Scientists Locate Sense Of Rhythm
The ability to hear a false note is located in the brain’s centre of hearing, but the sense of rhythm is not. A study has revealed that our ability to follow a rhythm is closely related with the brain centre that has to do with motion planning. The centre, the posterior parietal cortex, is located in the cerebral cortex of the parietal lobe. When this region is disabled or destroyed, the sense of rhythm is lost.
In the experiment, which was carried out by scientists from the University of California, Merced, 25 adult test subjects were subjected to a magnetic pulse, which temporarily paralysed the activity of the brain centre. Subsequently, scientists made the test subjects listen to a rhythm. Along with the rhythm, beeping sounds sometimes followed the rhythm, and sometimes they did not. The test subjects were asked to identify the beeping sounds that were on beat and off beat. During the hour when the brain centre was paralysed, the test subjects could not tell the difference between the two types of sounds.
So, the scientists think that this particular region of the brain doesn't only have to do with body motion, but also manages our ability to define time intervals. After all, sense of rhythm is the ability to predict the timing of the next sound, also known as relative timing.