Principled Explanations in Comparative Biomusicology – Toward a Comparative Cognitive Biology of the Human Capacities for Music and Language

The current thesis tackles the question “Why is music the way it is?” within a comparative biomusicology framework by focusing on musical syntax and its relation to syntax in language. Comparative biomusicology integrates different comparative approaches, biological frameworks as well as levels of analysis in cognitive science, and puts forward principled explanations, regarding cognitive systems as different instances of the same principles, as its central research strategy. The main goal is to provide a preliminary answer to this question in form of hypotheses about neurocognitive mechanisms, i.e., cognitive and neural processes, underlying a core function of syntactic computation in language and music, i.e., mapping hierarchical structure and temporal sequence. In particular, the relationship between language and music is discussed on the basis of a top-down approach taking syntax as combinatorial principles and a bottom-up approach taking neural structures and operations as implementational principles. On the basis of the top-down approach, the thesis identifies computational problems of musical syntax, cognitive processes and neural correlates of music syntactic processing, and the relationship to language syntax and syntactic processing. The neural correlates of music syntactic processing are investigated by ALE meta-analyses. The bottom-up approach then studies the relationship between language and music on the basis of neural processes implemented in the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuits. The main result of the current thesis suggests that the relationship between language and music syntactic processing can be explained in terms of the same neurocognitive mechanisms with different expressions on the motor-to-cognitive gradient. The current thesis, especially its bottom-up approach, opens up a possible way going toward comparative cognitive biology, i.e., a comparative approach to cognitive systems with a greater emphasis on the biology

An exploration of the integration of speech with co-speech gesture with non-invasive brain stimulation

The current PhD project focuses on the integration of gesture with their co-occurring speech with the use of non-invasive brain stimulation. The project investigated ‘where’ and ‘when’ gesture-speech integration takes place. Building on the paradigm of Kelly et al., (2010) which provides a reaction time index of automatic gesture-speech integration, it was tested whether left middle temporal gyrus (pMTG) as well as left Inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) are causally involved in gesture-speech integration. A follow-up study investigated the time window for this integration of gesture and speech in pMTG. This study found that gesture has a priming effect on the semantic retrieval of speech. This effect only manifested itself after gesture had been clearly understood and before the semantic analysis of speech. Based on the common coding hypothesis, this finding was interpreted in terms of gesture and speech originating from a common coding system, with both LIFG and pMTG as its neural underpining, enabling bi-directional influences between both domains

Proceedings of the VIIth GSCP International Conference

The 7th International Conference of the Gruppo di Studi sulla Comunicazione Parlata, dedicated to the memory of Claire Blanche-Benveniste, chose as its main theme Speech and Corpora. The wide international origin of the 235 authors from 21 countries and 95 institutions led to papers on many different languages. The 89 papers of this volume reflect the themes of the conference: spoken corpora compilation and annotation, with the technological connected fields; the relation between prosody and pragmatics; speech pathologies; and different papers on phonetics, speech and linguistic analysis, pragmatics and sociolinguistics. Many papers are also dedicated to speech and second language studies. The online publication with FUP allows direct access to sound and video linked to papers (when downloaded)

On Musical Self-Similarity : Intersemiosis as Synecdoche and Analogy

Self-similarity, a concept borrowed from mathematics, is gradually becoming a keyword in musicology. Although a polysemic term, self-similarity often refers to the multi-scalar feature repetition in a set of relationships, and it is commonly valued as an indication for musical ‘coherence’ and ‘consistency’. In this study, Gabriel Pareyon presents a theory of musical meaning formation in the context of intersemiosis, that is, the translation of meaning from one cognitive domain to another cognitive domain (e.g. from mathematics to music, or to speech or graphic forms). From this perspective, the degree of coherence of a musical system relies on a synecdochic intersemiosis: a system of related signs within other comparable and correlated systems. The author analyzes the modalities of such correlations, exploring their general and particular traits, and their operational bounds. Accordingly, the notion of analogy is used as a rich concept through its two definitions quoted by the Classical literature—proportion and paradigm, enormously valuable in establishing measurement, likeness and affinity criteria. At the same time, original arguments by Benoît B. Mandelbrot (1924–2010) are revised, alongside a systematic critique of the literature on the subject. In fact, connecting Charles S. Peirce’s ‘synechism’ with Mandelbrot’s ‘fractality’ is one of the main developments of the present study

Measuring musical interaction: analysing communication in embodied musical behaviour

This thesis addresses the ubiquity and necessity of embodied interaction to musical activity, using video analysis to observe communication in musical events. Through the specific study of classical North Indian instrumental duo performance, the thesis examines how processes of social interaction may inform human musical activity, using a combined methodology of ethnographic study and quantitative data analysis of original video-recordings. Proposing a pragmatic approach to the study of the meaningful nature of musical events, the thesis keeps sight of the generative context of the human body in social interaction, and offers a model of musical communication that privileges nonlinguistic, socially co-regulative elements in its account of human musical interaction. The socially meaningful nature of the behaviour-in-time of the musicians included in the study is investigated by means of a novel methodology. This combines the qualitative exploration of emic concepts related to the practice of North Indian classical music with an empirical analysis of video data, based on a cognitive ethological framework. The thesis draws on current notions of embodied cognition and contributes to the growing corpus of musicological literature emphasising the embodied and social nature of musical communication. The results of this exploratory study suggest that both social-interaction and music-structural factors contribute to the organisation of the musicians' communicative behaviours and that, to a certain extent, these organisational factors can be separated in analysis

Socio-psychological components in the identity construction process of adult learners of English at EOI: between motivation and anxiety. Drama as a tool to help overcome anxiety and enhance motivation

Tesis doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Departamento de Lingüística General, Lenguas Modernas, Lógica y Filosofía de la Ciencia, Teoría de la Literatura y Literatura Comparada. Fecha de lectura: 28-6-2017El objetivo principal de esta tesis doctoral ha sido investigar los conceptos de Motivación y Ansiedad en Lenguas Extranjeras (o FLA4) como parte de la construcción de la identidad de alumnos de Escuela Oficial de Idiomas (EOI). En efecto, el proceso de aprendizaje resulta potencialmente perturbador para el ego en edad adulta, por lo que sentimientos y pensamientos negativos pueden interferir en el desarrollo de una imagen positiva de un usuario de L25. Para fomentar la motivación y controlar la FLA se han diseñado y sometido a ensayo empírico unas actividades teatrales. Se ha recabado y analizado tanto datos cuantitativos como cualitativos en una muestra de 94 alumnos adultos de EOI. Los resultados indican que el género y la edad son aspectos significativos de la identidad, ya que son las participantes de sexo femenino y los de edad mayor quienes admitieron más la FLA. La motivación intrínseca resultó predominante, aunque se ha registrado también una motivación extrínseca al alza debido al contexto económico actual español. El esfuerzo por alcanzar un ser ideal6 se ha revelado un potente motor de motivación, pero al mismo tiempo algo que puede generar FLA, cuyos efectos negativos se han comprobado también a nivel de comprensión oral, hecho que no se había investigado anteriormente. Además, se ha descubierto que la auto-eficacia7 es la variable que más repercute en la FLA de una forma aún más poderosa o perjudicial que el propio nivel de conocimientos del alumno. Los alumnos de nivel básico parecen tener menos consciencia de la FLA y no utilizar las mismas estrategias contra sus efectos que los de nivel avanzado. Para este fin, las técnicas teatrales se han demostrado eficaces para aumentar la confianza a través de un proceso de identificación con un rol. De hecho, se ha apreciado una transformación en los alumnos gracias a dichas técnicas. En particular, si se utilizan de manera constante, pueden tener un efecto aún más duradero a largo plazo como terapia contra la FLA. En definitiva, esta tesis contribuye a la investigación en el campo de la FLA con un nuevo constructo, la Ansiedad en la Comprensión Oral, además de profundizar en los conceptos expuestos gracias a datos cualitativos y brindando una propuesta pedagógica basada en técnicas teatrales.The main objective of this doctoral dissertation was to deal with the constructs Motivation and Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) as part of the identity construction of adult learners at Escuela Oficial de Idiomas (EOI). In fact, the learning process may be experienced as potentially ego-threatening at an adult age, and thus negative feelings and thoughts may interfere in the development of a positive image as L2 users1. In order to enhance motivation and tackle FLA, some drama activities have been designed and empirically tested. Both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered and analysed on a sample of 94 adult EOI learners. Results indicate that gender and age are significant identity-related aspects, with female and older respondents admitting more to FLA. Intrinsic motivation turned out to be overwhelming, even though an increasing extrinsic one was also registered, due to the changing economic situation in Spain. The struggle to attain an ideal self2 has been found as a powerful motivation drive, but also as a generator of FLA, whose detrimental effects were proven also in terms of listening comprehension, an area previously not tested. Moreover, self-efficacy3 was discovered as the best predictor of FLA, even more powerful or detrimental than a learner’s actual proficiency level. Elementary students seemed to be less aware of FLA and not to deploy the same strategies as the advanced students to tackle its effects. To this purpose, drama techniques have proven successful in order to enhance confidence through a process of role identification with an L2 persona. Indeed, a transformation appeared to be brought about thanks to drama. In particular, if used consistently, learning an L2 through drama might have a more consistent effect as a therapy against FLA in the long run. In sum, this thesis contributes a new construct, Listening Anxiety, to FLA research; in addition, it provides more insights into FLA and motivation thanks to qualitative data, as well as a pedagogical proposal based on drama techniques