Humans can flexibly extract a regular beat from complex rhythmic auditory patterns, as often occurs in music. Contemporary models of beat perception suggest that the premotor cortex (PMC) and the supplementary motor area (SMA) are integral to this process. However, how these motor planning regions actively contribute to beat perception, along with any potential hemispheric specialization, remains open questions. Therefore, following the validation of stimuli in a behavioral experiment (Experiment I, N = 29, 12 males, mean age = 23.8 ± 0.7 years), we employed transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to test the causal contribution of these regions to beat perception. In Experiment II (N = 40, 16 males, mean age = 23.2 ± 2.37 years), we applied online repetitive TMS (rTMS) over a defined grid encompassing the right rostral and caudal dPMC, SMA, and pre-SMA, and a sham control location. Results showed that stimulation of the caudal portion of right dPMC selectively affected beat perception compared to all other regions. In Experiment III (preregistered, N = 42, 17 males, mean age = 23.5 ± 2.61 years), we tested the lateralization of this contribution by applying rTMS over right and left caudal dPMC. Our results showed that only stimulation over right, but not left, dPMC modulated beat perception. Finally, across all three experiments, individual differences in musical reward predicted beat perception sensitivity. Together, these results support the causal role of the right dPMC in generating internal action predictions and perceptual expectations regarding ongoing sequential events, in line with recent models emphasizing the role of the dorsal auditory stream in beat-based temporal perception. These findings offer valuable insights into the functional organization of the premotor cortex, contributing to a deeper understanding of the neural mechanisms involved in human rhythm perception.

Keywords: music; premotor cortex; rhythm perception; supplementary motor areas; transcranial magnetic stimulation.

© 2025 The Author(s). Human Brain Mapping published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.

人类可以从复杂的听觉模式中灵活地提取出规律的节拍，这种情况在音乐中经常出现。当代关于节拍感知的模型表明，前运动皮层（PMC）和辅助运动区（SMA）在这个过程中起着重要作用。然而，这些运动规划区域如何主动参与节拍感知以及是否存在半球特化的问题仍然存在疑问。因此，在行为实验（实验I，N = 29，12名男性，平均年龄= 23.8 ± 0.7岁）验证了刺激之后，我们采用经颅磁刺激（TMS）来测试这些区域在节拍感知中的因果贡献。在实验II（N = 40，16名男性，平均年龄= 23.2 ± 2.37岁），我们在右背侧前运动皮层的头端和尾端、SMA和前SMA以及伪刺激控制位置应用了在线重复TMS（rTMS）。结果显示，对右侧dPMC尾部区域的刺激与所有其他区域相比，特异性地影响了节拍感知。在实验III（预注册，N = 42，17名男性，平均年龄= 23.5 ± 2.61岁），我们通过右、左两侧的dPMC尾部应用rTMS测试这一贡献的侧化情况。我们的结果显示，只有对右侧，而不是左侧，dPMC的刺激会调节节拍感知。最后，在所有三个实验中，个人在音乐奖励方面的差异预测了节拍感知敏感性。这些结果支持右背侧前运动皮层在生成内部动作预测和关于正在进行的顺序事件的知觉预期方面具有因果作用，与最近强调背侧听觉流在基于节拍的时间感知中的作用的模型一致。这些发现为前运动皮层的功能组织提供了有价值的见解，并有助于深化对人类节奏感知中神经机制的理解。

关键词：音乐；前运动皮层；节奏感知；辅助运动区；经颅磁刺激。

© 2025 The Author(s). Human Brain Mapping published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.