Auditory rhythm complexity affects cardiac dynamics in perception and synchronization

by Shannon E. Wright, Caroline Palmer

Accurate perception and production of auditory rhythms are key for human behaviors such as speech and music. Auditory rhythms in music range in their complexity: complex rhythms (based on non-integer ratios between successive tone durations) are more difficult to perceive and produce than simple rhythms (based on integer ratios). The physiological activity supporting this behavioral difference is not well understood. In a within-subjects design, we addressed how rhythm complexity affects cardiac dynamics during auditory perception and production. Musically trained adults listened to and synchronized with simple and complex auditory rhythms while their cardiac activity was recorded. Participants identified missing tones in the rhythms during the Perception condition and tapped on a keyboard to synchronize with the rhythms in the Synchronization condition. Participants were equally accurate at identifying missing tones in simple and complex rhythms during the Perception condition. Tapping synchronization was less accurate and less precise with complex rhythms than with simple rhythms. Linear cardiac analyses showed a slower mean heart rate and greater heart rate variability during perception than synchronization for both simple and complex rhythms; only nonlinear recurrence quantification analyses reflected cardiac differences between simple and complex auditory rhythms. Nonlinear cardiac dynamics were also more deterministic (predictable) during rhythm perception than synchronization. Individual differences during tapping showed that greater heart rate variability was correlated with poorer synchronization. Overall, these findings suggest that linear measures of musicians’ cardiac activity reflect global task variability while nonlinear measures additionally reflect stimulus rhythm complexity.