Rhythmic skills mediate the link between music training and cognition via attention & phonological processing

Rhythmic skills mediate the link between music training and cognition via attention & phonological processing | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Rhythmic skills mediate the link between music training and cognition via attention & phonological processing Fernando Lizcano-Cortés, Pablo Ripolles, Fernando Barrios, M. Florencia Assaneo This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6585819/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Previous research has revealed a connection between rhythmic abilities and performance on various cognitive tasks, yet the core mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. Here, we identify phonological language processing and temporal attention as the core cognitive skills associated with rhythmic proficiency. Critically, we reveal that this relationship is thresholded: cognitive benefits emerge only when rhythmic abilities exceed a specific threshold, with further refinements providing no additional advantage. Moreover, we present a resolution to the long-standing debate on the link between musical training and cognition, demonstrating that this association is fully mediated by the rhythmic performance threshold. These findings provide a unifying framework for understanding the cognitive impact of rhythmic skills and the benefits of musical training. Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Cognitive neuroscience Biological sciences/Psychology/Human behaviour rhythmic skills musical training cognitive abilities attention phonological processing speech-to-speech synchrony Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (protocol 096.H), and was conducted in compliance with the federal guidelines of the Mexican Ministry of Health. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6585819","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":453711484,"identity":"735fdcb3-4e5a-4150-a123-3881c0b5ba4d","order_by":0,"name":"Fernando Lizcano-Cortés","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5878-1960","institution":"Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Fernando","middleName":"","lastName":"Lizcano-Cortés","suffix":""},{"id":453711485,"identity":"4488fd69-3992-4c27-9cd4-ebd8ca7effc8","order_by":1,"name":"Pablo Ripolles","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"New York University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Pablo","middleName":"","lastName":"Ripolles","suffix":""},{"id":453711486,"identity":"b7698f88-611a-458e-a796-0d6e590e0485","order_by":2,"name":"Fernando Barrios","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5699-4222","institution":"Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Fernando","middleName":"","lastName":"Barrios","suffix":""},{"id":453711483,"identity":"5081e819-2f91-4fd8-adc1-6fdfe5f255c8","order_by":3,"name":"M. 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