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Is neural entrainment to rhythms the basis of social bonding through music?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 September 2021

Jessica A. Grahn
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ONN6A 3K7, Canada. jgrahn@uwo.ca; www.jessicagrahn.com
Anna-Katharina R. Bauer
Affiliation:
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, OxfordOX2 6GG, UK. anna-katharina.matke-bauer@psy.ox.ac.uk; http://www.annakatharinabauer.com/ Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, OxfordOX3 7JX, UK
Anna Zamm
Affiliation:
Department of Cognitive Science, Central European University, Quellenstrasse 51, Vienna1100, Austria. zamma@ceu.edu; https://annapzamm.github.io/

Abstract

Music uses the evolutionarily unique temporal sensitivity of the auditory system and its tight coupling to the motor system to create a common neurophysiological clock between individuals that facilitates action coordination. We propose that this shared common clock arises from entrainment to musical rhythms, the process by which partners' brains and bodies become temporally aligned to the same rhythmic pulse.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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