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Individual musical tempo preference correlates with EEG beta rhythm
Author(s) -
Bauer AnnaKatharina R.,
Kreutz Gunter,
Herrmann Christoph S.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/psyp.12375
Subject(s) - psychology , beta rhythm , rhythm , electroencephalography , motor cortex , beta (programming language) , neural correlates of consciousness , perception , audiology , brain activity and meditation , alpha (finance) , alpha rhythm , neuroscience , neural activity , developmental psychology , communication , cognition , psychometrics , philosophy , medicine , construct validity , stimulation , computer science , programming language , aesthetics
Every individual has a preferred musical tempo, which peaks slightly above 120 beats per minute and is subject to interindividual variation. The preferred tempo is believed to be associated with rhythmic body movements as well as motor cortex activity. However, a long‐standing question is whether preferred tempo is determined biologically. To uncover the neural correlates of preferred tempo, we first determined an individual's preferred tempo using a multistep procedure. Subsequently, we correlated the preferred tempo with a general EEG timing parameter as well as perceptual and motor EEG correlates—namely, individual alpha frequency, auditory evoked gamma band response, and motor beta activity. Results showed a significant relation between preferred tempo and the frequency of motor beta activity. These findings suggest that individual tempo preferences result from neural activity in the motor cortex, explaining the interindividual variation.