Auditory-Motor Synchronization Ability Predicts Enhanced Neural Tracking and Mismatch Detection in Response to Music

Individual differences in auditory-motor synchronization ability, as measured by performance on a speech-to-speech synchronization test (SSS test), may explain variations in early auditory music processing, independent of formal musical training. We investigated whether high synchronizers, identified through this test, exhibit enhanced neural encoding and deviance detection in response to music, even in the absence of musical expertise. Using electroencephalography in nonmusicians, we compared neural responses between high and low synchronizers during a passive auditory musical oddball paradigm featuring melodic and rhythmic deviations. Our results reveal pronounced neurophysiological differences between groups at early preattentive stages. High synchronizers demonstrated significantly larger N100 amplitudes to melody onsets, indicating enhanced initial sensory encoding. They also exhibited superior cortical tracking of the musical envelope, as measured by multivariate temporal response function (mTRF) modeling. Crucially, high synchronizers exhibited enhanced mismatch negativity (MMN) responses to both melodic and rhythmic deviations, indicating stronger automatic detection of deviance. However, no significant correlations were found between mTRF accuracy, N100, and MMN amplitudes, suggesting distinct neural mechanisms for initial sensory encoding, envelope tracking, and higher-order deviance detection. These findings establish that inherent auditory-motor synchronization ability predicts a robust neurophysiological advantage in the early, preattentive processing of musical structure.