Neural and Behavioral Evidence for Vibrotactile Beat Perception and Bimodal Enhancement

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Sean A. Gilmore ◽  
Frank A. Russo
Keyword(s):  
Exploratory Analysis ◽  
Sensorimotor Synchronization ◽  
Behavioral Measure ◽  
Auditory Modality ◽  
Presentation Modality ◽  
Psychonomic Bulletin ◽  
Harmonic Frequencies ◽  
Eeg Data ◽  
Neural Entrainment ◽  
Behavioral Evidence

The ability to synchronize movements to a rhythmic stimulus, referred to as sensorimotor synchronization (SMS), is a behavioral measure of beat perception. Although SMS is generally superior when rhythms are presented in the auditory modality, recent research has demonstrated near-equivalent SMS for vibrotactile presentations of isochronous rhythms [Ammirante, P., Patel, A. D., & Russo, F. A. Synchronizing to auditory and tactile metronomes: A test of the auditory–motor enhancement hypothesis. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 23, 1882–1890, 2016]. The current study aimed to replicate and extend this study by incorporating a neural measure of beat perception. Nonmusicians were asked to tap to rhythms or to listen passively while EEG data were collected. Rhythmic complexity (isochronous, nonisochronous) and presentation modality (auditory, vibrotactile, bimodal) were fully crossed. Tapping data were consistent with those observed by Ammirante et al. (2016), revealing near-equivalent SMS for isochronous rhythms across modality conditions and a drop-off in SMS for nonisochronous rhythms, especially in the vibrotactile condition. EEG data revealed a greater degree of neural entrainment for isochronous compared to nonisochronous trials as well as for auditory and bimodal compared to vibrotactile trials. These findings led us to three main conclusions. First, isochronous rhythms lead to higher levels of beat perception than nonisochronous rhythms across modalities. Second, beat perception is generally enhanced for auditory presentations of rhythm but still possible under vibrotactile presentation conditions. Finally, exploratory analysis of neural entrainment at harmonic frequencies suggests that beat perception may be enhanced for bimodal presentations of rhythm.

scholarly journals Neural responses to perturbations in visual and auditory metronomes during sensorimotor synchronization

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramesh Balasubramaniam ◽  
Daniel Comstock
Keyword(s):  
Visual System ◽  
Error Correction ◽  
Auditory System ◽  
Evoked Potential ◽  
Auditory Evoked Potential ◽  
Sensorimotor Synchronization ◽  
Meaningful Improvement ◽  
Eeg Data ◽  
Phase Corrections ◽  
Visual Evoked

Tapping in synchrony to an isochronous rhythm involves several key functions of the sensorimotor system including timing, prediction and error correction. While auditory sensorimotor synchronization (SMS) has been well studied, much less is known about mechanisms involved in visual SMS. By comparing error correction in auditory and visual SMS, it can be determined if the neural mechanisms for detection and correction of synchronization errors are generalized or domain specific. To study this problem, we measured EEG while subjects tapped in synchrony to separate visual and auditory metronomes that both contained small temporal perturbations to induce errors. The metronomes had inter-onset intervals of 600 milliseconds and the perturbations where of 4 kinds: +/- 66 milliseconds to induce period corrections, and +/- 16 milliseconds to induce phase corrections. We hypothesize that given the less precise nature of visual SMS, error correction to perturbed visual flashing rhythms will be more gradual than with the equivalent auditory perturbations. Additionally, we expect this more gradual error correction will be reflected in the visual evoked potentials. Our findings indicate that the visual system is only capable of more gradual phase corrections to even the larger induced errors. This is opposed to the swifter period correction of the auditory system to large induced errors. EEG data found the peak N1 auditory evoked potential is modulated by the size and direction of an induced error in line with previous research, while the P1 visual evoked potential was only effected by the large late-coming perturbations resulting in reduced peak latency. Looking at the error response EEG data, an Error Related Negativity (ERN) and related Error Positivity (pE) was found only in the auditory +66 condition, while no ERN or pE were found in any of the visual perturbation conditions. In addition to the ERPs, we performed a dipole source localization and clustering analysis indicating that the anterior cingulate was active in the error detection of the perturbed stimulus for both auditory and visual conditions in addition to being involved in producing the ERN and pE induced by the auditory +66 perturbation. Taken together, these results confirm that the visual system is less developed for synchronizing and error correction with flashing rhythms by its more gradual error correction. The reduced latency of the P1 to the visual +66 suggests that the visual system can detect these errors, but that detection does not translate into any meaningful improvement in error correction. This indicates that the visual system is not as tightly coupled to the motor system as the auditory system is for SMS, suggesting the mechanisms of SMS are not completely domain general.

scholarly journals Neural entrainment facilitates duplets: Frequency-tagging differentiates musicians and non-musicians when they tap to the beat

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Celma-Miralles ◽  
B.A. Kleber ◽  
J.M. Toro ◽  
P. Vuust
Keyword(s):  
Motor Coordination ◽  
Musical Training ◽  
Beat Frequency ◽  
Sensorimotor Synchronization ◽  
Neural Oscillations ◽  
List Type ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Inherent Property ◽  
Neural Entrainment ◽  
Subdivision Level

ABSTRACTMotor coordination to an isochronous beat improves when it is subdivided into equal intervals. Here, we study if this subdivision benefit (i) varies with the kind of subdivision, (ii) is enhanced in individuals with formal musical training, and (iii), is an inherent property of neural oscillations. We recorded electroencephalograms of musicians and non-musicians during: (a) listening to an isochronous beat, (b) listening to one of 4 different subdivisions, (c) listening to the beat again, and (d) listening and tapping the beat with the same subdivisions as in (b). We found that tapping consistency and neural entrainment in condition (d) was enhanced in non-musicians for duplets (1:2) compared to the other types of subdivisions. Musicians showed overall better tapping performance and were equally good at tapping together with duplets, triplets (1:3) and quadruplets (1:4), but not with quintuplets (1:5). This group difference was reflected in enhanced neural responses in the triplet and quadruplet conditions. Importantly, for all participants, the neural entrainment to the beat and its first harmonic (i.e. the duplet frequency) increased after listening to each of the subdivisions (c compared to a). Since these subdivisions are harmonics of the beat frequency, the observed preference of the brain to enhance the simplest subdivision level (duplets) may be an inherent property of neural oscillations. In sum, a tapping advantage for simple binary subdivisions is reflected in neural oscillations to harmonics of the beat, and formal training in music can enhance it.Highlights-The neural entrainment to periodic sounds only differs between musicians and non-musicians when they perform a predictive sensorimotor synchronization task.-After listening to a subdivided beat, the frequencies related to the beat and its first harmonic are enhanced in the EEG, likely stabilizing the perception of the beat.-There is a natural advantage for binary structures in sensorimotor synchronization, observed in the tapping of duplets by non-musicians, which can be extended to other subdivisions after extensive musical training.

scholarly journals Combined Electrophysiological and Behavioral Evidence for the Suppression of Salient Distractors

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (9) ◽  
pp. 1265-1280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Gaspelin ◽  
Steven J. Luck
Keyword(s):  
Visual Attention ◽  
Hybrid Model ◽  
Attentional Control ◽  
Neural Substrates ◽  
Behavioral Measure ◽  
Distractor Item ◽  
Experimental Paradigm ◽  
Attentional Control Settings ◽  
Behavioral Studies ◽  
Behavioral Evidence

Researchers have long debated how salient-but-irrelevant features guide visual attention. Pure stimulus-driven theories claim that salient stimuli automatically capture attention irrespective of goals, whereas pure goal-driven theories propose that an individual's attentional control settings determine whether salient stimuli capture attention. However, recent studies have suggested a hybrid model in which salient stimuli attract visual attention but can be actively suppressed by top–down attentional mechanisms. Support for this hybrid model has primarily come from ERP studies demonstrating that salient stimuli, which fail to capture attention, also elicit a distractor positivity (PD) component, a putative neural index of suppression. Other support comes from a handful of behavioral studies showing that processing at the salient locations is inhibited compared with other locations. The current study was designed to link the behavioral and neural evidence by combining ERP recordings with an experimental paradigm that provides a behavioral measure of suppression. We found that, when a salient distractor item elicited the PD component, processing at the location of this distractor was suppressed below baseline levels. Furthermore, the magnitude of behavioral suppression and the magnitude of the PD component covaried across participants. These findings provide a crucial connection between the behavioral and neural measures of suppression, which opens the door to using the PD component to assess the timing and neural substrates of the behaviorally observed suppression.

scholarly journals Capturing with EEG the Neural Entrainment and Coupling Underlying Sensorimotor Synchronization to the Beat

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 736-747 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvie Nozaradan ◽  
Younes Zerouali ◽  
Isabelle Peretz ◽  
André Mouraux
Keyword(s):  
Sensorimotor Synchronization ◽  
Neural Entrainment

The Relation Between Aerobic Fitness and Cognitive Performance

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 102-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun-Hao Wang ◽  
Chun-Ming Shih ◽  
Chia-Liang Tsai
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Aerobic Fitness ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Mediation Model ◽  
Brain Potentials ◽  
Fitness Level ◽  
Eeg Data ◽  
Attention Performance ◽  
P3 Amplitude ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract. This study aimed to assess whether brain potentials have significant influences on the relationship between aerobic fitness and cognition. Behavioral and electroencephalographic (EEG) data was collected from 48 young adults when performing a Posner task. Higher aerobic fitness is related to faster reaction times (RTs) along with greater P3 amplitude and shorter P3 latency in the valid trials, after controlling for age and body mass index. Moreover, RTs were selectively related to P3 amplitude rather than P3 latency. Specifically, the bootstrap-based mediation model indicates that P3 amplitude mediates the relationship between fitness level and attention performance. Possible explanations regarding the relationships among aerobic fitness, cognitive performance, and brain potentials are discussed.

Self-Report Imagery Questionnaire Scores and Subtypes of Social-Desirable Responding

2008 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 181-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Allbutt ◽  
Jonathan Ling ◽  
Thomas M. Heffernan ◽  
Mohammed Shafiullah
Keyword(s):  
Visual Imagery ◽  
Correlational Analysis ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Auditory Imagery ◽  
Auditory Modality ◽  
Visual Thinking ◽  
Thinking Style ◽  
Social Desirable Responding

Allbutt, Ling, and Shafiullah (2006) and Allbutt, Shafiullah, and Ling (2006) found that scores on self-report measures of visual imagery experience correlate primarily with the egoistic form of social-desirable responding. Here, three studies are reported which investigated whether this pattern of findings generalized to the ratings of imagery vividness in the auditory modality, a new version of the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire ( Marks, 1995 ), and reports of visual thinking style. The measure of social-desirable responding used was the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR; Paulhus, 2002 ). Correlational analysis replicated the pattern seen in our earlier work and of the correlations with the egoistic bias, the correlation with vividness of visual imagery was largest and significant, the correlation with visual thinking style next largest and approached significance, and the correlation with vividness of auditory imagery was the smallest and not significant. The size of these correlations mirrored the extent to which the three aspects of imagery were valued by participants.

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