Rhythm length and hemispheric asymmetry

Conflicting evidence has appeared in the literature concerning hemispheric asymmetry in the perception of rhythm. The present study investigated the effects of rhythm length on relative cerebral dominance. Twenty-four subjects were presented with sequences of one to four time intervals bounded by light flashes. The subjects' task was to determine if two such sequences were the same or different. The first rhythm was presented in both visual fields and the second only to one visual field. Reaction times and number of errors were recorded. It was found that increasing rhythm length resulted in a shift in cerebral dominance from left to right hemisphere. An interpretation of these findings was suggested in terms of the preferred mode of processing of each hemisphere, analytic vs. holistic.