"Out-of-pitch" but still "in-time". An auditory psychophysical study in congenital amusic adults.

Congenital amusia is a lifelong disability, commonly known as tone deafness, that prevents afflicted individuals from developing basic musical skills despite normal audiometry and above-average intellectual, memory, and language skills. Although it is estimated that 4% of the general population would be born with such a musical handicap, the underlying cause is presently unknown. Recently, we proposed that this disorder could be traced to a deficit in pitch perception on the basis of a single case. Here we provide psychophysical evidence for the existence of a generalized defect that is both fine grained and specific to pitch because time is unaffected.