Studying the effect of oral transmission on melodic structure using online iterated singing experiments

ince generations, singing and speech have been mainly transmitted orally. How does oral transmission shape the evolution of music? Here, we developed a method for conducting online transmission experiments, in which sung melodies are passed from one singer to the next. We show that cognitive and motor constraints play a profound role in the emergence of melodic structure. Specifically, initially random tones develop into more structured systems that increasingly reuse and combine fewer elements, making melodies easier to learn and transmit over time. We discuss how our findings are compatible with melodic universals found in most human cultures and culturally specific characteristics of participants' previous musical exposure. Overall, our method efficiently automates online singing experiments while enabling large-scale data collection using standard computers available to everyone. We see great potential in further extending this work to increase the efficiency, scalability, and diversity of research on cultural evolution and cognitive science

Naturalización de la fenomenología: idealismo fenomenológico trascendental, cambio conceptual y "cambio de mundo"

Con esta tesis pretendo presentar un modelo de naturalización de la fenomenología que sirva de base para establecer una epistemología y, por lo tanto, una ontología7 adecuadas para las ciencias cognitivas. Dicho esto, esta no es una tesis de, ni sobre, ciencias cognitivas, sino sobre la viabilidad, consistencia y necesidad de un proyecto de naturalización de la fenomenología trascendental. En particular, defenderé, por razones que veremos más abajo, una fenomenología trascendental naturalizada que es producto de una síntesis entre la fenomenología trascendental de Edmund Husserl y la epistemología naturalizada de la ciencia de Thomas S. Kuhn..

The motion of two masses coupled to a massive spring

We discuss the classical motion of a spring of arbitrary mass coupled to two arbitrary massive blocks attached at its ends. A general approach to the problem is presented and some general results are obtained. Examples for which a simple elastic function can be inferred are discussed and the normal modes and normal frequencies obtained. An approximation procedure to the evaluation of the normel frequencies in the case of uniform elastic function and mass density is also discussed.Comment: Standard Latex file plus three eps figure

Primer reporte de Demodex gatoi en Argentina

In this communication we describe the first case of Demodex gatoi in Argentina in a neutered female Bengal cat, from Buenos Aires. Diagnosis was performed by clinical examination and the observation of mites. In addition, the administered treatment is presented.En la presente comunicación breve se describe el primer caso de Demodex gatoi en Argentina, en un gato hembra castrada, de la raza Bengali, oriunda de Buenos Aires. El diagnóstico fue clínico y por observación de los ácaros. A su vez, se describe el tratamiento instaurado

Gibbs sampling with people

A core problem in cognitive science and machine learning is to understand how humans derive semantic representations from perceptual objects, such as color from an apple, pleasantness from a musical chord, or seriousness from a face. Markov Chain Monte Carlo with People (MCMCP) is a prominent method for studying such representations, in which participants are presented with binary choice trials constructed such that the decisions follow a Markov Chain Monte Carlo acceptance rule. However, while MCMCP has strong asymptotic properties, its binary choice paradigm generates relatively little information per trial, and its local proposal function makes it slow to explore the parameter space and find the modes of the distribution. Here we therefore generalize MCMCP to a continuous-sampling paradigm, where in each iteration the participant uses a slider to continuously manipulate a single stimulus dimension to optimize a given criterion such as 'pleasantness'. We formulate both methods from a utility-theory perspective, and show that the new method can be interpreted as 'Gibbs Sampling with People' (GSP). Further, we introduce an aggregation parameter to the transition step, and show that this parameter can be manipulated to flexibly shift between Gibbs sampling and deterministic optimization. In an initial study, we show GSP clearly outperforming MCMCP; we then show that GSP provides novel and interpretable results in three other domains, namely musical chords, vocal emotions, and faces. We validate these results through large-scale perceptual rating experiments. The final experiments use GSP to navigate the latent space of a state-of-the-art image synthesis network (StyleGAN), a promising approach for applying GSP to high-dimensional perceptual spaces. We conclude by discussing future cognitive applications and ethical implications

Gibbs sampling with people

A core problem in cognitive science and machine learning is to understand how humans derive semantic representations from perceptual objects, such as color from an apple, pleasantness from a musical chord, or seriousness from a face. Markov Chain Monte Carlo with People (MCMCP) is a prominent method for studying such representations, in which participants are presented with binary choice trials constructed such that the decisions follow a Markov Chain Monte Carlo acceptance rule. However, while MCMCP has strong asymptotic properties, its binary choice paradigm generates relatively little information per trial, and its local proposal function makes it slow to explore the parameter space and find the modes of the distribution. Here we therefore generalize MCMCP to a continuous-sampling paradigm, where in each iteration the participant uses a slider to continuously manipulate a single stimulus dimension to optimize a given criterion such as 'pleasantness'. We formulate both methods from a utility-theory perspective, and show that the new method can be interpreted as 'Gibbs Sampling with People' (GSP). Further, we introduce an aggregation parameter to the transition step, and show that this parameter can be manipulated to flexibly shift between Gibbs sampling and deterministic optimization. In an initial study, we show GSP clearly outperforming MCMCP; we then show that GSP provides novel and interpretable results in three other domains, namely musical chords, vocal emotions, and faces. We validate these results through large-scale perceptual rating experiments. The final experiments use GSP to navigate the latent space of a state-of-the-art image synthesis network (StyleGAN), a promising approach for applying GSP to high-dimensional perceptual spaces. We conclude by discussing future cognitive applications and ethical implications

A computational study on altered theta-gamma coupling during learning and phase coding

There is considerable interest in the role of coupling between theta and gamma oscillations in the brain in the context of learning and memory. Here we have used a neural network model which is capable of producing coupling of theta phase to gamma amplitude firstly to explore its ability to reproduce reported learning changes and secondly to memory-span and phase coding effects. The spiking neural network incorporates two kinetically different GABAA receptor-mediated currents to generate both theta and gamma rhythms and we have found that by selective alteration of both NMDA receptors and GABAA,slow receptors it can reproduce learning-related changes in the strength of coupling between theta and gamma either with or without coincident changes in theta amplitude. When the model was used to explore the relationship between theta and gamma oscillations, working memory capacity and phase coding it showed that the potential storage capacity of short term memories, in terms of nested gamma-subcycles, coincides with the maximal theta power. Increasing theta power is also related to the precision of theta phase which functions as a potential timing clock for neuronal firing in the cortex or hippocampus

Puntos de servicio en aseos públicos para minimizar y equilibrar los tiempos de espera de hombres y mujeres

The article raises the issue of the queues that usually appear in the ladies toilets in contrast to the fluidity with which gentlemen can access theirs, and points that this situation is only due to bad dimensioning of the toilets and thus that the problem has an easy solution. After describing and parameterizing the queuing forming processes in ladies and gentlemen toilets, a simulation program is used to analyze in each case the influence of the number of service points in waiting times. Finally, the results obtained are used to give recommendations in order to balance the waiting times of ladies and gentlemen while keeping them below reasonable levels.Se plantea el problema de las colas que se presentan habitualmente en los aseos de señoras en contraste con la fluidez con que se accede a los de caballeros, considerando que esta situación tiene solución ya que es sólo debida al mal dimensionado de los aseos. Tras describir y parametrizar los procesos de formación de colas en los aseos de señoras y de caballeros, se utiliza un programa de simulación para analizar en cada caso la influencia del número de puntos de servicio en los tiempos de espera. Finalmente, de acuerdo con los resultados obtenidos, se realizan unas recomendaciones para equilibrar los tiempos de espera, manteniéndolos en ambos casos por debajo de unos valores razonables

Study of Temperature Inversion Symmetry for the Twisted Wess-Zumino

The temperature inversion symmetry, for a non interacting supersymmetric ensemble, at finite volume, is studied. It is found that, the scaled free energy, $f(\xi)$, is antisymmetric under temperature inversion transformation, i.e. $f(\xi)=-\xi ^{d}f(\frac{1}{\xi})$. This occurs for antiperiodic bosons and periodic fermions, in the compact dimension. On the contrary, for periodic bosons and antiperiodic fermions, $f(\xi)=\xi ^{d}f(\frac{1}{\xi})$.Comment: 9 page