This study investigates the influence of different motor effectors on rate-specific processing in speech and music perception and synchronization. Participants performed perception and synchronization tasks with syllable and piano tone sequences, using whispering and finger-tapping as motor effectors at slow (~2 Hz) and fast (~4.5 Hz) rates. While synchronization was generally better at slow rates, finger-tapping showed an advantage over whispering at slow rates but not fast rates. Perception performance varied by rate and domain, and was predicted by synchronization performance at both slow and fast rates. The findings suggest partially independent rhythmic timing mechanisms for speech and music, potentially linked to differential cortical motor circuitry recruitment.

Alice Vivien Barchet, Molly J. Henry, Claire Pelofi, Johanna M. Rimmele