Project description
Understanding the brain processes behind perception and body movement to musical rhythm
Humans show a remarkable ability to perceive and produce musical rhythm, but the brain mechanisms behind this behavior remain unknown. An outstanding hypothesis is that the activity of auditory and motor brain regions is tightly coupled. This coupling would explain that we are spontaneously entrained to move to musical rhythm, and in turn that body movement can change the way we hear a rhythm. The ERC-funded Rhythm and Brains project aims to uncover these brain mechanisms by combining concepts and methods of experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Results will shed light on the brain mechanisms ruling human perception and movement, and aim to inform clinical practices using rhythm to probe and improve the function of sensory-motor networks after brain damage.
Objective
Entrainment to music is a culturally widespread activity with increasingly recognized pro-social and
therapeutic effects. Music powerfully compels us to move to the musical rhythm, showcasing the
remarkable ability of humans to perceive and produce rhythmic inputs. However, the underlying
functional mechanisms remain unknown. One view, which dates back to Darwin, is that the relevant
mechanisms are ancient and anchored in the evolutionary oldest subcortical parts of the brain.
However, recent research argues that rhythm perception is a complex cognitive function involving
temporally precise communication between cortical sensory and motor regions, even in the absence
of overt body movement or intention to move.
This project aims to uncover these mechanisms by combining concepts and methods of
experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Specifically, the research will (i) unravel the
mechanisms at the interface of rhythmic inputs, motor skills and brain activity, (ii) establish the
active role of motor representations in rhythm perception, (iii) track the development of these
processes even prior to language in infants, and (iv) investigate the physiopathology and restoration
of these processes in brain-damaged patients.
To achieve these objectives, the project will use a comparable method across different experimental
settings, the frequency-tagging approach, whose reliability and advantages have been recently
established as an innovative method to capture neural entrainment to rhythm in humans. Results
will provide important knowledge into how psychological, environmental and neural mechanisms
affect such entrainment. Clarifying these mechanisms provides an optimal framework to unravel the
role of an intrinsic sensory-motor coupling underlying perception and how this coupling develops
over the lifespan. It is also critical for optimising clinical rehabilitation practices using music as a
powerful non-verbal cross-cultural means of communication.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences neurobiology
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine physiotherapy
- social sciences psychology
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-STG - Starting Grant
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2018-STG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1348 LOUVAIN LA NEUVE
Belgium
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.