What happens in the brain when we hear rhythm?
Four studies. Multiple perspectives. One question.
01 - THE BRAIN HEARS THE BEAT
Pattern, meter, and tempo active different neural systems.
Authors: Michael H. Thaut, Pietro Davide Trimarchi & Lawrence M. Parsons
Published: 2014, Brain Sciences
Rhythm isn't processed by the brain as one simple thing. This study examined three components of rhythm—pattern, meter, and tempo—using PET scans of musicians and non-musicians. The researchers found that all three engaged overlapping networks across the frontal, parietal, temporal, cingulate, and cerebellar regions, but each also activated somewhat different areas. Meter was associated with regions involved in abstract and cognitive processing, pattern with auditory processing, and tempo with sensory and motor systems.
Four studies. Multiple perspectives. One question.
02 - NEURAL ENTRAINMENT
Your brain has got rhythm even if you don't.
Authors: Nina Kraus & Adam Tierney / Cognitive Neuroscience Society summary
Published: 2014
Researchers studied high school students with little musical training as they listened to real-world music while EEG measured their brain activity. They found that the brain automatically synchronized or entrained to the fundamental beat of the music. Even when an unexpected rhythmic sound disrupted the music, the brain continued tracking the underlying beat, although its ability to follow finer rhythmic details was affected.
03 - RHYTHM TRAINING
Can rhythm improve training?
Authors: Theodore P. Zanto, Vinith Johnson, Avery Ostrand & Adam Gazzaley
Published: 2022, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Researchers randomly assigned nonmusician older adults to either eight weeks of digital rhythm training or a word-search control activity. Participants trained for about 20 minutes a day, five days a week. Before and after training, they completed a visual short-term memory task involving faces while their brain activity was measured with EEG. Only the rhythm-training group showed a significant improvement in immediate memory accuracy. The improvement was associated with increased activity in the right superior parietal region, which helps encode and maintain short-term memories.
04 - RHYTHM MOVES THE BODY
Music and rhythm may help coordinate movement, mood, and connection.
Author: Zoë Lintzeris
Published: 2022, International Arts + Mind Lab
This article examines research into music-based interventions for people with Parkinson's disease, including rhythmic auditory stimulation, dancing, drumming, guitar, and group singing. Across studies, rhythmic cues have been associated with improvements in walking speed, stride length, balance, coordination, and other motor skills. The underlying idea is rhythmic entrainment: an external beat gives the brain a temporal structure around which it can organize movement. The article also discusses potential effects of music on mood, motivation, and social connection.