Name:Antoine ,Guinamard

School/Affiliation:International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research (BRAMS), Montreal, Canada,  Département de Psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada , Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music (CRBLM), Montreal, Canada , Univ. Lille, ULR 4072 - PSITEC - Psychology : Interactions, Time, Emotions, Cognition, F-59000 Lille, France   

Co-Authors:Simon Rigoulot1,5, Océane Martin1,2,3, Nicholas E.V. Foster1,2,3, Séverine Samson4,6, Delphine Dellacherie4,7*, Simone Dalla Bella1,2,3* 1 International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research (BRAMS), Montreal, Canada  2 Département de Psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada  3 Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music (CRBLM), Montreal, Canada  4 Univ. Lille, ULR 4072 - PSITEC - Psychology : Interactions, Time, Emotions, Cognition, F-59000 Lille, France    5Département of Psychologie, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Canada 6 Institut de l’Audition-Institut Pasteur, F-75012 Paris, France   7 CHU Lille, Centre de Référence Malformations et Maladies Congénitales du Cervelet, F-59000 Lille, France *Equal senior contribution 

Virtual or In-person:Virtual

Abstract:

The ability to extract the temporal structure of sound sequences, such as music or speech, plays a key role in cognitive development. Auditory rhythms can be processed either explicitly, when we consciously assess timing, or implicitly, without paying attention. Implicit rhythm processing has been shown to enhance performance in various tasks in adults, and more recently in school-aged children (Guinamard et al., in preparation). EEG studies in adults indicate that temporal regularity influences Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) by enhancing the P3 wave linked to target detection. However, little is known about ERPs related to implicit rhythmic processing in school-aged children. This fact limits our understanding of implicit rhythm processing and its underlying mechanisms in typical and atypical development. To fill this gap, we examined in our experiment the EEG correlates of implicit rhythmic abilities in children aged 8-13 using a new gamified task. In this task, participants responded as quickly as possible to a pitch change following an 8-tone sequence (temporally regular vs. irregular). We observed faster reaction times after regular sequences, which is consistent with previous findings in children and adults. We also found an increase in P3 wave after regular sequences for both deviant and non-deviant targets. Enhanced reaction times following a regular sequence correlated with P3 wave increases. These results provide behavioral and neurophysiological evidence that children aged 8 to 13 implicitly process temporal regularity to improve auditory target detection. These findings may open avenues for investigating these abilities in children with neurodevelopmental disorders.