived a synchronization index ( SI ) from SE as shown in the formula above.…”

“…However, there are only a few studies that examined both beat synchronization and grammar skills in children 21 , 22 . In addition, although there are large individual differences in both motoric and perceptual rhythm skills in adults 23 , 24 as well as in children 25 , whether such differences can be translated to grammar skills in the adult population remains elusive. In the present study, we addressed this issue by measuring multiple rhythm and grammar skills in a large sample of healthy young adults.…”

Children With Developmental Language Disorder Show Deficits in the Production of Musical Rhythmic Groupings

“…Rhythmic production has been studied far less than perception in both TD children (e.g., Bonacina et al, 2019 ; Drake, 1993 ; Kim et al, 2022 ; Ladányi et al, 2023 ; McAuley et al, 2006 ) and children with DLD ( Ladányi et al, 2023 ; Vuolo et al, 2017 ; Zelaznik & Goffman, 2010 ). Rhythmic production encompasses skills such as metronomic timing and rhythmic grouping ( Drake, 1993 ).…”

Análisis de la precisión sensoriomotora en niños Sordos mediante un juego rítmico

“…Además de la función motriz, las HSM requieren de otras funciones cognitivas para procesar la información temporal y secuencial donde se desarrollan, entre ellas la memoria de trabajo, la atención y el control visomotor para sincronizar la acción con el estímulo (Monier y Droit-Volet, 2019). En ese sentido, Hyun-Woong Kim et al (2022) mencionan que las HSM, la memoria de trabajo y la percepción rítmica se desarrollan de forma similar durante la infancia, y que alcanzan una mayor eficiencia alrededor de los 8 años cuando las áreas visomotoras están en proceso de maduración (ver también Monier y Droit-Volet, 2019).…”