Sonification of experimental parameters as a new method for efficient coding of behavior

Cognitive research is often focused on experimental condition-driven reactions. Ethological studies frequently rely on the observation of naturally occurring specific behaviors. In both cases, subjects are filmed during the study, so that afterwards behaviors can be coded on video. Coding should typically be blind to experimental conditions, but often requires more information than that present on video. We introduce a method for blindcoding of behavioral videos that takes care of both issues via three main innovations. First, of particular significance for playback studies, it allows creation of a “soundtrack” of the study, that is, a track composed of synthesized sounds representing different aspects of the experimental conditions, or other events, over time. Second, it facilitates coding behavior using this audio track, together with the possibly muted original video. This enables coding blindly to conditions as required, but not ignoring other relevant events. Third, our method makes use of freely available, multi-platform software, including scripts we developed

Chorusing, synchrony, and the evolutionary functions of rhythm

A central goal of biomusicology is to understand the biological basis of human musicality. One approach to this problem has been to compare core components of human musicality (relative pitch perception, entrainment, etc.) with similar capacities in other animal species. Here we extend and clarify this comparative approach with respect to rhythm. First, whereas most comparisons between human music and animal acoustic behavior have focused on spectral properties (melody and harmony), we argue for the central importance of temporal properties, and propose that this domain is ripe for further comparative research. Second, whereas most rhythm research in non-human animals has examined animal timing in isolation, we consider how chorusing dynamics can shape individual timing, as in human music and dance, arguing that group behavior is key to understanding the adaptive functions of rhythm. To illustrate the interdependence between individual and chorusing dynamics, we present a computational model of chorusing agents relating individual call timing with synchronous group behavior. Third, we distinguish and clarify mechanistic and functional explanations of rhythmic phenomena, often conflated in the literature, arguing that this distinction is key for understanding the evolution of musicality. Fourth, we expand biomusicological discussions beyond the species typically considered, providing an overview of chorusing and rhythmic behavior across a broad range of taxa (orthopterans, fireflies, frogs, birds, and primates). Finally, we propose an “Evolving Signal Timing” hypothesis, suggesting that similarities between timing abilities in biological species will be based on comparable chorusing behaviors. We conclude that the comparative study of chorusing species can provide important insights into the adaptive function(s) of rhythmic behavior in our “proto-musical” primate ancestors, and thus inform our understanding of the biology and evolution of rhythm in human music and language

Perceptual tuning influences rule generalization: Testing humans with monkey-tailored stimuli

Comparative research investigating how nonhuman animals generalize patterns of auditory stimuli often uses sequences of human speech syllables and reports limited generalization abilities in animals. Here, we reverse this logic, testing humans with stimulus sequences tailored to squirrel monkeys. When test stimuli are familiar (human voices), humans succeed in two types of generalization. However, when the same structural rule is instantiated over unfamiliar but perceivable sounds within squirrel monkeys’ optimal hearing frequency range, human participants master only one type of generalization. These findings have methodological implications for the design of comparative experiments, which should be fair towards all tested species’ proclivities and limitations

I\u27m sometimes sad, but know not why

[Verse 1]I\u27m sometimes sad, but know not why, And weep at evening hour;Then gentlest murmurs whisper by,And stillness wakes her power.I\u27m sometimes sad when Cynthia\u27s beamsThe fountains silver o\u27er;I wander then among the elms,Where shadows hide my tear,Where shadows hide my tear. [Verse 2]I\u27m sometimes sad, when friends that were,My sorrows wake anew;They once were here but now they areWhere weeping willows grow!I\u27m sometimes sad, when friends that be,Excite the tender sigh;For soon a long adieu, they\u27ll say!And so must I, must I And so must I, must I. [Verse 3]I\u27m sometimes sad among the crowd,And in the circle glee;And often when the laugh is loud,I go to bend the knee.I\u27m sometimes sad, and think I\u27ve noneTo shed a tear with me!And who for Welwyneer will mourn,When \u27neath the pendant tree?When \u27neath the pendant tree? [Verse 4]Sad world! where is thy soothing pow\u27r,At morn, or vesper mild?Or where when noontide tells the hour,The charm for sorrows child?Tho\u27 sad I roam, tho\u27 drop the tear\u27Mid light, or shadows gloom,Ere long I\u27ll lay me silent there, Low in the peaceful Tomb, Low in the peaceful Tomb

The evolution of rhythmic cognition: New perspectives and technologies in comparative research

Music is a pervasive phenomenon in human culture, and musical rhythm is virtually present in all musical traditions. Research on the evolution and cognitive underpinnings of rhythm can benefit from a number of approaches. We outline key concepts and definitions, allowing fine-grained analysis of rhythmic cognition in experimental studies. We advocate comparative animal research as a useful approach to answer questions about human music cognition and review experimental evidence from different species. Finally, we suggest future directions for research on the cognitive basis of rhythm. Apart from research in semi-natural setups, possibly allowed by “drum set for chimpanzees” prototypes presented here for the first time, mathematical modeling and systematic use of circular statistics may allow promising advances

A single trapped ion in a finite range trap

This paper presents a method to describe dynamics of an ion confined in a realistic finite range trap. We model this realistic potential with a solvable one and we obtain dynamical variables (raising and lowering operators) of this potential. We consider coherent interaction of this confined ion in a finite range trap and we show that its center-of-mass motion steady state is a special kind of nonlinear coherent states. Physical properties of this state and their dependence on the finite range of potential are studied

Dance, Music, Meter and Groove: A Forgotten Partnership

I argue that core aspects of musical rhythm, especially groove and syncopation, can only be fully understood in the context of their origins in the participatory social experience of dance. Musical meter is first considered in the context of bodily movement. I then offer an interpretation of the pervasive but somewhat puzzling phenomenon of syncopation in terms of acoustic emphasis on certain offbeat components of the accompanying dance style. The reasons for the historical tendency of many musical styles to divorce themselves from their dance-based roots are also briefly considered. To the extent that musical rhythms only make sense in the context of bodily movement, researchers interested in ecologically valid approaches to music cognition should make a more concerted effort to extend their analyses to dance, particularly if we hope to understand the cognitive constraints underlying rhythmic aspects of music like meter and groove