Cognitive and Perceptual Constraints on Rhythmic Action

Haskins Laboratories, Inc., New Haven CT

Investigators

Abstract

Humans readily move in time with regular sounds such as a drumbeat. This skill, known as sensorimotor synchronization, underlies activities such as dancing and musical performance that require precise temporal coordination of actions. The standard task used to investigate synchronization is finger tapping in time with a rhythmic sequence of stimuli. The mechanisms that underlie simple tapping tasks are now fairly well-understood, but their relations to more complex, multimodal timing activities like musical performances remain to be elucidated. Moreover, surprising evidence has recently come to light suggesting that these precision timing mechanisms are foundational to the sensorimotor skills involved in fluent reading. With support from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Repp will investigate sensorimotor mechanisms that underlie complex timing tasks, and their relation to reading fluency. Some studies will investigate the error correction processes that are necessary for the maintenance of synchrony and the perceptual organization of rhythms, while others will test methods for improving and enhancing timing skills that are used in visual perception. These studies lead up to a final set of experiments that investigate the connection between sensorimotor synchronization and reading fluency in college students. The basic knowledge created by these experiments may inform the training and remediation of timing skills that underlie reading and musical performance.