The influence of rhythm on detection of auditory and vibrotactile asynchrony

Abstract

The perception of an event is strongly influenced by the context in which it occurs. Here, we examined the effect of a rhythmic context on detection of asynchrony in both the auditory and vibrotactile modalities. Using the method of constant stimuli and a two-alternative forced choice (2AFC), participants were presented with pairs of pure tones played either simultaneously or with various levels of stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA). Target stimuli in both modalities were nested within either: (i) a regularly occurring, predictable rhythm (ii) an irregular, unpredictable rhythm, or (iii) no rhythm at all. Vibrotactile asynchrony detection had higher thresholds and showed greater variability than auditory asynchrony detection in general. Asynchrony detection thresholds for auditory targets but not vibrotactile targets were significantly reduced when the target stimulus was embedded in a regular rhythm as compared to no rhythm. Embedding within an irregular rhythm produced no such improvement. The observed modality asymmetries are interpreted with regard to the superior temporal resolution of the auditory system and specialized brain circuitry supporting auditory-motor coupling.

Music Beyond Sound: Weighing the Contributions of Touch, Sight, and Balance

“…Again, this effect may be related to the vast experience amassed with moving to music presented as sound. Along these same lines, Lauzon et al (2020) found that the ability to detect asynchronies in a rhythm were superior when the rhythm was presented by auditory compared with vibrotactile stimulation.…”

Tactile displays for auditory augmentation–A scoping review and reflections on music applications for hearing impaired users

“…Rhythm-the temporal relationship of events in a musical context-is arguably the first aspect to be discussed, as it is fairly well transmitted through tactile channels (Jiam and Limb, 2019). Substantial research has been dedicated to understanding the vibrotactile rhythm, investigating its impact on music aesthetics (Swerdfeger et al, 2009;Hove et al, 2019), and in regards to D/HOH individuals, its enhancement properties (Gilmore and Russo, 2020;Aker et al, 2022) as well as its interaction with the auditory counterpart (Lauzon et al, 2020). When it comes to pitch-the perceived (vibrotactile) frequencythe bandwidth is very limited compared to the ear, but this does not mean that humans cannot perceive pitch differences, only that the just noticeable difference between intervals must be larger, and the range is bound within 20 Hz-1,000 Hz (Chafe, 1993).…”

The Activity of the Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex Promotes the Top–down Regulation of Sensorimotor Synchronization

“…Such control framework depends on the motor activity, which is proactively activated before the pulse presentation onset, supported by any functions of clocks synchronized with external cues. Such clock signals probably guide such predicting tapping to the goal where tactile sensation meets the pulse [44][45][46]. In principle, such foreseeing strategy is not available for missing pulses.…”