Abstract
The idea that external rhythms synchronize attention cross-modally has attracted much interest and scientific inquiry. Yet, whether associated attentional modulations are indeed rhythmical in that they spring from and map onto an underlying meter has not been clearly established. Here we tested this idea while addressing the shortcomings of previous work associated with confounding (i) metricality and regularity, (ii) rhythmic and temporal expectations or (iii) global and local temporal effects. We designed sound sequences that varied orthogonally (high/low) in metricality and regularity and presented them as task-irrelevant auditory background in four separate blocks. The participants’ task was to detect rare visual targets occurring at a silent metrically aligned or misaligned temporal position. We found that target timing was irrelevant for reaction times and visual event-related potentials. High background regularity and to a lesser extent metricality facilitated target processing across metrically aligned and misaligned positions. Additionally, high regularity modulated auditory background frequencies in the EEG recorded over occipital cortex. We conclude that external rhythms, rather than synchronizing attention cross-modally, confer general, nontemporal benefits. Their predictability conserves processing resources that then benefit stimulus representations in other modalities.
Highlights
Musical rhythms powerfully influence human listeners by making them tap, sway or dance in synchrony
We found that target timing was irrelevant for reaction times and visual event-related potentials
Instead of relying strictly on isolated intervals or durations, we leverage on temporal structures afforded by the environment. If these structures are metrical in that intervals are nested hierarchically resulting in integer ratios (Figure 1), they facilitate the development of rhythmic expectations and the entrainment of attention such that attentional peaks align with salient temporal positions
Summary
Musical rhythms powerfully influence human listeners by making them tap, sway or dance in synchrony. The idea that musical rhythms entrain the human mind was first formalized in Jones’ dynamic attending theory (DAT); (Jones, 1976; Jones and Boltz, 1989). In this theory, Jones argued that mental processes like attention are not consistent but oscillate between performance peaks and troughs. Instead of relying strictly on isolated intervals or durations, we leverage on temporal structures afforded by the environment If these structures are metrical in that intervals are nested hierarchically resulting in integer ratios (Figure 1), they facilitate the development of rhythmic expectations and the entrainment of attention such that attentional peaks align with salient temporal positions. One might speculate that ratios approaching an integer are more metrical than ratios further way from an integer, and to accommodate this possibility, we here treat metricality as a continuous construct
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
