Our environment is full of rhythms, which are important for predicting important events in our surroundings. From rhythms in nature (in waves of the sea or the sound of the wind), in technology (in the going up and down of elevators), or in social environments (in music or language). Our brain is sensitive to all these patterns and is able to adapt behavior to the context to make it more effective and faster.
The most dominant theories that study the effect of rhythms on our attention (such as the Dynamic Attending Theory) state that the rhythms of our environment generate an automatic synchronization of attention to the point of leading to a better perception of those stimuli that occur in time with the rhythm.
In a recent study published in the journal Consciousness and Cognition, researchers from the Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center Rafael Román-Caballero, Elisa Martín-Arévalo, Paulina del Carmen Martín-Sanchez, Juan Lupiáñez and Mariagrazia Capizzi find that this is not such a simple scenario. In their study, these scientists have shown that, while rhythmic contexts benefit the speed with which we are able to discriminate auditory tones (whether they are higher or lower than other reference tones), this benefit also occurs for tones that occur out of time.
Moreover, rhythmic contexts, compared with arrhythmic ones, were also associated with smaller pupil size in the study participants. Larger pupil size has been associated with greater alertness or attentional state, suggesting that arrhythmic environments immersed people in a state of uncertainty that also affected their response.
The results of this study open the door to multiple ways in which rhythm influences perception. While it is possible that sometimes rhythm synchronizes attention in a periodic manner, as predicted by the Dynamic Attending Theory, in other situations it could act as a scaffold for estimating long periods of time (as a subdivision or metronome), or generating situations with certainty and predictability. All these conditions are related to changes in the way we perceive everything around us.
Reference
Román-Caballero, R., Martín-Arévalo, E., del Carmen Martín-Sánchez, P., Lupiáñez, J., & Capizzi, M. (2024). Influence of rhythmic contexts on perception: No behavioral and eye-tracker evidence for rhythmic entrainment. Consciousness and Cognition, 126, 103789. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2024.103789