Motor imagery during action observation modulates automatic imitation effects in rhythmical actions

We have previously shown that passively observing a task-irrelevant rhythmical action can bias the cycle time of a subsequently executed rhythmical action. Here we use the same paradigm to investigate the impact of different forms of motor imagery (MI) during action observation (AO) on this automatic imitation (AI) effect. Participants saw a picture of the instructed action followed by a rhythmical distractor movie, wherein cycle time was subtly manipulated across trials. They then executed the instructed rhythmical action. When participants imagined performing the instructed action in synchrony with the distractor action (AO + MI), a strong imitation bias was found that was significantly greater than in our previous study. The bias was pronounced equally for compatible and incompatible trials, wherein observed and imagined actions were different in type (e.g., face washing vs. painting) or plane of movement, or both. In contrast, no imitation bias was observed when MI conflicted with AO. In Experiment 2, motor execution synchronised with AO produced a stronger imitation bias compared to AO + MI, showing an advantage in synchronisation for overt execution over MI. Furthermore, the bias was stronger when participants synchronised the instructed action with the distractor movie, compared to when they synchronised the distractor action with the distractor movie. Although we still observed a significant bias in the latter condition, this finding indicates a degree of specificity in AI effects for the identity of the synchronised action. Overall, our data show that MI can substantially modulate the effects of AO on subsequent execution, wherein: (1) combined AO + MI can enhance AI effects relative to passive AO; (2) observed and imagined actions can be flexibly coordinated across different action types and planes; and (3) conflicting AO + MI can abolish AI effects. Therefore, combined AO + MI instructions should be considered in motor training and rehabilitation

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

825776_Supplemental_Material_1 – Supplemental material for Seeing a drummer’s performance modulates the subjective experience of groove while listening to popular music drum patterns

Supplemental material, 825776_Supplemental_Material_1 for Seeing a drummer’s performance modulates the subjective experience of groove while listening to popular music drum patterns by Daniel Lloyd Eaves, Noola Griffiths, Emily Burridge, Thomas McBain and Natalie Butcher in Musicae Scientia

825776_Supplemental_Material_1 – Supplemental material for Seeing a drummer’s performance modulates the subjective experience of groove while listening to popular music drum patterns

Supplemental material, 825776_Supplemental_Material_1 for Seeing a drummer’s performance modulates the subjective experience of groove while listening to popular music drum patterns by Daniel Lloyd Eaves, Noola Griffiths, Emily Burridge, Thomas McBain and Natalie Butcher in Musicae Scientia

825776_Supplemental_Material_2 – Supplemental material for Seeing a drummer’s performance modulates the subjective experience of groove while listening to popular music drum patterns

Supplemental material, 825776_Supplemental_Material_2 for Seeing a drummer’s performance modulates the subjective experience of groove while listening to popular music drum patterns by Daniel Lloyd Eaves, Noola Griffiths, Emily Burridge, Thomas McBain and Natalie Butcher in Musicae Scientia

Seeing a drummer’s performance modulates the subjective experience of groove while listening to popular music drum patterns

Spontaneous rhythmical movements, like foot-tapping and head-bobbing, often emerge when people listen to music, promoting the enjoyable sensation of ‘being in the groove’. Here we report the first experiment to investigate if seeing the music maker modulates this experience. Across trials we manipulated groove level in the audio beats (high vs low), and manipulated the match between the audio beats and a concurrently observed point-light display (PLD) of the drummer. The visual display was either fully corresponding with the audio beats, or incompatible across three conditions: a static PLD, a corresponding but asynchronous PLD (0.5s time shifted); or a non-corresponding PLD (e.g. high groove audio paired with low groove PLD). Participants (n = 36) rated: (a) their desire to move; and (b) their perceived groove, purely in response to the audio beats, using 8-point Likert scales. The main effects of groove level and visual display were significant in both measurements. Ratings increased for high compared to low groove audio overall, and for the fully corresponding condition compared to the other visual conditions. Ratings of the desire to move also increased in the static compared to the non-corresponding condition, and the two-way interaction was significant. Desire to move significantly increased for high compared to low groove audio in the fully corresponding, static and asynchronous conditions, while this effect was absent in the non-corresponding condition. These findings identify the importance of seeing as well as hearing the musician for an enhanced experience of groove, which necessitates a multimodal account of music perception

Seeing a drummer’s performance modulates the subjective experience of groove while listening to popular music drum patterns

Spontaneous rhythmical movements, like foot-tapping and head-bobbing, often emerge when people listen to music, promoting the enjoyable sensation of ‘being in the groove’. Here we report the first experiment to investigate if seeing the music maker modulates this experience. Across trials we manipulated groove level in the audio beats (high vs low), and manipulated the match between the audio beats and a concurrently observed point-light display (PLD) of the drummer. The visual display was either fully corresponding with the audio beats, or incompatible across three conditions: a static PLD, a corresponding but asynchronous PLD (0.5s time shifted); or a non-corresponding PLD (e.g. high groove audio paired with low groove PLD). Participants (n = 36) rated: (a) their desire to move; and (b) their perceived groove, purely in response to the audio beats, using 8-point Likert scales. The main effects of groove level and visual display were significant in both measurements. Ratings increased for high compared to low groove audio overall, and for the fully corresponding condition compared to the other visual conditions. Ratings of the desire to move also increased in the static compared to the non-corresponding condition, and the two-way interaction was significant. Desire to move significantly increased for high compared to low groove audio in the fully corresponding, static and asynchronous conditions, while this effect was absent in the non-corresponding condition. These findings identify the importance of seeing as well as hearing the musician for an enhanced experience of groove, which necessitates a multimodal account of music perception

825776_Supplemental_Material_2 – Supplemental material for Seeing a drummer’s performance modulates the subjective experience of groove while listening to popular music drum patterns

Supplemental material, 825776_Supplemental_Material_2 for Seeing a drummer’s performance modulates the subjective experience of groove while listening to popular music drum patterns by Daniel Lloyd Eaves, Noola Griffiths, Emily Burridge, Thomas McBain and Natalie Butcher in Musicae Scientia

825776_Supplemental_Material_3 – Supplemental material for Seeing a drummer’s performance modulates the subjective experience of groove while listening to popular music drum patterns

Supplemental material, 825776_Supplemental_Material_3 for Seeing a drummer’s performance modulates the subjective experience of groove while listening to popular music drum patterns by Daniel Lloyd Eaves, Noola Griffiths, Emily Burridge, Thomas McBain and Natalie Butcher in Musicae Scientia