Learning of pitch and time structures in an artificial grammar setting.

Despite the empirical evidence for the power of the cognitive capacity of implicit learning of structures and regularities in several modalities and materials, it remains controversial whether implicit learning extends to the learning of temporal structures and regularities. We investigated whether (a) an artificial grammar can be learned equally well when expressed in duration sequences as when expressed in pitch sequences, (b) learning of the artificial grammar in either duration or pitch (as the primary dimension) sequences can be influenced by the properties of the secondary dimension (invariant vs. randomized), and (c) learning can be boosted when the artificial grammar is expressed in both pitch and duration.

The influence of temporal regularities on the implicit learning of pitch structures.

Implicit learning is the acquisition of complex information without the intention to learn. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of temporal regularities on the implicit learning of an artificial pitch grammar. According to the dynamic attending theory (DAT) external regularities can entrain internal oscillators that guide attention over time, inducing temporal expectations that influence perception of future events.

Rhythmic context modulates foreperiod effects.

Two experiments examined hypotheses about the roles of probabilistic uncertainty and rhythmic context on attentional preparation as reflected by choice response times (RTs) to the final tone of auditory sequences. Nonisochronous sequences with tone timings either arranged metrically or scrambled were linked with one of three different sequence-final time intervals, or foreperiods (FPs), which varied randomly from trial to trial. Two primary results emerged.

The time of our lives: life span development of timing and event tracking.

Life span developmental profiles were constructed for 305 participants (ages 4-95) for a battery of paced and unpaced perceptual-motor timing tasks that included synchronize-continue tapping at a wide range of target event rates. Two life span hypotheses, derived from an entrainment theory of timing and event tracking, were tested. A preferred period hypothesis predicted a monotonic slowing of a preferred rate (tempo) of event tracking across the life span.

Effects of auditory pattern structure on anticipatory and reactive attending.

In three experiments, participants listened for a target's pitch change within recurrent nine-tone patterns having largely isochronous rhythms. Patterns differed in pitch structure of initial (context) and final (target distance) pattern segments. Also varied were: probe timing (Experiments 2 and 3) and instructions about probe timing (Experiments 2 and 3).

Higher order pattern structure influences auditory representational momentum.

Representational momentum refers to the phenomenon that observers tend to incorrectly remember an event undergoing real or implied motion as shifted beyond its actual final position. This has been demonstrated in both visual and auditory domains. In 5 pitch discrimination experiments, listeners heard tone sequences that implied either linear, periodic, or null motions in pitch space.

Time judgments in global temporal contexts.

With three experiments, we examined the effects of global temporal context on time judgments as gauged by constant errors (CEs) and estimates of a preferred period (P). In Experiment 1, participants in seven different conditions listened to sequences of a given rate (with interonset intervals ranging from 200 to 800 msec) and judged the relative duration of a final (comparison) time interval. No P emerged.

Modeling effects of rhythmic context on perceived duration: a comparison of interval and entrainment approaches to short-interval timing.

Relative merits of interval and entrainment conceptions of the internal clock were assessed within a common theoretical framework by 4 time-judgment experiments. The timing of tone onsets marking the beginning and ending of standard and comparison time intervals relative to a context rhythm were manipulated: onsets were on time, early, or late relative to the implied rhythm, and 2 distinct accuracy patterns emerged. A quadratic ending profile indicated best performance when the standard ended on time and worst performance when it was early or late, whereas a flat beginning profile (Experiments 1-3) indicated uniform performance for the 3 expectancy conditions.

Temporal aspects of stimulus-driven attending in dynamic arrays.

Auditory sequences of tones were used to examine a form of stimulus-driven attending that involves temporal expectancies and is influenced by stimulus rhythm. Three experiments examined the influence of sequence timing on comparative pitch judgments of two tones (standard, comparison) separated by interpolated pitches. In two of the experiments, interpolated tones were regularly timed, with onset times of comparison tones varied relative to this rhythm.