I was really impressed when my son was just a baby but could clap along to the rhythm of a song. Turns out, babies are actually born with the ability to perceive beats. Researchers from Budapest's Institute for Psychology and the University of Amsterdam used EEG to measure how baby brains respond to sounds even when asleep. Understanding beat perception in babies could lead to earlier identification of kids who may have communication problems. From New Scientist:
The team played a rock drum rhythm to 14 sleeping babies two or three days old. Sometimes the sequence skipped a sound without disrupting the rhythm, while other omissions made the rhythm stumble.
When a missed note broke the rhythm, the babies had a key brain response indicating that their sensory expectations were contradicted. This suggests newborns can sense a rhythm and know when to expect the next beat. "Beat perception is there right from birth," (researcher István) Winkler concludes.
