People who have got rhythm might have an advantage when it comes to language and reading skills. A new study shows the brains of people who can move to a musical beat react to speech on a more consistent basis than those who can't. Researchers also find that musical training can sharpen the brain's response to language.

The researchers say their discovery provides the first biological link between the ability to keep a beat and h80w the brain responds to speech, something that can have important value for reading skills. To gather materials for their research, the team got more than 100 teenagers who lived in Chicago, Illinois. The teens were given two tests. First, They were instructed to listen to and tap their fingers along to the beat. The researchers calculated how accurately their young volunteers were able to tap along to the musical timekeeper. Second, the teen subjects were linked to an EEG device, which measures electrical activity in the brain. The EEG device was focused on an area of the brain that not only processes sound, but is also connected to parts of the brain responsible for motor-movement. The researchers recorded the brainwaves as their teen subjects listened to the synthesized speech sound, which was repeated irregularly for half an hour. The researchers were able to find out how the nerve cells in that particular region of the brain responded every time the synthesized sound was played. "Across this population of adolescents, the more accurate they were at tapping along to the beat, the more consistent their brains' response to the letter unit was," said Nina Kraus.