Listening to music has a powerful effect on how our brain perceives time, according to new research published in the journal Psychophysiology. A study led by neuroscientist Julieta Ramos-Loyo at the University of Guadalajara explored how exposure to music changes brain connectivity and enhances a person’s ability to estimate the passage of time. This research sheds light on how auditory stimuli can temporarily reshape brain function and how long-term musical training builds a resilient neural system optimized for precise timing.
Time perception is a fundamental cognitive ability that allows us to judge durations and sequence events correctly. However, our internal sense of time isn’t fixed; it can be influenced by external factors such as music, which acts as a powerful synchronizer for brain rhythms. Ramos-Loyo and her team designed a study comparing the neural activity of musicians with formal training of over ten years and non-musicians, aiming to see how their brains respond differently to a music cue before performing a timing task.
To investigate brain dynamics, the researchers used electroencephalography (EEG), which records electrical activity from the scalp. They focused on “functional connectivity,” indicating how different brain regions communicate as networks. They assessed this connectivity through metrics including global efficiency (the integration of information across the whole brain), local efficiency (specialized processing within clusters), and network density (overall connection strength).
The study involved 54 young men split into two groups: 26 musicians and 28 non-musicians. Each participant completed a timing task requiring them to estimate a 2.5-second interval by pressing a key. This task was done twice—once in silence and once after listening to instrumental electronic music. EEG data was collected during rest, music listening, and task performance.
Behaviorally, non-musicians tended to overestimate the 2.5-second interval when performing the task in silence. After listening to music, their timing accuracy improved significantly, producing estimates closer to the actual duration. Musicians, on the other hand, showed superior accuracy in timing from the start and were largely unaffected by the music stimulus.
EEG data helped explain these findings. Even at rest before starting the timing task, musicians’ brains showed more extensive long-distance connections linking frontal and posterior areas, suggesting a more globally integrated brain network. Conversely, non-musicians’ brains were organized with stronger local connections within separate anterior and posterior clusters, indicating a more modular network configuration.
These patterns became more apparent during the experiment. Across all conditions—rest, music listening, and timing tasks—musicians maintained higher global efficiency, meaning their brain networks communicated more effectively across distant regions. This is thought to support their superior and stable time-keeping abilities. In contrast, non-musicians showed higher local efficiency, reflecting more segregated processing within localized clusters rather than wide-spread integration.
Musicians also exhibited higher network density overall, reflecting more active functional connections. Listening to music modulated non-musicians’ brain connectivity, especially increasing connections in posterior brain regions, which paralleled their improved timing accuracy.
The researchers suggest that these differences between musicians and non-musicians represent two distinct strategies shaped by experience for processing time. Non-musicians, with a more flexible but localized brain network, benefit from the synchronizing effects of music, which helps organize brain activity necessary for precise timing. Musicians’ brains, shaped by years of training, operate with a highly integrated and globally efficient network optimized for temporal processing, making them less dependent on external cues like music to maintain accuracy.
The study notes certain limitations, including its focus on young men, which may limit generalizability to women or other age groups. Also, the study used only one piece of instrumental electronic music at a moderate tempo, and different musical genres or speeds might produce varied effects.
Future research could explore how diverse musical styles and tempos influence brain connectivity and time perception. Additionally, measuring physiological arousal might illuminate how it contributes to changes in time estimation. Overall, the findings open pathways to understanding how music can be used therapeutically or educationally to enhance cognitive functions related to timing and rhythm.
