Effect of tempo on the age-related changes in temporal expectation driven by rhythms

Temporal expectation refers to the capacity to allocate resources at a particular point in time, enabling us to enhance our behavior performance. Empirical evidence indicates that, among younger adults, temporal expectation can be driven by rhythm (i.e., regular sequences of stimuli). However, whether there are age-related changes in rhythm-based temporal expectation has not been clearly established. Furthermore, whether tempo can influence the relationship between rhythm-based temporal expectation and aging remains unexplored. To address these questions, both younger and older participants took part in a rhythm-based temporal expectation task, engaging three distinct tempos: 600 ms (fast), 1800 ms (moderate), or 3000 ms (slow). The results demonstrated that temporal expectation effects (i.e., participants exhibited significantly faster responses during the regular trials compared to the irregular trials) were observed in both the younger and older participants under the moderate tempo condition. However, in the fast and slow tempo conditions, the temporal expectation effects were solely observed in the younger participants. These findings revealed that rhythm-based temporal expectations can be preserved during aging but within a specific tempo range. When the tempo falls within the range of either being too fast or too slow, it can manifest age-related declines in temporal expectations driven by rhythms.