PhD Defence Ece Kaya

Keywords: Duration discrimination, finger tapping, rhythmic entrainment, dynamic attending theory
 

"Individual Differences in Oscillator Properties and Rhythmic Entrainment"

This thesis investigated individual differences in rhythmic abilities and their theoretical sources. The main proposal is that attention itself is rhythmic and that successful interaction with rhythms in the auditory environment depends on synchronizing one's unique internal, attentional rhythm with external rhythms. The presented studies describe novel methods developed to characterize these internal rhythms based on individuals’ rhythmic behavior, such as finger-tapping and detecting differences in rhythmic sequences. Findings show that rhythmic abilities are improved at a range of tempo that is specific for each individual, and impaired when external rhythms change in tempo. Critically, the studies reveal that the ability to adapt to accelerating rhythms declines with age. The outcomes improve our understanding of rhythmic abilities by providing theoretical underpinnings of individual differences in rhythmic abilities and have practical implications for individualizing music-based rehabilitation methods to align with each individual’s internal rhythms. 

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