Auditory-motor entrainment

Auditory-motor entrainment is a neurophysiological phenomenon where rhythmic auditory cues, such as music or a metronome, synchronize and facilitate motor actions and timing. This entrainment leverages distributed neural circuits linking auditory areas with motor centers at spinal, brainstem, subcortical, and cortical levels. The effect has been harnessed therapeutically, especially in neurologic music therapy, to improve gait, motor coordination, and speech in disorders such as stroke and Parkinson’s disease. EEG studies demonstrate that entrainment involves phase-locking and power changes in neural oscillations across alpha, beta, and gamma bands in regions associated with sensorimotor integration.

Other names

auditory-motor synchronizationsensorimotor synchronization