Blame the brain for lack of rhythm

From New Orleans, at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience

At the other end of the musical talent scale from those with perfect pitch are people with dysmusia, a condition marked by difficulty learning to play music or recognizing melodies. It’s essentially a musical version of dyslexia, the well-recognized reading disability.

On rare occasions, a person suffering a stroke or other forms of brain trauma will develop dysmusia, says Julie Ayotte of the University of Montreal.