1
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Walsh SL, Townsend SW, Engesser S, Ridley AR. Call combination production is linked to the social environment in Western Australian magpies ( Gymnorhina tibicen dorsalis). Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20230198. [PMID: 38768205 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
It has recently become clear that some language-specific traits previously thought to be unique to humans (such as the capacity to combine sounds) are widespread in the animal kingdom. Despite the increase in studies documenting the presence of call combinations in non-human animals, factors promoting this vocal trait are unclear. One leading hypothesis proposes that communicative complexity co-evolved with social complexity owing to the need to transmit a diversity of information to a wider range of social partners. The Western Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen dorsalis) provides a unique model to investigate this proposed link because it is a group-living, vocal learning species that is capable of multi-level combinatoriality (independently produced calls contain vocal segments and comprise combinations). Here, we compare variations in the production of call combinations across magpie groups ranging in size from 2 to 11 birds. We found that callers in larger groups give call combinations: (i) in greater diversity and (ii) more frequently than callers in smaller groups. Significantly, these observations support the hypothesis that combinatorial complexity may be related to social complexity in an open-ended vocal learner, providing an important step in understanding the role that sociality may have played in the development of vocal combinatorial complexity. This article is part of the theme issue 'The power of sound: unravelling how acoustic communication shapes group dynamics'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah L Walsh
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia , Crawley, Western Australia 6008, Australia
| | - Simon W Townsend
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich , Zurich 8032, Switzerland
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution (ISLE), University of Zurich , Zurich 8032, Switzerland
- Department of Psychology, University of Warwick , Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
| | - Sabrina Engesser
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen , Kobenhavn 2100, Denmark
| | - Amanda R Ridley
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia , Crawley, Western Australia 6008, Australia
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2
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Youngblood M. Language-like efficiency and structure in house finch song. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240250. [PMID: 38565151 PMCID: PMC10987240 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Communication needs to be complex enough to be functional while minimizing learning and production costs. Recent work suggests that the vocalizations and gestures of some songbirds, cetaceans and great apes may conform to linguistic laws that reflect this trade-off between efficiency and complexity. In studies of non-human communication, though, clustering signals into types cannot be done a priori, and decisions about the appropriate grain of analysis may affect statistical signals in the data. The aim of this study was to assess the evidence for language-like efficiency and structure in house finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) song across three levels of granularity in syllable clustering. The results show strong evidence for Zipf's rank-frequency law, Zipf's law of abbreviation and Menzerath's law. Additional analyses show that house finch songs have small-world structure, thought to reflect systematic structure in syntax, and the mutual information decay of sequences is consistent with a combination of Markovian and hierarchical processes. These statistical patterns are robust across three levels of granularity in syllable clustering, pointing to a limited form of scale invariance. In sum, it appears that house finch song has been shaped by pressure for efficiency, possibly to offset the costs of female preferences for complexity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mason Youngblood
- Minds and Traditions Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Thüringen, Germany
- Institute for Advanced Computational Science, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
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3
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Haiduk F, Zatorre RJ, Benjamin L, Morillon B, Albouy P. Spectrotemporal cues and attention jointly modulate fMRI network topology for sentence and melody perception. Sci Rep 2024; 14:5501. [PMID: 38448636 PMCID: PMC10917817 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-56139-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Speech and music are two fundamental modes of human communication. Lateralisation of key processes underlying their perception has been related both to the distinct sensitivity to low-level spectrotemporal acoustic features and to top-down attention. However, the interplay between bottom-up and top-down processes needs to be clarified. In the present study, we investigated the contribution of acoustics and attention to melodies or sentences to lateralisation in fMRI functional network topology. We used sung speech stimuli selectively filtered in temporal or spectral modulation domains with crossed and balanced verbal and melodic content. Perception of speech decreased with degradation of temporal information, whereas perception of melodies decreased with spectral degradation. Applying graph theoretical metrics on fMRI connectivity matrices, we found that local clustering, reflecting functional specialisation, linearly increased when spectral or temporal cues crucial for the task goal were incrementally degraded. These effects occurred in a bilateral fronto-temporo-parietal network for processing temporally degraded sentences and in right auditory regions for processing spectrally degraded melodies. In contrast, global topology remained stable across conditions. These findings suggest that lateralisation for speech and music partially depends on an interplay of acoustic cues and task goals under increased attentional demands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Haiduk
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
| | - Robert J Zatorre
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research (BRAMS) - CRBLM, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Lucas Benjamin
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CNRS ERL 9003, INSERM U992, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, 91191, Gif/Yvette, France
| | - Benjamin Morillon
- Aix Marseille University, Inserm, INS, Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes, Marseille, France
| | - Philippe Albouy
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research (BRAMS) - CRBLM, Montreal, QC, Canada
- CERVO Brain Research Centre, School of Psychology, Laval University, Quebec, QC, Canada
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4
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Benítez-Burraco A, Nikolsky A. The (Co)Evolution of Language and Music Under Human Self-Domestication. HUMAN NATURE (HAWTHORNE, N.Y.) 2023; 34:229-275. [PMID: 37097428 PMCID: PMC10354115 DOI: 10.1007/s12110-023-09447-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 04/26/2023]
Abstract
Together with language, music is perhaps the most distinctive behavioral trait of the human species. Different hypotheses have been proposed to explain why only humans perform music and how this ability might have evolved in our species. In this paper, we advance a new model of music evolution that builds on the self-domestication view of human evolution, according to which the human phenotype is, at least in part, the outcome of a process similar to domestication in other mammals, triggered by the reduction in reactive aggression responses to environmental changes. We specifically argue that self-domestication can account for some of the cognitive changes, and particularly for the behaviors conducive to the complexification of music through a cultural mechanism. We hypothesize four stages in the evolution of music under self-domestication forces: (1) collective protomusic; (2) private, timbre-oriented music; (3) small-group, pitch-oriented music; and (4) collective, tonally organized music. This line of development encompasses the worldwide diversity of music types and genres and parallels what has been hypothesized for languages. Overall, music diversity might have emerged in a gradual fashion under the effects of the enhanced cultural niche construction as shaped by the progressive decrease in reactive (i.e., impulsive, triggered by fear or anger) aggression and the increase in proactive (i.e., premeditated, goal-directed) aggression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Benítez-Burraco
- Department of Spanish Language, Linguistics and Literary Theory (Linguistics), Faculty of Philology, University of Seville, Seville, Spain.
- Departamento de Lengua Española, Facultad de Filología, Área de Lingüística General, Lingüística y Teoría de la Literatura, Universidad de Sevilla, C/ Palos de la Frontera s/n, Sevilla, 41007, España.
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5
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Brecht KF, Westendorff S, Nieder A. Neural correlates of cognitively controlled vocalizations in a corvid songbird. Cell Rep 2023; 42:112113. [PMID: 36821443 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Revised: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/28/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The neuronal basis of the songbird's song system is well understood. However, little is known about the neuronal correlates of the executive control of songbird vocalizations. Here, we record single-unit activity from the pallial endbrain region "nidopallium caudolaterale" (NCL) of crows that vocalize to the presentation of a visual go-cue but refrain from vocalizing during trials without a go-cue. We find that the preparatory activity of single vocalization-correlated neurons, but also of the entire population of NCL neurons, before vocal onset predicts whether or not the crows will produce an instructed vocalization. Fluctuations in baseline neuronal activity prior to the go-cue influence the premotor activity of such vocalization-correlated neurons and seemingly bias the crows' decision to vocalize. Neuronal response modulation significantly differs between volitional and task-unrelated vocalizations. This suggests that the NCL can take control over the vocal motor network during the production of volitional vocalizations in a corvid songbird.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina F Brecht
- Animal Physiology Unit, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Stephanie Westendorff
- Animal Physiology Unit, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andreas Nieder
- Animal Physiology Unit, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
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6
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Walsh SL, Engesser S, Townsend SW, Ridley AR. Multi-level combinatoriality in magpie non-song vocalizations. J R Soc Interface 2023; 20:20220679. [PMID: 36722171 PMCID: PMC9890321 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2022.0679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Comparative studies conducted over the past few decades have provided important insights into the capacity for animals to combine vocal segments at either one of two levels: within- or between-calls. There remains, however, a distinct gap in knowledge as to whether animal combinatoriality can extend beyond one level. Investigating this requires a comprehensive analysis of the combinatorial features characterizing a species' vocal system. Here, we used a nonlinear dimensionality reduction analysis and sequential transition analysis to quantitatively describe the non-song combinatorial repertoire of the Western Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen dorsalis). We found that (i) magpies recombine four distinct acoustic segments to create a larger number of calls, and (ii) the resultant calls are further combined into larger call combinations. Our work demonstrates two levels in the combining of magpie vocal units. These results are incongruous with the notion that a capacity for multi-level combinatoriality is unique to human language, wherein the combining of meaningless sounds and meaningful words interactively occurs across different combinatorial levels. Our study thus provides novel insights into the combinatorial capacities of a non-human species, adding to the growing evidence of analogues of language-specific traits present in the animal kingdom.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah L. Walsh
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Sabrina Engesser
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 1165 København, Denmark
| | - Simon W. Townsend
- Department of Comparative Language Science, University of Zurich, Zurich 8006, Switzerland,Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution (ISLE), University of Zurich, Zurich 8006, Switzerland,Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
| | - Amanda R. Ridley
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
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7
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Ivanitskii VV, Marova IM. The Syntactic Organization of Bird Song. BIOL BULL+ 2022. [DOI: 10.1134/s1062359022080076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
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8
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Haiduk F, Fitch WT. Understanding Design Features of Music and Language: The Choric/Dialogic Distinction. Front Psychol 2022; 13:786899. [PMID: 35529579 PMCID: PMC9075586 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.786899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Music and spoken language share certain characteristics: both consist of sequences of acoustic elements that are combinatorically combined, and these elements partition the same continuous acoustic dimensions (frequency, formant space and duration). However, the resulting categories differ sharply: scale tones and note durations of small integer ratios appear in music, while speech uses phonemes, lexical tone, and non-isochronous durations. Why did music and language diverge into the two systems we have today, differing in these specific features? We propose a framework based on information theory and a reverse-engineering perspective, suggesting that design features of music and language are a response to their differential deployment along three different continuous dimensions. These include the familiar propositional-aesthetic ('goal') and repetitive-novel ('novelty') dimensions, and a dialogic-choric ('interactivity') dimension that is our focus here. Specifically, we hypothesize that music exhibits specializations enhancing coherent production by several individuals concurrently-the 'choric' context. In contrast, language is specialized for exchange in tightly coordinated turn-taking-'dialogic' contexts. We examine the evidence for our framework, both from humans and non-human animals, and conclude that many proposed design features of music and language follow naturally from their use in distinct dialogic and choric communicative contexts. Furthermore, the hybrid nature of intermediate systems like poetry, chant, or solo lament follows from their deployment in the less typical interactive context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Haiduk
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - W. Tecumseh Fitch
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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9
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Tsogli V, Jentschke S, Koelsch S. Unpredictability of the “when” influences prediction error processing of the “what” and “where”. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0263373. [PMID: 35113946 PMCID: PMC8812910 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The capability to establish accurate predictions is an integral part of learning. Whether predictions about different dimensions of a stimulus interact with each other, and whether such an interaction affects learning, has remained elusive. We conducted a statistical learning study with EEG (electroencephalography), where a stream of consecutive sound triplets was presented with deviants that were either: (a) statistical, depending on the triplet ending probability, (b) physical, due to a change in sound location or (c) double deviants, i.e. a combination of the two. We manipulated the predictability of stimulus-onset by using random stimulus-onset asynchronies. Temporal unpredictability due to random onsets reduced the neurophysiological responses to statistical and location deviants, as indexed by the statistical mismatch negativity (sMMN) and the location MMN. Our results demonstrate that the predictability of one stimulus attribute influences the processing of prediction error signals of other stimulus attributes, and thus also learning of those attributes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vera Tsogli
- Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | | | - Stefan Koelsch
- Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- * E-mail:
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10
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Sainburg T, Gentner TQ. Toward a Computational Neuroethology of Vocal Communication: From Bioacoustics to Neurophysiology, Emerging Tools and Future Directions. Front Behav Neurosci 2021; 15:811737. [PMID: 34987365 PMCID: PMC8721140 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.811737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently developed methods in computational neuroethology have enabled increasingly detailed and comprehensive quantification of animal movements and behavioral kinematics. Vocal communication behavior is well poised for application of similar large-scale quantification methods in the service of physiological and ethological studies. This review describes emerging techniques that can be applied to acoustic and vocal communication signals with the goal of enabling study beyond a small number of model species. We review a range of modern computational methods for bioacoustics, signal processing, and brain-behavior mapping. Along with a discussion of recent advances and techniques, we include challenges and broader goals in establishing a framework for the computational neuroethology of vocal communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim Sainburg
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Center for Academic Research & Training in Anthropogeny, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Timothy Q. Gentner
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Neurobiology Section, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
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11
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Boari S, Mindlin GB, Amador A. Neural oscillations are locked to birdsong rhythms in canaries. Eur J Neurosci 2021; 55:549-565. [PMID: 34852183 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Revised: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 11/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
How vocal communication signals are represented in the cortex is a major challenge for behavioural neuroscience. Beyond a descriptive code, it is relevant to unveil the dynamical mechanism responsible for the neural representation of auditory stimuli. In this work, we report evidence of synchronous neural activity in nucleus HVC, a telencephalic area of canaries (Serinus canaria), in response to auditory playback of the bird's own song. The rhythmic features of canary song allowed us to show that this large-scale synchronization was locked to defined features of the behaviour. We recorded neural activity in a brain region where sensorimotor integration occurs, showing the presence of well-defined oscillations in the local field potentials, which are locked to song rhythm. We also show a correspondence between local field potentials, multiunit activity and single unit activity within the same brain region. Overall, our results show that the rhythmic features of the vocal behaviour are represented in a telencephalic region of canaries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Santiago Boari
- Physics Department, FCEyN, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,IFIBA, CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Gabriel B Mindlin
- Physics Department, FCEyN, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,IFIBA, CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Ana Amador
- Physics Department, FCEyN, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,IFIBA, CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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12
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Popescu T, Widdess R, Rohrmeier M. Western listeners detect boundary hierarchy in Indian music: a segmentation study. Sci Rep 2021; 11:3112. [PMID: 33542358 PMCID: PMC7862587 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-82629-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
How are listeners able to follow and enjoy complex pieces of music? Several theoretical frameworks suggest links between the process of listening and the formal structure of music, involving a division of the musical surface into structural units at multiple hierarchical levels. Whether boundaries between structural units are perceivable to listeners unfamiliar with the style, and are identified congruently between naïve listeners and experts, remains unclear. Here, we focused on the case of Indian music, and asked 65 Western listeners (of mixed levels of musical training; most unfamiliar with Indian music) to intuitively segment into phrases a recording of sitar ālāp of two different rāga-modes. Each recording was also segmented by two experts, who identified boundary regions at section and phrase levels. Participant- and region-wise scores were computed on the basis of "clicks" inside or outside boundary regions (hits/false alarms), inserted earlier or later within those regions (high/low "promptness"). We found substantial agreement-expressed as hit rates and click densities-among participants, and between participants' and experts' segmentations. The agreement and promptness scores differed between participants, levels, and recordings. We found no effect of musical training, but detected real-time awareness of grouping completion and boundary hierarchy. The findings may potentially be explained by underlying general bottom-up processes, implicit learning of structural relationships, cross-cultural musical similarities, or universal cognitive capacities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tudor Popescu
- Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Biology, Universität Wien, Althanstrasse 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
- Medizinische Universität Wien, Spitalgasse 23, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Richard Widdess
- Department of Music, School of Arts, SOAS University of London, London, UK
| | - Martin Rohrmeier
- Centre for Music and Science, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
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13
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Mann DC, Fitch WT, Tu HW, Hoeschele M. Universal principles underlying segmental structures in parrot song and human speech. Sci Rep 2021; 11:776. [PMID: 33436874 PMCID: PMC7804275 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-80340-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 12/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the diversity of human languages, certain linguistic patterns are remarkably consistent across human populations. While syntactic universals receive more attention, there is stronger evidence for universal patterns in the inventory and organization of segments: units that are separated by rapid acoustic transitions which are used to build syllables, words, and phrases. Crucially, if an alien researcher investigated spoken human language how we analyze non-human communication systems, many of the phonological regularities would be overlooked, as the majority of analyses in non-humans treat breath groups, or "syllables" (units divided by silent inhalations), as the smallest unit. Here, we introduce a novel segment-based analysis that reveals patterns in the acoustic output of budgerigars, a vocal learning parrot species, that match universal phonological patterns well-documented in humans. We show that song in four independent budgerigar populations is comprised of consonant- and vowel-like segments. Furthermore, the organization of segments within syllables is not random. As in spoken human language, segments at the start of a vocalization are more likely to be consonant-like and segments at the end are more likely to be longer, quieter, and lower in fundamental frequency. These results provide a new foundation for empirical investigation of language-like abilities in other species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan C Mann
- Linguistics Program, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York City, USA.
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
| | - W Tecumseh Fitch
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Hsiao-Wei Tu
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, USA
| | - Marisa Hoeschele
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Acoustics Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
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14
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Recursive music elucidates neural mechanisms supporting the generation and detection of melodic hierarchies. Brain Struct Funct 2020; 225:1997-2015. [PMID: 32591927 PMCID: PMC7473971 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-020-02105-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2019] [Accepted: 06/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The ability to generate complex hierarchical structures is a crucial component of human cognition which can be expressed in the musical domain in the form of hierarchical melodic relations. The neural underpinnings of this ability have been investigated by comparing the perception of well-formed melodies with unexpected sequences of tones. However, these contrasts do not target specifically the representation of rules generating hierarchical structure. Here, we present a novel paradigm in which identical melodic sequences are generated in four steps, according to three different rules: The Recursive rule, generating new hierarchical levels at each step; The Iterative rule, adding tones within a fixed hierarchical level without generating new levels; and a control rule that simply repeats the third step. Using fMRI, we compared brain activity across these rules when participants are imagining the fourth step after listening to the third (generation phase), and when participants listened to a fourth step (test sound phase), either well-formed or a violation. We found that, in comparison with Repetition and Iteration, imagining the fourth step using the Recursive rule activated the superior temporal gyrus (STG). During the test sound phase, we found fronto-temporo-parietal activity and hippocampal de-activation when processing violations, but no differences between rules. STG activation during the generation phase suggests that generating new hierarchical levels from previous steps might rely on retrieving appropriate melodic hierarchy schemas. Previous findings highlighting the role of hippocampus and inferior frontal gyrus may reflect processing of unexpected melodic sequences, rather than hierarchy generation per se.
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15
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Alviar C, Dale R, Dewitt A, Kello C. Multimodal Coordination of Sound and Movement in Music and Speech. DISCOURSE PROCESSES 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/0163853x.2020.1768500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Camila Alviar
- Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced
| | - Rick Dale
- Department of Communication, University of California, Los Angeles
| | - Akeiylah Dewitt
- Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced
| | - Christopher Kello
- Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced
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16
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A Set of 200 Musical Stimuli Varying in Balance, Contour, Symmetry, and Complexity: Behavioral and Computational Assessments. Behav Res Methods 2020; 52:1491-1509. [DOI: 10.3758/s13428-019-01329-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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17
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Abstract
Phenotypic sequences are a type of multivariate trait organized structurally, such as teeth distributed along the dental arch, or temporally, such as the stages of an ontogenetic series. Unlike other multivariate traits, the elements of a phenotypic sequence are distributed along an ordered set, which allows for distinct evolutionary patterns between neighboring and distant positions. In fact, sequence traits share many characteristics with molecular sequences, although important distinctions pose challenges to current comparative methods. We implement an approach to estimate rates of trait evolution that explicitly incorporates the sequence organization of traits. We apply models to study the temporal pattern evolution of cricket calling songs. We test whether neighboring positions along a phenotypic sequence have correlated rates of evolution or whether rate variation is independent of sequence position. Our results show that cricket song evolution is strongly autocorrelated and that models perform well when used with sequence phenotypes even under small sample sizes. Our approach is flexible and can be applied to any multivariate trait with discrete units organized in a sequence-like structure.
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18
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Ravignani A, Dalla Bella S, Falk S, Kello CT, Noriega F, Kotz SA. Rhythm in speech and animal vocalizations: a cross-species perspective. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2019; 1453:79-98. [PMID: 31237365 PMCID: PMC6851814 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2019] [Revised: 05/14/2019] [Accepted: 05/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Why does human speech have rhythm? As we cannot travel back in time to witness how speech developed its rhythmic properties and why humans have the cognitive skills to process them, we rely on alternative methods to find out. One powerful tool is the comparative approach: studying the presence or absence of cognitive/behavioral traits in other species to determine which traits are shared between species and which are recent human inventions. Vocalizations of many species exhibit temporal structure, but little is known about how these rhythmic structures evolved, are perceived and produced, their biological and developmental bases, and communicative functions. We review the literature on rhythm in speech and animal vocalizations as a first step toward understanding similarities and differences across species. We extend this review to quantitative techniques that are useful for computing rhythmic structure in acoustic sequences and hence facilitate cross-species research. We report links between vocal perception and motor coordination and the differentiation of rhythm based on hierarchical temporal structure. While still far from a complete cross-species perspective of speech rhythm, our review puts some pieces of the puzzle together.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Ravignani
- Artificial Intelligence LaboratoryVrije Universiteit BrusselBrusselsBelgium
- Institute for Advanced StudyUniversity of AmsterdamAmsterdamthe Netherlands
| | - Simone Dalla Bella
- International Laboratory for BrainMusic and Sound Research (BRAMS)MontréalQuebecCanada
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of MontrealMontréalQuebecCanada
- Department of Cognitive PsychologyWarsawPoland
| | - Simone Falk
- International Laboratory for BrainMusic and Sound Research (BRAMS)MontréalQuebecCanada
- Laboratoire de Phonétique et Phonologie, UMR 7018, CNRS/Université Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris‐3Institut de Linguistique et Phonétique générales et appliquéesParisFrance
| | | | - Florencia Noriega
- Chair for Network DynamicsCenter for Advancing Electronics Dresden (CFAED), TU DresdenDresdenGermany
- CODE University of Applied SciencesBerlinGermany
| | - Sonja A. Kotz
- International Laboratory for BrainMusic and Sound Research (BRAMS)MontréalQuebecCanada
- Basic and Applied NeuroDynamics Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Neuropsychology and PsychopharmacologyMaastricht UniversityMaastrichtthe Netherlands
- Department of NeuropsychologyMax‐Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesLeipzigGermany
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19
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Filippi P, Hoeschele M, Spierings M, Bowling DL. Temporal modulation in speech, music, and animal vocal communication: evidence of conserved function. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2019; 1453:99-113. [DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2019] [Revised: 08/09/2019] [Accepted: 08/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Piera Filippi
- Laboratoire Parole et Langage, LPL UMR 7309, Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueAix‐Marseille Université Aix‐en‐Provence France
- Institute of Language, Communication and the Brain, Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueAix‐Marseille Université Aix‐en‐Provence France
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive LPC UMR 7290, Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueAix‐Marseille Université Marseille France
| | - Marisa Hoeschele
- Acoustics Research InstituteAustrian Academy of Science Vienna Austria
- Department of Cognitive BiologyUniversity of Vienna Vienna Austria
| | | | - Daniel L. Bowling
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral SciencesStanford University School of Medicine Stanford California
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20
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Engesser S, Townsend SW. Combinatoriality in the vocal systems of nonhuman animals. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2019; 10:e1493. [PMID: 30724476 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2018] [Revised: 01/03/2019] [Accepted: 01/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
A key challenge in the field of human language evolution is the identification of the selective conditions that gave rise to language's generative nature. Comparative data on nonhuman animals provides a powerful tool to investigate similarities and differences among nonhuman and human communication systems and to reveal convergent evolutionary mechanisms. In this article, we provide an overview of the current evidence for combinatorial structures found in the vocal system of diverse species. We show that considerable structural diversity exits across and within species in the forms of combinatorial structures used. Based on this we suggest that a fine-grained classification and differentiation of combinatoriality is a useful approach permitting systematic comparisons across animals. Specifically, this will help to identify factors that might promote the emergence of combinatoriality and, crucially, whether differences in combinatorial mechanisms might be driven by variations in social and ecological conditions or cognitive capacities. This article is categorized under: Cognitive Biology > Evolutionary Roots of Cognition Linguistics > Evolution of Language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Engesser
- Department of Comparative Linguistics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Simon W Townsend
- Department of Comparative Linguistics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
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21
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Predictive Processes and the Peculiar Case of Music. Trends Cogn Sci 2019; 23:63-77. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2018.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 185] [Impact Index Per Article: 37.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2018] [Revised: 10/23/2018] [Accepted: 10/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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22
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Kotz S, Ravignani A, Fitch W. The Evolution of Rhythm Processing. Trends Cogn Sci 2018; 22:896-910. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2018.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2018] [Revised: 07/25/2018] [Accepted: 08/02/2018] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
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23
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Kello CT, Bella SD, Médé B, Balasubramaniam R. Hierarchical temporal structure in music, speech and animal vocalizations: jazz is like a conversation, humpbacks sing like hermit thrushes. J R Soc Interface 2018; 14:rsif.2017.0231. [PMID: 29021158 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2017.0231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2017] [Accepted: 09/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans talk, sing and play music. Some species of birds and whales sing long and complex songs. All these behaviours and sounds exhibit hierarchical structure-syllables and notes are positioned within words and musical phrases, words and motives in sentences and musical phrases, and so on. We developed a new method to measure and compare hierarchical temporal structures in speech, song and music. The method identifies temporal events as peaks in the sound amplitude envelope, and quantifies event clustering across a range of timescales using Allan factor (AF) variance. AF variances were analysed and compared for over 200 different recordings from more than 16 different categories of signals, including recordings of speech in different contexts and languages, musical compositions and performances from different genres. Non-human vocalizations from two bird species and two types of marine mammals were also analysed for comparison. The resulting patterns of AF variance across timescales were distinct to each of four natural categories of complex sound: speech, popular music, classical music and complex animal vocalizations. Comparisons within and across categories indicated that nested clustering in longer timescales was more prominent when prosodic variation was greater, and when sounds came from interactions among individuals, including interactions between speakers, musicians, and even killer whales. Nested clustering also was more prominent for music compared with speech, and reflected beat structure for popular music and self-similarity across timescales for classical music. In summary, hierarchical temporal structures reflect the behavioural and social processes underlying complex vocalizations and musical performances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher T Kello
- Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced, 5200 North Lake Rd., Merced, CA 95343, USA
| | - Simone Dalla Bella
- EuroMov Laboratory, Université de Montpellier, 700 Avenue du Pic Saint-Loup, 34090 Montpellier, France.,Institut Universitaire de France, 1 Rue Descartes, 75231 Paris, France.,International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research (BRAMS), 1430 Boulevard du Mont-Royal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H2 V 2J2.,Department of Cognitive Psychology, WSFiZ in Warsaw, 55 Pawia Street, 01-030 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Butovens Médé
- Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced, 5200 North Lake Rd., Merced, CA 95343, USA
| | - Ramesh Balasubramaniam
- Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced, 5200 North Lake Rd., Merced, CA 95343, USA
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24
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Creativity, information, and consciousness: The information dynamics of thinking. Phys Life Rev 2018; 34-35:1-39. [PMID: 29803403 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2018.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2018] [Revised: 03/05/2018] [Accepted: 05/04/2018] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
This paper presents a theory of the basic operation of mind, Information Dynamics of Thinking, which is intended for computational implementation and thence empirical testing. It is based on the information theory of Shannon, and treats the mind/brain as an information processing organ that aims to be information-efficient, in that it predicts its world, so as to use information efficiently, and regularly re-represents it, so as to store information efficiently. The theory is presented in context of a background review of various research areas that impinge upon its development. Consequences of the theory and testable hypotheses arising from it are discussed.
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25
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Honing H. On the biological basis of musicality. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2018; 1423:51-56. [PMID: 29542134 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2017] [Revised: 01/21/2018] [Accepted: 01/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
In recent years, music and musicality have been the focus of an increasing amount of research effort. This has led to a growing role and visibility of the contribution of (bio)musicology to the field of neuroscience and cognitive sciences at large. While it has been widely acknowledged that there are commonalities between speech, language, and musicality, several researchers explain this by considering musicality as an epiphenomenon of language. However, an alternative hypothesis is that musicality is an innate and widely shared capacity for music that can be seen as a natural, spontaneously developing set of traits based on and constrained by our cognitive abilities and their underlying biology. A comparative study of musicality in humans and well-known animal models (monkeys, birds, pinnipeds) will further our insights on which features of musicality are exclusive to humans and which are shared between humans and nonhuman animals, contribute to an understanding of the musical phenotype, and further constrain existing evolutionary theories of music and musicality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henkjan Honing
- Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, Institute for Advanced Study, Institute for Logic, Language and Computation, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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26
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The right inferior frontal gyrus processes nested non-local dependencies in music. Sci Rep 2018; 8:3822. [PMID: 29491454 PMCID: PMC5830458 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-22144-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2017] [Accepted: 02/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Complex auditory sequences known as music have often been described as hierarchically structured. This permits the existence of non-local dependencies, which relate elements of a sequence beyond their temporal sequential order. Previous studies in music have reported differential activity in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) when comparing regular and irregular chord-transitions based on theories in Western tonal harmony. However, it is unclear if the observed activity reflects the interpretation of hierarchical structure as the effects are confounded by local irregularity. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we found that violations to non-local dependencies in nested sequences of three-tone musical motifs in musicians elicited increased activity in the right IFG. This is in contrast to similar studies in language which typically report the left IFG in processing grammatical syntax. Effects of increasing auditory working demands are moreover reflected by distributed activity in frontal and parietal regions. Our study therefore demonstrates the role of the right IFG in processing non-local dependencies in music, and suggests that hierarchical processing in different cognitive domains relies on similar mechanisms that are subserved by domain-selective neuronal subpopulations.
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27
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van der Velde F, Forth J, Nazareth DS, Wiggins GA. Linking Neural and Symbolic Representation and Processing of Conceptual Structures. Front Psychol 2017; 8:1297. [PMID: 28848460 PMCID: PMC5554342 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2016] [Accepted: 07/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
We compare and discuss representations in two cognitive architectures aimed at representing and processing complex conceptual (sentence-like) structures. First is the Neural Blackboard Architecture (NBA), which aims to account for representation and processing of complex and combinatorial conceptual structures in the brain. Second is IDyOT (Information Dynamics of Thinking), which derives sentence-like structures by learning statistical sequential regularities over a suitable corpus. Although IDyOT is designed at a level more abstract than the neural, so it is a model of cognitive function, rather than neural processing, there are strong similarities between the composite structures developed in IDyOT and the NBA. We hypothesize that these similarities form the basis of a combined architecture in which the individual strengths of each architecture are integrated. We outline and discuss the characteristics of this combined architecture, emphasizing the representation and processing of conceptual structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank van der Velde
- Department of Cognitive Psychology and Ergonomics, Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social sciences, University of TwenteEnschede, Netherlands.,Institute of Psychology (IOP)Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Jamie Forth
- Department of Computing, Goldsmiths University of LondonLondon, United Kingdom
| | - Deniece S Nazareth
- Department of Cognitive Psychology and Ergonomics, Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social sciences, University of TwenteEnschede, Netherlands
| | - Geraint A Wiggins
- Computational Creativity Lab, Cognitive Science Group, School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary University of LondonLondon, United Kingdom
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28
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Rohrmeier M, Widdess R. Incidental Learning of Melodic Structure of North Indian Music. Cogn Sci 2016; 41:1299-1327. [PMID: 27859578 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.12404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2012] [Revised: 03/11/2016] [Accepted: 03/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Musical knowledge is largely implicit. It is acquired without awareness of its complex rules, through interaction with a large number of samples during musical enculturation. Whereas several studies explored implicit learning of mostly abstract and less ecologically valid features of Western music, very little work has been done with respect to ecologically valid stimuli as well as non-Western music. The present study investigated implicit learning of modal melodic features in North Indian classical music in a realistic and ecologically valid way. It employed a cross-grammar design, using melodic materials from two modes (rāgas) that use the same scale. Findings indicated that Western participants unfamiliar with Indian music incidentally learned to identify distinctive features of each mode. Confidence ratings suggest that participants' performance was consistently correlated with confidence, indicating that they became aware of whether they were right in their responses; that is, they possessed explicit judgment knowledge. Altogether our findings show incidental learning in a realistic ecologically valid context during only a very short exposure, they provide evidence that incidental learning constitutes a powerful mechanism that plays a fundamental role in musical acquisition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Rohrmeier
- Department of Art and Musicology, Dresden University of Technology.,Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, MIT Intelligence Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
| | - Richard Widdess
- Department of Music, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
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29
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Filippi P. Emotional and Interactional Prosody across Animal Communication Systems: A Comparative Approach to the Emergence of Language. Front Psychol 2016; 7:1393. [PMID: 27733835 PMCID: PMC5039945 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2016] [Accepted: 08/31/2016] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Across a wide range of animal taxa, prosodic modulation of the voice can express emotional information and is used to coordinate vocal interactions between multiple individuals. Within a comparative approach to animal communication systems, I hypothesize that the ability for emotional and interactional prosody (EIP) paved the way for the evolution of linguistic prosody - and perhaps also of music, continuing to play a vital role in the acquisition of language. In support of this hypothesis, I review three research fields: (i) empirical studies on the adaptive value of EIP in non-human primates, mammals, songbirds, anurans, and insects; (ii) the beneficial effects of EIP in scaffolding language learning and social development in human infants; (iii) the cognitive relationship between linguistic prosody and the ability for music, which has often been identified as the evolutionary precursor of language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piera Filippi
- Department of Artificial Intelligence, Vrije Universiteit BrusselBrussels, Belgium
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30
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Janney E, Taylor H, Scharff C, Rothenberg D, Parra LC, Tchernichovski O. Temporal regularity increases with repertoire complexity in the Australian pied butcherbird's song. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2016; 3:160357. [PMID: 27703699 PMCID: PMC5043318 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.160357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2016] [Accepted: 08/08/2016] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Music maintains a characteristic balance between repetition and novelty. Here, we report a similar balance in singing performances of free-living Australian pied butcherbirds. Their songs include many phrase types. The more phrase types in a bird's repertoire, the more diverse the singing performance can be. However, without sufficient temporal organization, avian listeners may find diverse singing performances difficult to perceive and memorize. We tested for a correlation between the complexity of song repertoire and the temporal regularity of singing performance. We found that different phrase types often share motifs (notes or stereotyped groups of notes). These shared motifs reappeared in strikingly regular temporal intervals across different phrase types, over hundreds of phrases produced without interruption by each bird. We developed a statistical estimate to quantify the degree to which phrase transition structure is optimized for maximizing the regularity of shared motifs. We found that transition probabilities between phrase types tend to maximize regularity in the repetition of shared motifs, but only in birds of high repertoire complexity. Conversely, in birds of low repertoire complexity, shared motifs were produced with less regularity. The strong correlation between repertoire complexity and motif regularity suggests that birds possess a mechanism that regulates the temporal placement of shared motifs in a manner that takes repertoire complexity into account. We discuss alternative musical, mechanistic and ecological explanations to this effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eathan Janney
- Department of Psychology, Hunter College, CUNY, New York, NY, USA
- Author for correspondence: Eathan Janney e-mail:
| | | | | | - David Rothenberg
- Department of Humanities, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, USA
| | - Lucas C. Parra
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, City College of New York, CUNY, New York, NY, USA
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31
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Koumura T, Okanoya K. Automatic Recognition of Element Classes and Boundaries in the Birdsong with Variable Sequences. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0159188. [PMID: 27442240 PMCID: PMC4956110 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0159188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2015] [Accepted: 06/28/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Researches on sequential vocalization often require analysis of vocalizations in long continuous sounds. In such studies as developmental ones or studies across generations in which days or months of vocalizations must be analyzed, methods for automatic recognition would be strongly desired. Although methods for automatic speech recognition for application purposes have been intensively studied, blindly applying them for biological purposes may not be an optimal solution. This is because, unlike human speech recognition, analysis of sequential vocalizations often requires accurate extraction of timing information. In the present study we propose automated systems suitable for recognizing birdsong, one of the most intensively investigated sequential vocalizations, focusing on the three properties of the birdsong. First, a song is a sequence of vocal elements, called notes, which can be grouped into categories. Second, temporal structure of birdsong is precisely controlled, meaning that temporal information is important in song analysis. Finally, notes are produced according to certain probabilistic rules, which may facilitate the accurate song recognition. We divided the procedure of song recognition into three sub-steps: local classification, boundary detection, and global sequencing, each of which corresponds to each of the three properties of birdsong. We compared the performances of several different ways to arrange these three steps. As results, we demonstrated a hybrid model of a deep convolutional neural network and a hidden Markov model was effective. We propose suitable arrangements of methods according to whether accurate boundary detection is needed. Also we designed the new measure to jointly evaluate the accuracy of note classification and boundary detection. Our methods should be applicable, with small modification and tuning, to the songs in other species that hold the three properties of the sequential vocalization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takuya Koumura
- Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Research Fellow of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kazuo Okanoya
- Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Cognition and Behavior Joint Laboratory, RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Saitama, Japan
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32
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Abstract
Humans easily recognize "transposed" musical melodies shifted up or down in log frequency. Surprisingly, songbirds seem to lack this capacity, although they can learn to recognize human melodies and use complex acoustic sequences for communication. Decades of research have led to the widespread belief that songbirds, unlike humans, are strongly biased to use absolute pitch (AP) in melody recognition. This work relies almost exclusively on acoustically simple stimuli that may belie sensitivities to more complex spectral features. Here, we investigate melody recognition in a species of songbird, the European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), using tone sequences that vary in both pitch and timbre. We find that small manipulations altering either pitch or timbre independently can drive melody recognition to chance, suggesting that both percepts are poor descriptors of the perceptual cues used by birds for this task. Instead we show that melody recognition can generalize even in the absence of pitch, as long as the spectral shapes of the constituent tones are preserved. These results challenge conventional views regarding the use of pitch cues in nonhuman auditory sequence recognition.
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33
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Gingras B, Honing H, Peretz I, Trainor LJ, Fisher SE. Defining the biological bases of individual differences in musicality. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 370:20140092. [PMID: 25646515 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2014.0092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Advances in molecular technologies make it possible to pinpoint genomic factors associated with complex human traits. For cognition and behaviour, identification of underlying genes provides new entry points for deciphering the key neurobiological pathways. In the past decade, the search for genetic correlates of musicality has gained traction. Reports have documented familial clustering for different extremes of ability, including amusia and absolute pitch (AP), with twin studies demonstrating high heritability for some music-related skills, such as pitch perception. Certain chromosomal regions have been linked to AP and musical aptitude, while individual candidate genes have been investigated in relation to aptitude and creativity. Most recently, researchers in this field started performing genome-wide association scans. Thus far, studies have been hampered by relatively small sample sizes and limitations in defining components of musicality, including an emphasis on skills that can only be assessed in trained musicians. With opportunities to administer standardized aptitude tests online, systematic large-scale assessment of musical abilities is now feasible, an important step towards high-powered genome-wide screens. Here, we offer a synthesis of existing literatures and outline concrete suggestions for the development of comprehensive operational tools for the analysis of musical phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno Gingras
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Henkjan Honing
- Amsterdam Brain and Cognition (ABC), Institute of Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Isabelle Peretz
- International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research, Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Laurel J Trainor
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Ontario, Canada
| | - Simon E Fisher
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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34
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Honing H, ten Cate C, Peretz I, Trehub SE. Without it no music: cognition, biology and evolution of musicality. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2015; 370:20140088. [PMID: 25646511 PMCID: PMC4321129 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2014.0088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 116] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Musicality can be defined as a natural, spontaneously developing trait based on and constrained by biology and cognition. Music, by contrast, can be defined as a social and cultural construct based on that very musicality. One critical challenge is to delineate the constituent elements of musicality. What biological and cognitive mechanisms are essential for perceiving, appreciating and making music? Progress in understanding the evolution of music cognition depends upon adequate characterization of the constituent mechanisms of musicality and the extent to which they are present in non-human species. We argue for the importance of identifying these mechanisms and delineating their functions and developmental course, as well as suggesting effective means of studying them in human and non-human animals. It is virtually impossible to underpin the evolutionary role of musicality as a whole, but a multicomponent perspective on musicality that emphasizes its constituent capacities, development and neural cognitive specificity is an excellent starting point for a research programme aimed at illuminating the origins and evolution of musical behaviour as an autonomous trait.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henkjan Honing
- Amsterdam Brain and Cognition (ABC), Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC), University of Amsterdam, PO Box 94242, 1090 CE Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Carel ten Cate
- Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL), Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University, PO Box 9505, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Isabelle Peretz
- Center for Research on Brain, Language and Music and BRAMS, Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, 1420 Mount Royal Boulevard, Montreal, Canada H3C 3J7
| | - Sandra E Trehub
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, Canada L5L 1C6
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