Perceiving rhythm where none exists : Event-Related Potential (ERP) correlates of subjective accenting

Previous research suggests that our past experience of rhythmic structure in music results in a tendency for Western listeners to subjectively accent equitonal isochronous sequences. We have shown in an earlier study that the occurrence of a slightly softer tone in the 8th to 11th position of such a sequence evokes a P300 event-related potential (ERP) response of different amplitudes depending on whether the tone occurs in putatively subjectively accented or unaccented sequence positions (Brochard et al., 2003). One current theory of rhythm processing postulates that subjective accenting is the result of predictive modulations of perceptual processes by the attention system. If this is the …