Research: Intellect linked to rhythm

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, April 17 (UPI) -- Swedish scientists seeking to dispel myths about supposedly dumb drummers say their research indicates that those with high intelligence keep the best rhythm.

Professor Frederic Ullen of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm and Guy Madison of Sweden's Umea University said they submitted 34 right-handed men between ages 19 and 49 to a test of rhythm involving tapping a drumstick at several different intervals and then gave the men a 60-question psychometric test, The Daily Telegraph reported Thursday.

"The rhythmic accuracy in brain activity that is observed when a person maintains a steady beat is also important to the problem-solving capacities measured with the intelligence tests," Ullen said.

"We found that people with high general intelligence were also more stable on a very simple timing task," he said. "We also found that these participants had larger volumes of the white matter in the brain, which contains connections between brain regions."