There might be something to the saying, “you’ve got the music in you.”
A new genetic study in the journal Nature Human Behavior led by researchers at Vanderbilt University and 23andMe found more than 60 regions of the genome associated with beat synchronization, the ability to move in time with the beat of music.
Many of the variants are in or near genes involved in neural function and early brain development. In addition, the researchers found that beat synchronization shares some of the same genetic architecture involved in biological rhythms such as walking, breathing, and circadian patterns.