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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 Open the ORCID record for Jessica A. Grahn [Opens in a new window] ,
Anna-Katharina R. Bauer  and
Anna Zamm Open the ORCID record for Anna Zamm [Opens in a new window]
Jessica A. Grahn
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada. jgrahn@uwo.ca; www.jessicagrahn.com
Anna-Katharina R. Bauer
Affiliation:
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 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, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK
Anna Zamm
Affiliation:
Department of Cognitive Science, Central European University, Quellenstrasse 51, Vienna 1100, Austria. zamma@ceu.edu; https://annapzamm.github.io/
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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.

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Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 44 , 2021 , e73
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Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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