Abstract
Unilateral tapping studies have shown that adults adjust to both perceptible and subliminal changes in phase or frequency. This study focuses on the phase responses to abrupt/perceptible and gradual/subliminal changes in auditory-motor relations during alternating bilateral tapping. We investigated these responses in participants with and without good perceptual acuity as determined by an auditory threshold test. Non-musician adults (nine per group) alternately tapped their index fingers in synchrony with auditory cues set at a frequency of 1.4 Hz. Both groups modulated their responses (with no after-effects) to perceptible and to subliminal changes as low as a 5° change in phase. The high-threshold participants were more variable than the adults with low threshold in their responses in the gradual condition set. Both groups demonstrated a synchronization asymmetry between dominant and non-dominant hands associated with the abrupt condition and the later blocks of the gradual condition. Our findings extend previous work in unilateral tapping and suggest (1) no relationship between a discrimination threshold and perceptible auditory-motor integration and (2) a noisier sub-cortical circuitry in those with higher thresholds.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1207-1218 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Experimental Brain Research |
Volume | 232 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 2014 |
Keywords
- Auditory perceptual thresholds
- Bilateral finger tapping
- Motor timing
- Sensory-motor synchronization
- Subliminal change
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neuroscience(all)