Sensorimotor synchronization (SMS), the rhythmic coordination of perception and action, occurs in many contexts, but most conspicuously in music performance and dance. In the laboratory, it is most often studied in the form of finger tapping to a sequence of auditory stimuli. This review summarizes theories and empirical findings obtained with the tapping task. Its eight sections deal with the role of intention, rate limits, the negative mean asynchrony, variability, models of error correction, perturbation studies, neural correlates of SMS, and SMS in musical contexts. The central theoretical issue is considered to be how best to characterize the perceptual information and the internal processes that enable people to achieve and maintain SMS. Recent research suggests that SMS is controlled jointly by two error correction processes (phase correction and period correction) that differ in their degrees of cognitive control and may be associated with different brain circuits. They exemplify the general distinction between subconscious mechanisms of action regulation and conscious processes involved in perceptual judgment and action planning.

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Sensorimotor synchronization: a review of the tapping literature.

A temporally based theory of attending is proposed that assumes that the structure of world events affords different attending modes. Future-oriented attending supports anticipatory behaviors and occurs with highly coherent temporal events. Time judgments, given this attending mode, axe influenced by the way an event's ending confirms or violates temporal expectancies. Analytic attending supports other activities (e.g., grouping, counting), and if it occurs with events of low temporal coherence, then time judgments depend on the attending levels involved. A weighted contrast model describes over- and underestimations of event durations. The model applies to comparative duration judgments of equal and unequal time intervals; its rationale extends to temporal productions/extrapolations. Two experiments compare predictions of the contrast model with those derived from other traditional approaches. One characteristic of modern society is a preoccupation with fixed time schedules and standardized timekeepers. We maintain appointments at hourly intervals, rush to meet the 5:00 p.m. bus, and dine at predetermined hours. Yet our natural ability to judge time remains poorly understood. How often do we estimate the time elapsed since last glancing at a clock and discover with surprise that we were fairly accurate? Surprise is understandable because at least as often we lose track of time and err. The validity of these impressions is confirmed by laboratory research showing that duration judgments depend not only on actual physical duration but also on a variety of non

/pdf/dynamic-attending-and-responses-to-time-2xtrtaiu8n.pdf

Dynamic attending and responses to time.

Vol. 1 1. Neural Basis of Vision. 2. Color Vision. 3. Depth Perception. 4. Perception of Visual Motion. 5. Perceptual Organization in Vision. 6. Attention. 7. Visual Object Recognition. 8. Motor Control. 9. Neural Basis of Audition. 10. Auditory Perception and Cognition. 11. Music Perception and Cognition. 12. Speech Perception. 13. Neural Basis of Haptic Perception. 14. Touch and Haptics. 15. Perception of Pain and Temperature. 16. Taste. 17. Olfaction. Vol. 2 1. Kinds of Memory. 2. Models of Memory. 3. Cognitive Neuroscience. 4. Spatial Cognition. 5. Knowledge Representation. 6. Psycholinguistics. 7. Language Processing. 8. Problem Solving. 9. Reasoning. 10. Decision Making. 11. Concepts & Categorization. 12. Cognitive Development. 13. Culture & Cognition. Vol. 3 1. Associative Structures in Pavlovian and Instrumental Conditioning. 2. Learning: Laws and Models of Basic Conditioning. 3. Reinforcement Learning. 4. Neural Analysis of Learning in Simple Systems. 5. Learning Mutants. 6. Learning Instincts. 7. Perceptual Learning. 8. Spatial Learning. 9. Temporal Learning. 10. Role of Learning in Cognitive Development. 11. Language Acquisition. 12. Role of Learning in the Operation of Motivational Systems. 13. Emotional Plasticity. 14. Anatomy of Motivation. 15. Hunger Energy Homeostasis. 16. Thirst and Water-Salt Appetite. 17. Reproductive Motivation. 18. Social Behavior. 19. Addiction. Vol. 4 1. Representational Measurement Theory. 2. Signal Detection Theory. 3. Psychophysical Scaling. 4. Cognitive Neuropsychology. 5. Functional Brain Imaging. 6. Neural Network Modeling. 7. Parallel and Serial Processing. 8. Methodology and Statistics in Single-Subject Experiments. 9. Analysis, Interpretation, and Visual Presentation of Experimental Data. 10. Meta-Analysis. 11. Mathematical Modeling. 12. Analysis of Response Time Distributions. 13. Testing and Measurement. 14. Personality and Individual Differences. 15. Electrophysiology of Attention. 16. Single vs. Multiple Systems of Memory and Learning. 17. Infant Cognition. 18. Aging and Cognition.

Stevens' handbook of experimental psychology

Research on how the brain processes music is emerging as a rich and stimulating area of investigation of perception, memory, emotion, and performance. Results emanating from both lesion studies and neuroimaging techniques are reviewed and integrated for each of these musical functions. We focus our attention on the common core of musical abilities shared by musicians and nonmusicians alike. Hence, the effect of musical training on brain plasticity is examined in a separate section, after a review of the available data regarding music playing and reading skills that are typically cultivated by musicians. Finally, we address a currently debated issue regarding the putative existence of music-specific neural networks. Unfortunately, due to scarcity of research on the macrostructure of music organization and on cultural differences, the musical material under focus is at the level of the musical phrase, as typically used in Western popular music.

Brain Organization for Music Processing

That music affects human beings in various ways has probably been presumed as long as people have played music. Many marketing practitioners already accept this notion, given that music is increasi...

Paul Fraisse

Papers

6 – Rhythm and Tempo