The role of temporal prediction abilities in interpersonal sensorimotor synchronization.

Musical ensemble performance is a form of joint action that requires highly precise yet flexible interpersonal action coordination. To maintain synchrony during expressive passages that contain tempo variations, musicians presumably anticipate the sounds that will be produced by their co-performers. Our previous studies revealed that individuals differ in their ability to predict upcoming event timing when finger tapping in synchrony with tempo-changing pacing signals (i.e., the degree to which inter-tap intervals match vs. lag behind inter-onset intervals in the pacing signal varies between individuals). The current study examines the influence of these individual differences on synchronization performance in a dyadic tapping task. In addition, the stability of individual prediction tendencies across time is tested. Individuals with high or low prediction tendencies were invited to participate in two experimental sessions. In both sessions, participants were asked (1) to tap alone with a tempo-changing pacing signal and (2) to tap synchronously in dyads comprising individuals with similar or different prediction tendencies. Results indicated that individual differences in prediction tendencies were stable over several months and played a significant role in dyadic synchronization. Dyads composed of two high-predicting individuals tapped with higher accuracy and less variability than low-predicting dyads, while mixed dyads were intermediate. Prediction tendencies explained variance in dyadic synchronization performance over and above individual synchronization ability. These findings suggest that individual differences in temporal prediction ability may potentially mediate the interaction of cognitive, motor, and social processes underlying musical joint action.

Neural correlates of auditory temporal predictions during sensorimotor synchronization.

Musical ensemble performance requires temporally precise interpersonal action coordination. To play in synchrony, ensemble musicians presumably rely on anticipatory mechanisms that enable them to predict the timing of sounds produced by co-performers. Previous studies have shown that individuals differ in their ability to predict upcoming tempo changes in paced finger-tapping tasks (indexed by cross-correlations between tap timing and pacing events) and that the degree of such prediction influences the accuracy of sensorimotor synchronization (SMS) and interpersonal coordination in dyadic tapping tasks. The current functional magnetic resonance imaging study investigated the neural correlates of auditory temporal predictions during SMS in a within-subject design. Hemodynamic responses were recorded from 18 musicians while they tapped in synchrony with auditory sequences containing gradual tempo changes under conditions of varying cognitive load (achieved by a simultaneous visual n-back working-memory task comprising three levels of difficulty: observation only, 1-back, and 2-back object comparisons). Prediction ability during SMS decreased with increasing cognitive load. Results of a parametric analysis revealed that the generation of auditory temporal predictions during SMS recruits (1) a distributed network of cortico-cerebellar motor-related brain areas (left dorsal premotor and motor cortex, right lateral cerebellum, SMA proper and bilateral inferior parietal cortex) and (2) medial cortical areas (medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex). While the first network is presumably involved in basic sensory prediction, sensorimotor integration, motor timing, and temporal adaptation, activation in the second set of areas may be related to higher-level social-cognitive processes elicited during action coordination with auditory signals that resemble music performed by human agents.

Auditory pitch imagery and its relationship to musical synchronization.

Musical ensemble performance requires precise coordination of action. To play in synchrony, ensemble musicians presumably anticipate the sounds that will be produced by their co-performers. These predictions may be based on auditory images in working memory. This study examined the contribution of auditory imagery abilities to sensorimotor synchronization (SMS) in 20 musicians. The acuity of single-tone pitch images was measured by an adjustment method and by adaptive threshold estimation. Different types of finger tapping tasks were administered to assess SMS. Auditory imagery and SMS abilities were found to be positively correlated with one another and with musical experience.