International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research (BRAMS), University of Montreal, CP 6128, succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, QC, H3C 3J7, Canada.
Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada.
Behav Res Methods. 2024 Apr;56(4):3737-3756. doi: 10.3758/s13428-024-02363-x. Epub 2024 Mar 8.
Timing and rhythm abilities are complex and multidimensional skills that are highly widespread in the general population. This complexity can be partly captured by the Battery for the Assessment of Auditory Sensorimotor and Timing Abilities (BAASTA). The battery, consisting of four perceptual and five sensorimotor tests (finger-tapping), has been used in healthy adults and in clinical populations (e.g., Parkinson's disease, ADHD, developmental dyslexia, stuttering), and shows sensitivity to individual differences and impairment. However, major limitations for the generalized use of this tool are the lack of reliable and standardized norms and of a version of the battery that can be used outside the lab. To circumvent these caveats, we put forward a new version of BAASTA on a tablet device capable of ensuring lab-equivalent measurements of timing and rhythm abilities. We present normative data obtained with this version of BAASTA from over 100 healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 87 years in a test-retest protocol. Moreover, we propose a new composite score to summarize beat-based rhythm capacities, the Beat Tracking Index (BTI), with close to excellent test-retest reliability. BTI derives from two BAASTA tests (beat alignment, paced tapping), and offers a swift and practical way of measuring rhythmic abilities when research imposes strong time constraints. This mobile BAASTA implementation is more inclusive and far-reaching, while opening new possibilities for reliable remote testing of rhythmic abilities by leveraging accessible and cost-efficient technologies.
时间和节奏能力是复杂的多维技能，在普通人群中广泛存在。这种复杂性可以部分通过听觉感觉运动和时间能力评估电池（BAASTA）来捕捉。该电池由四个感知和五个运动测试（手指敲击）组成，已在健康成年人和临床人群（如帕金森病、ADHD、发育性阅读障碍、口吃）中使用，并显示出对个体差异和损伤的敏感性。然而，该工具广泛应用的主要限制是缺乏可靠和标准化的规范以及可在实验室外使用的电池版本。为了规避这些缺陷，我们提出了一种在平板电脑设备上的 BAASTA 新版本，该版本能够确保时间和节奏能力的实验室等效测量。我们提出了使用这种版本的 BAASTA 在测试-重测方案中从 100 多名年龄在 18 至 87 岁的健康成年人中获得的规范数据。此外，我们提出了一个新的综合评分来总结基于节拍的节奏能力，即节拍跟踪指数（BTI），具有接近优秀的测试-重测可靠性。BTI 来自 BAASTA 的两个测试（节拍对准、节拍敲击），并且在研究施加强烈时间限制时，提供了一种快速实用的测量节奏能力的方法。这种移动的 BAASTA 实现更具包容性和深远影响，同时通过利用可访问和具有成本效益的技术为可靠的远程节奏能力测试开辟了新的可能性。
