The Evolution Of Rhythm Cognition: Timing In Music And Speech

Description

Human speech and music share a number of similarities and differences. One of the closest similarities is their temporal nature as both (i) develop over time, (ii) form sequences of temporal intervals, possibly differing in duration and acoustical marking by different spectral properties, which are perceived as a rhythm, and (iii) generate metrical expectations. Human brains are particularly efficient in perceiving, producing, and processing fine rhythmic information in music and speech. However a number of critical questions remain to be answered: Where does this human sensitivity for rhythm arise? How did rhythm cognition develop in human evolution? How did environmental rhythms affect the evolution of brain rhythms? Which rhythm-specific neural circuits are shared between speech and music, or even with other domains? Evolutionary processes’ long time scales often prevent direct observation: understanding the psychology of rhythm and its evolution requires a close-fitting integration of different perspectives. First, empirical observations of music and speech in the field are contrasted and generate testable hypotheses. Experiments exploring linguistic and musical rhythm are performed across sensory modalities, ages, and animal species to address questions about domain-specificity, development, and an evolutionary path of rhythm. Finally, experimental insights are integrated via synthetic modeling, generating testable predictions about brain oscillations underlying rhythm cognition and its evolution. Our understanding of the cognitive, neurobiological, and evolutionary bases of rhythm is rapidly increasing. However, researchers in different fields often work on parallel, potentially converging strands with little mutual awareness. This research topic builds a bridge across several disciplines, focusing on the cognitive neuroscience of rhythm as an evolutionary process. We welcome contributions encompassing, although not limited to: (1) developmental and comparative studies of rhythm (e.g. critical acquisition periods, innateness); (2) evidence of rhythmic behavior in other species, both spontaneous and in controlled experiments; (3) comparisons of rhythm processing in music and speech (e.g. behavioral experiments, systems neuroscience perspectives on music-speech networks); (4) evidence on rhythm processing across modalities and domains; (5) studies on rhythm in interaction and context (social, affective, etc.); (6) mathematical and computational (e.g. connectionist, symbolic) models of “rhythmicity” as an evolved behavior. We envision contributions from cognitive, social and affective neuroscience, developmental psychology, psycholinguistics, phonology, music cognition, animal behaviour, comparative cognition, system neuroscience, artificial intelligence, etc. This research topic will contain novel empirical findings and state of the art reviews of hot topics in each discipline, constituting a reference volume on the evolution of rhythm cognition. We welcome all submission formats, with emphasis on the following Frontiers Article types: Original Research (presenting original experiments or novel analyses of empirical data), Methods (introducing new experimental paradigms), Hypothesis and Theory (suggesting testable hypotheses), and Mini Review (focused on a specific theme and aimed at a broad audience of researchers in neighboring fields). Manuscripts, although of an interdisciplinary nature, must have a primary focus on psychology or neuroscience, as expressed in the mission statements of Frontiers in Psychology and Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review. Cover Frontiers Copyright Statement The Evolution of Rhythm Cognition: Timing in Music and Speech Table of Contents Editorial: The Evolution of Rhythm Cognition: Timing in Music and Speech Overview of This Paper Timing in Music and Speech Rhythm: A Multidisciplinary Field Development Evidence Cross-cultural evidence EEG and Frequency Tagging Music, Speech, and Syntax Modality Rhythm in Interaction Dance Quantitative Models Animal Research General Timing and Others Rhythm in other Journals Since Late 2015 Evolutionary Hypotheses for Rhythm Origins Speech Rhythm and Comparative Anatomy of Vocal Tracts The Social Roots of Rhythm Speech, Music, and Prosody Cultural Evolution and Cognitive Biases The Evolution of Dance Timing and Time Perception Measuring Rhythm Final Considerations Author Contributions Funding Acknowledgments References A Citation-Based Analysis and Review of Significant Papers on Timing and Time Perception Introduction Key Papers on Timing and Time Perception Future Directions—Scientific Future Directions—Organizational Author Contributions Funding Acknowledgments Supplementary Material Data References Entraining IDyOT: Timing in the Information Dynamics of Thinking 1. Introduction 2. Theory and Hypotheses 3. Rhythm and Timing in Sequential Perception 3.1. Prediction in Temporal Perception: Concepts and Terminology 3.2. Attentional Orientation 3.3. Entrainment 3.4. Rhythm and Meter in Language 3.5. Rhythm and Meter in Music 3.6. Affective Responses to Expectation in Timing 3.7. A Conceptual Space of Rhythm and Meter 3.7.1. The Theory of Conceptual Spaces 3.7.2. A Geometrical Formalization of Meter and Rhythm 4. IDyOT: the Information Dynamics of Thinking 4.1. A predictive cognitive architecture 4.2. Rhythm and Timing Expectation in IDyOT 4.3. A hypothetical Mechanism Underlying Entrainment 5. Methodology: Studying Evolution Through Computational Simulation 6. Testable Hypotheses 6.1. Metheds to Validate IDyOT As a Model of Current Cognition 6.2. Predicting Behavior from IDyOT 6.3. Correspondence with Neural Function 6.4. Evolving IDyOTs 7. Summary Author Contributions Acknowledgments References Commentary: Beta-Band Oscillations Represent Auditory Beat and Its Metrical Hierarchy in Perception and Imagery Author Contributions Acknowledgments References A Comparative Analysis of the Universal Elements of Music and the Fetal Environment The Question Of The Origins Of Music Outline Of Hypothesis Limbic System Development Memory Pulse The Drum Meter Melody Discrete, Single-Frequency Segments (Musical Notes) Frequency Range Of Melodic Instruments Continuity Tests Of The Prenatal Roots Of Music Probability That The Features Common To The Womb And Music Are Coincidental Conclusion Author Contributions Funding References What Pinnipeds Have to Say about Human Speech, Music, and the Evolution of Rhythm The Human Sense of Rhythm from a Comparative Perspective Pinnipeds: More Vocally Flexible than Primates, Phylogenetically Closer to Humans than Birds Future Research: What Species to test next, and in which Tasks? Vocal Production Learning Interval Timing and Synchronization Natural Isochronous Behavior and Perception of Isochrony Meter Perception, Grouping, and Auditory Experience Percussive Behavior in Harbor Seals Conclusions Author Contributions Funding Acknowledgments Supplementary Material References Zebra Finches As a Model Species to Understand the Roots of Rhythm Vocal Timing in Zebra Finches Recognizing Regularity Regularity Or Interval Detection? Conclusion and Outlook Funding References Finding the Beat: From Socially Coordinated Vocalizations in Songbirds to Rhythmic Entrainment in Humans Characteristics of Rhythm Entrainment in Humans Evaluating Rhythm Learning in Non-Human Animals Vocal Learning and Coordination in Songbirds The Forebrain Song System Is a Generator of Complex Learned Rhythms A comparative Approach For Studying Behavioral Mechanisms of Rhythm Learning A Comparative Approach For Studying Brain Mechanisms of Rhythm Learning Author Contributions Funding References Rhythm Generation and Rhythm Perception in Insects: The Evolution of Synchronous Choruses Acoustic communication in insects Rhythm-Generating Neural Circuits Rhythm Perception and Associated Neuronal Correlates Insect choruses Evolution of Chorus Synchrony Female choice and the evolution of chorus synchrony Leader Preference An Oscillator Property Responsible for Attaining Leadership A realistic model of a M. elongata chorus Manipulation of Chorus Density Selective Attention Is chorus synchrony in M. elongata the outcome of a sensory bias? The Adaptive Nature of a Sensory Bias Cooperation, competition, and a trade-off between natural and sexual selection Ethics Statement Author Contributions Funding Acknowledgments References “It Don't Mean a Thing if it ain't got that Swing”–an Alternative Concept for Understanding the Evolution of Dance and Music in Human Beings The Evolution Of Dance And Music, Current Concepts Definition of Dance Conceptions of Music and Theories on the Origin of Music Current Hypotheses on the Evolution of Dance Music and Dance as Pre-verbal Communication Tools Defining A Differentiated Framework Of Music And Dance Connecting Studies In Various Scientific Disciplines With Hypotheses On The Evolution Of Dance And Music In Humankind Evidence of Dance and Music in Archeological Records Studies on Infants and Children What Could The Evolutionary Functions Of Rhythm And Dance Be? Reproductive Fitness And Sexual Attractiveness Social Fitness Synchronization of Many Individuals Social Bonding Keeping Peace Dance Rituals, Trance, Shamanism, and Religion Embodied Pre-verbal Memorizing and Transfer of Traditions Paving the Way for Verbal Communication Individual Fitness Individual Psychological Fitness Individual Physical Fitness Conclusion Author Contributions Acknowledgments References Sensory Entrainment Mechanisms in Auditory Perception: Neural Synchronization Cortico-Striatal Activation Introduction Behavioral Evidence of Sensory Entrainment Neural Correlates of Sensory Entrainment Is Attention Necessary for Sensory Entrainment? Author Contributions Funding Acknowledgments References Can Birds Perceive Rhythmic Patterns? A Review and Experiments on a Songbird and a Parrot Species Introduction The Vocal Learning and Rhythmic Entrainment Hypothesis Vocal Learning and Beat Perception Revisited: Are Parrots Special? Can Birds Detect Rhythmic Patterns and Regularity in Auditory Patterns? Pigeons Starlings Jackdaws Zebra Finches Can Zebra Finches and Budgerigars Perceive Structural Regularity? Materials and Methods Subjects Apparatus Experimental Design Shaping Discrimination Training Test Phase Stimuli Beat recognition: The role of number and presence of X- and y-elements Proportional scaling: The role of element and pause duration and IXI Numerical scaling: The role of the number of y-elements and IXI Analyses Results Training Beat Recognition Proportional Scaling Numerical Scaling Comparing responses to training and test strings Discussion Author contributions Acknowledgments Supplementary Material References ``Bird Song Metronomics'': Isochronous Organization of Zebra Finch Song Rhythm Introduction Materials and Methods Birds Recording Labeling Pulse Matching Fourier Analysis Gesture Transitions Clustering Modeling Statistics Results Pulse Frequencies Gesture Transitions Directed Song Comparison to Randomized Model ``Song'' Discussion Author contributions Funding Acknowledgments Supplementary Material References Sex Differences in Rhythmic Preferences in the Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus): A Comparative Study with Humans Introduction General Materials And Methods Ethical Statement Apparatus Stimuli Procedure Experiment 1: Humans, Rhythmic vs. Arrhythmic 200 Materials and Methods Participants Stimuli Procedure Video Coding Results Experiment 2: Humans, Rhythmic vs. Arrhythmic 50 Materials and Methods Participants Stimuli, Procedure, and Coding Results Experiment 3: Budgerigars, Rhythmic vs. Arrhythmic 200 Materials and Methods Participants Stimuli Procedure Video Coding Results Discussion Author Contributions Funding Acknowledgments References The Extraordinary Nature of Barney's Drumming: A Complementary Study of Ordinary Noise Making in Chimpanzees Introduction Methods Subjects and Study Site Phase 1: Contexts of So-U Data Collection Data Re-coding for Phase 1 Statistical Models for Phase 1 Phase 2: Video Recording of So-U for Further Rhythmical Analysis Ethics Statement Results Phase 1: Contexts of So-U Are there any Similarities with Barney's Drumming? Discussion and Conclusion Author Contributions Funding Supplementary Material References The Indris Have Got Rhythm! Timing and Pitch Variation of a Primate Song Examined between Sexes and Age Classes Introduction Materials and Methods Study Subjects and Recordings Acoustic Analyses Statistical Analyses Results Overlapping between Singers Gender and Status Influence on the Singing Pattern Rhythmic Differences between Sexes and Age Classes Pitch Variation Patterns Discussion Coordination and Overlapping during Singing Rhythmic Differences in the Indris Pitch Variation Author Contributions Acknowledgments References Beat Keeping in a Sea Lion As Coupled Oscillation: Implications for Comparative Understanding of Human Rhythm Introduction Methods Subject Apparatus Stimuli General Procedure Video Analysis Statistical Analysis Model Fitting Parameter Regression Results Discussion Author Contributions Funding Acknowledgments Supplementary Material References Sensorimotor Synchronization with Different Metrical Levels of Point-Light Dance Movements INTRODUCTION EXPERIMENT 1: SYNCHRONIZING TO THE BOUNCE Methods Participants Stimuli and Materials Procedure and Design Data Analysis Results Determining the Synchronization Target Synchronization to the Beat EXPERIMENT 2: SYNCHRONIZING TO THE LEG MOVEMENTS Methods Participants Stimuli and Materials Procedure and Design Data Analysis Results Determining the Synchronization Target Synchronization to the Beat DISCUSSION AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS FUNDING ACKNOWLEDGMENTS SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL REFERENCES Effects on Inter-Personal Memory of Dancing in Time with Others Introduction Dance Experiment Method Ethical Statement Participants Procedure Results Sash Color Sash Symbol Familiarity and Proximity Discussion Summary Author Contributions Acknowledgments References Measuring Neural Entrainment to Beat and Meter in Infants: Effects of Music Background Introduction Experiment 1 Materials and Methods Participants Stimulus Procedure Data Acquisition and Analysis Results SS-EP Responses Effects of Music Background Effect of infant music classes Effects of parent music training Reported hours of infant music listening Experiment 2 Materials and methods Participants Stimulus Procedure Data Acquisition and Analyses Results SS-EP Responses Effects of Music Background Effects of infant music classes Effects of parent music training Reported hours of infant music listening Discussion Author Contributions Acknowledgments References An Exploration of Rhythmic Grouping of Speech Sequences by French- and German-Learning Infants INTRODUCTION MATERIALS AND METHODS Participants Stimuli Procedure Apparatus and Design RESULTS Control Condition Duration Condition Intensity Condition Pitch Condition DISCUSSION Control Duration Pitch Intensity General Discussion AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL REFERENCES Awareness of Rhythm Patterns in Speech and Music in Children with Specific Language Impairments Introduction Methods Participants Standardized Tests Phonological Tasks Rhyme Oddity Task Phonological Short-Term Memory Task Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) Task Auditory Tasks Amplitude Rise Time (ART) Tasks Duration Tasks Frequency (Rising f0) Tasks Music and Speech Tasks Beat Perception in Music Task Tapping to Music Task Synchronization score (sync score) Circular statistics Pitch and Rhythm in Music and Speech (Music/Speech AXB Tasks) Music tasks Music: rhythm only Music: pitch only Music—rhythm and pitch Speech tasks Speech—rhythm only Speech—pitch only Speech—rhythm and pitch Scoring Results Musical Beat Perception Tapping to Music Music/Speech AXB Tasks Discussion Acknowledgments Supplementary Material References Temporally Regular Musical Primes Facilitate Subsequent Syntax Processing in Children with Specific Language Impairment Introduction Methods Participants Materials Procedure Results Grammaticality Judgments Pitch and Rhythm Subtests of the MBEMA Discussion Author Contributions Funding Acknowledgments Supplementary Material References Exaggeration of Language-Specific Rhythms in English and French Children's Songs Introduction Corpus Analysis Materials and Methods Results and Discussion Ratings Materials and Methods Participants Stimuli Procedure Results and Discussion Listener Effects on Mean Ratings Familiarity Liking Classification Regression Analysis General Discussion Author Contributions Acknowledgments References Appendix A. Corpus song sources. Beat Perception and Sociability: Evidence from Williams Syndrome Introduction Study 1: Individual Differences In Beat And Meter Perception Methods Participants Measures and Procedures Musical Background Behavioral Assessments Cognitive Assessment Beat Alignment Test (BAT) Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia Meter subtest (MBEA-m) Sound Perception Analyses Results Beat Alignment Test Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia Meter Subtest Beat Alignment Test and Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia Meter Study 2: Beat And Meter Perception And Social Communication Skills Methods Participants Measures Analyses Results Beat Alignment Test Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia Meter Subtest Discussion Author Contributions Funding References Both Isochronous and Non-Isochronous Metrical Subdivision Afford Precise and Stable Ensemble Entrainment: A Corpus Study of Malian Jembe Drumming Introduction Materials and Methods Music and Recordings Used in this Study Data Collection and Preparation Results Isochronous vs. Non-Isochronous Subdivision Timings Asynchronies between Ensemble Parts Discussion and Conclusion Author Contributions Funding References Brain Bases of Working Memory for Time Intervals in Rhythmic Sequences Introduction Materials and Methods Participants Stimuli Timing Task Control Task Procedure Behavioral Analysis Image Acquisition Image Analysis Results Behavioral Results Functional Imaging Results Effect of Jitter Effect of Number of Trials Effect of Task Context Structural Imaging Results Discussion Effect of Jitter Effect of Number of Intervals Effect of Task Context Structural Correlation with Behavior Conclusions Author Contributions Acknowledgments Supplementary Material References Look at the Beat, Feel the Meter: Top–Down Effects of Meter Induction on Auditory and Visual Modalities Introduction Materials And Methods Participants Ethics Statement Stimuli Procedure Electrophysiological Recording Data Analyses Results Amplitude Spectra Power Spectra Discussion Conclusion Author Contributions Funding Acknowledgments References The Impact of Instrument-Specific Musical Training on Rhythm Perception and Production Introduction Materials And Methods Experimental Design Participants Test Battery Rhythm Synchronization Task (RST) Stimuli and Procedures Measures Beat Synchronization Task (BST) Stimuli and procedure Measures Synchronization–Continuation Task (SCT) Stimuli and procedure Measures The Beat Alignment Perception Test (BAPT) Stimuli and procedure Measures Working Memory Tasks Data Analysis Results Musical Training and Experience Rhythm Synchronization Beat Synchronization Synchronization–Continuation Beat Alignment Perception Task Working Memory Tasks Correlations Between Measures of Musical Training, Working Memory, and Task Performance Discussion Similarities and Differences in Performance Across Tasks Impact of Musical Experience Within-Task Comparisons Summary And Conclusion Author Contributions Acknowledgments References Rhythm Facilitates the Detection of Repeating Sound Patterns Introduction Methods Results Shorter Noise Targets are Harder to Detect Substantial Jitter Impairs Noise Target Detection What about Natural Sounds? Discussion Does Repetition Detection Rely on Synaptic Memory Traces of Recent Inputs? Modulation Filterbanks as an Alternative Mechanism Repetition of Frozen Noise Targets Results in Distinct Peaks in the Modulation Spectrum Could a Modulation Filterbank Model Account for Previous Findings? Conclusions Author Contributions Acknowledgments References Seeking Temporal Predictability in Speech: Comparing Statistical Approaches on 18 World Languages Introduction Materials and Methods Materials: Corpus Methods: Annotations Methods: Mapping Languages to Durations Analysis and Results: Simple Distributional Measures (Order 0) Analysis and Results: Distributional Statistics of Temporal Structure (Order 1) Why Use Distributional Methods? Bayesian Inference for Distributions of Speech Timing Events: A Primer Bayesian Inference in Our Dataset: Results and Discussion Analysis and Results: Time Series analysis for (Higher Order) Sequential Structural Dependence Structure beyond Metrics and Distributions ARMA: Timing of Occurrence of Future Nuclei as Linear Combination of Past Nuclei Timing ARMA for Speech Timing: A Short Introduction Akaike Weights: Ranking Models Based on Their Parsimony and Fit to the Data Results of the Time Series Analysis on Nuclei Timing Discussion: What Can Time Series Tell Us about Speech Timing? General Discussion and Conclusions Our Approach: Alternative Metrics for Low Order Temporal Regularities Our Approach: Introducing Time Series Analysis to Speech Timing Alternative Hypotheses: Is Predictability Contained in the Speech Signal, or Is Predictability a Top-Down Cognitive Trait? Future Work Conclusions Overview of the Data Files and Their Formats Raw Annotations Prepared Data Python Conversion Scripts Author Contributions Funding Supplementary Material References The Beat to Read: A Cross-Lingual Link between Rhythmic Regularity Perception and Reading Skill Introduction Materials and Methods Participants Test of Fluid Intelligence Reading Task Auditory Rhythmic Timing Tasks Setup Stimuli Tasks Statistical Data Analysis Results Correlations between Auditory Timing Tasks, Musical Expertise, and Fluid Intelligence Correlation with Reading Skill Discussion The ``Roughly Regular'' Beat to Read Generic Regularity and Its Relationship to Musical and Speech Rhythm Relationship with Musical Expertise Cross-Lingual Universality Language Impairment Conclusion Author Contributions Funding Acknowledgments Supplementary Material References The Enhanced Musical Rhythmic Perception in Second Language Learners INTRODUCTION MATERIALS AND METHODS Participants Materials Phonological and Working Memory Measures Melodic Aptitude Test Rhythmic Aptitude Test Self-Reported Language Skills and History Questionnaire Music Background Questionnaire Procedures Mottier Test, Backward Digit Span Melodic Aptitude Test Rhythmic Aptitude Test Statistical Analysis RESULTS L2 Skills Mottier Test, Backward Digit Span, Melodic and Rhythmic Aptitude Tests Mottier Test and Backward Digit Span Melodic Aptitude Test Rhythmic Aptitude Test DISCUSSION AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL REFERENCES Preliminary Experiments on Human Sensitivity to Rhythmic Structure in a Grammar with Recursive Self-Similarity Overview Introduction Methods and Materials Participants Stimuli Materials Procedure Descriptive Statistics And Results Discussion And Future Experiments Overview of the Data Files and Their Formats Author contributions Acknowledgments References Back Cover