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Abstract

To achieve precise timing, the brain needs to establish a representation of the temporal structure of sensory input and use this information to generate timely responses. These operations engage the basal ganglia. Current research in this direction is limited by reliance on animal models, motor and/or offline tasks, small sample sizes, the low temporal resolution of functional magnetic resonance imaging, and the study of progressive neurodegeneration. Here, we combine the excellent temporal resolution of electrophysiological potentials with the high spatial resolution of structural neuroimaging to investigate basal ganglia contributions to sensory timing. Chronic-stage lesion patients and healthy controls listened to pure-tone sequences differing exclusively in temporal regularity. Event-related potentials (ERPs) indicate a selective indifference against this manipulation in patients, attributable to the striatal part of the basal ganglia on the basis of a lesion-mapping approach. These findings provide evidence for a crucial contribution of the basal ganglia to basic sensory functioning.