Dubstep, Darwin, and the Prehistoric Invention of Music

Where did music come from, and why are we so drawn to it? Though various scholars have offered a diverse set of hypotheses, none of these existing theories can fully encapsulate the complexity of music. They generally treat music holistically, but music is not monolithic. Musical ability encompasses myriad component parts, such as pitch perception and beat synchronization. These various musical elements are processed in different parts of the brain. Thus, it is unlikely that music arose in one place, at one time, in response to one evolutionary pressure. While existing theories can explain pitch-related aspects of music, such as melody and harmony, they fail to encapsulate rhythm. I explore rhythm’s connection with motion, social function, and the brain in order to investigate how and why it may have evolved. In order to do so, I use diverse lines of evidence, such as my own ethnomusicological fieldwork, autism studies, and brain scans of monkeys. I hypothesize that the mirror neuron system, a mechanism in the brain that allows cognitive and physical synchronization, may be behind the connection between rhythm, movement, and social cognition. When eventually rhythm was joined with pitch manipulation activities, music as we know it was born

Anthrofest 2011

The University of Pennsylvania anthropology annual undergraduate research conference known as ANTHROFEST brings together undergraduates involved in research across all concentrations in anthropology, as well as faculty and the broader undergraduate and graduate community. Each year, select students present and discuss their original research to the community at Penn. The conference is open to the public

Anthrofest 2012

The University of Pennsylvania anthropology annual undergraduate research conference known as ANTHROFEST brings together undergraduates involved in research across all concentrations in anthropology, as well as faculty and the broader undergraduate and graduate community. Each year, select students present and discuss their original research to the community at Penn. The conference is open to the public

Interleukin-2, interleukin-12, and interferon-γ levels and risk of young adult Hodgkin lymphoma

Young adult Hodgkin lymphoma (YAHL) is associated clinically with altered immunity, including a systemic defect in cell-mediated responses. There is strong evidence of a genetic contribution to risk, so we hypothesized that heritable alterations in cytokine production associated with Th1 function may contribute to susceptibility. We identified twin pairs in whom at least one member had YAHL and measured interleukin-2 (IL-2), interleukin-12 (IL-12), and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) levels in PHA-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cell supernatant in 90 case-twins, 84 of their disease-free twins (unaffected cotwins), and 90 matched controls. Mean difference and mean percentage difference in cytokine levels between case-twins and controls, and unaffected cotwins and controls were determined using analysis of covariance. YAHL case-twins and their unaffected cotwins had IL-12 levels that were 60.6% (P = .002) and 49% (P = .04) lower than those of their matched controls, respectively. IL-2 levels were significantly higher in case-twins (P = .049), but not unaffected cotwins (P = .57), compared with controls. Differences in IFN-γ levels were not statistically significant in either comparison. An IL-12 polymorphism known to regulate expression was associated with a 2.8-fold (P = .03) increase in YAHL risk. Thus, both case-twins and their unaffected cotwins had a decreased ability to produce IL-12, which may contribute to YAHL susceptibility