How Does Body Movement Help Perceiving the Beat in Complex Rhythms?

Humans show an irresistible urge to move with the rhythm of music. A key aspect driving this audio–motor coupling is the internal representation of meter (i.e., a set of nested periodic pulse-like beats), which can be used to guide motor behaviours. However, the brain processes underlying meter perception and how it is acquired remain unknown. The aim of this registered report is to test whether active body movements are critical in learning to perceive a metrical structure in a rhythmic pattern, especially when the rhythmic input (12/8 afro-cuban clave) lacks unambiguous periodic metrical cues. We will assess if moving to a rhythm following a certain metrical periodicity enhances brain activity at that specific periodicity in subsequent listening, as captured with EEG. Tapping the beat with the same rhythm will also be recorded as an index of motor entrainment to the internal meter. The active motor training will consist in stepping to the rhythm in synchrony with an overlaid drum sound explicitly cuing the periodic meter. To control for exposure, a second group will listen to the rhythm while sitting still. Pilot data on Western adult volunteers show that the neural and behavioural entrainment to the meter is enhanced after vs. before motor training, but not after exposure to the rhythm without movement. Results are expected to shed light on the neural processes by which we learn to associate an internal meter with an external rhythm, and how these processes critically rely on body-movement production, especially with unfamiliar ambiguous rhythms.Humans show an irresistible urge to move with the rhythm of music. A key aspect driving this audio–motor coupling is the internal representation of meter (i.e., a set of nested periodic pulse-like beats), which can be used to guide motor behaviours. However, the brain processes underlying meter perception and how it is acquired remain unknown. The aim of this registered report is to test whether active body movements are critical in learning to perceive a metrical structure in a rhythmic pattern, especially when the rhythmic input (12/8 afro-cuban clave) lacks unambiguous periodic metrical cues. We will assess if moving to a rhythm following a certain metrical periodicity enhances brain activity at that specific periodicity in subsequent listening, as captured with EEG. Tapping the beat with the same rhythm will also be recorded as an index of motor entrainment to the internal meter. The active motor training will consist in stepping to the rhythm in synchrony with an overlaid drum sound explicitly cuing the periodic meter. To control for exposure, a second group will listen to the rhythm while sitting still. Pilot data on Western adult volunteers show that the neural and behavioural entrainment to the meter is enhanced after vs. before motor training, but not after exposure to the rhythm without movement. Results are expected to shed light on the neural processes by which we learn to associate an internal meter with an external rhythm, and how these processes critically rely on body-movement production, especially with unfamiliar ambiguous rhythms.