Distinct developmental trajectories shape human sensitivity to rhythms in the environment

Abstract Rhythm is an omnipresent feature of our environment. Repetitive temporal patterns in sound and vision influence how we pay attention to the world, move and speak. Grasping these regularities is critical for development. Humans can track surrounding rhythms explicitly —like dancing to the beat of music- or implicitly, when rhythms guide perception and behavior without deliberate attention. Whether these abilities follow different developmental trajectories remains unknown. Here, we tested 98 children aged 7-13 using a novel gamified task measuring implicit rhythm processing, alongside assessments of explicit rhythmic abilities and cognition. For the first time, we show that explicit and implicit rhythmic abilities follow distinct developmental paths: although the former improve with age and musical experience, the latter remains stable. Both are modulated differently by cognitive control, yet are not fully disconnected. These findings offer new theoretical insights into rhythm development, with important implications for neurodevelopmental disorders and rhythm-based rehabilitation.