Date of Award
4-8-2013
Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
Music is both a universal and persistent cultural phenomenon. One of the defining features of music is rhythm. The ability of rhythm to affect and be affected by movement has been deeply characterized in neuroscience research and literature. There is a great deal of research implicating the involvement of the dorsal premotor cortex in rhythm perception and production through the auditory–motor pathway (Repp, 2005; Zatorre, Chen, and Penhune, 2007; Repp and Su, 2013). “Chunking” (Sakai, Hikosaka, and Nakamura, 2004) and template-matching (Warren, Wise, and Warren, 2005) are two significant mechanisms in the auditory–motor pathway. In this thesis, two interrelated theories are proposed: Rhythm is the cipher through which motor actions are “chunked.” The function of the dorsal premotor cortex in the auditory–motor pathway is to match “chunks” of information with specific motor frameworks to produce movement. To provide support for this model of auditory–motor processing, both of these theories have also been used to explain the results of several experiments that have characterized rhythm perception (priming), production (synchronizing), and learning (entrainment) with relation to the premotor cortex.
Recommended Citation
Padilla, Mikey '13, "Moving to the beat: musical rhythm as a cipher for priming, synchronizing, and entrainment in the premotor cortex" (2013). Honor Scholar Theses. 299, Scholarly and Creative Work from DePauw University.
https://scholarship.depauw.edu/studentresearch/299