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Study finds sensitivity to musical rhythm supports social development in infants

lensemd — Fri, 04 Nov 2022 02:21:27 +0000

Study finds sensitivity to musical rhythm supports social development in infants lensemd Thu, 11/03/2022 - 21:21 RSS:

Craig Boerner

https://news.vumc.org/2022/11/03/study-finds-sensitivity-to-musical-rhythm-supports-social-development-in-infants/

Engaging infants with a song provides a readymade means for supporting social development and interaction, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Marcus Autism Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and Emory University School of Medicine enrolled 112 infants who were either 2 months or 6 months old.

The study tracked infants’ moment-by-moment eye-looking to reveal that the rhythm of caregivers’ singing causes infant eye-looking to become synchronized or entrained to the caregivers’ social cues at sub-second timescales.

Silas LaCagnin gazes at his mother, Ansley LaCagnin, while she sings to him.

As early as 2 months of age, when infants are first engaging with others in an interactive manner, infants were two times more likely to look to the singers’ eyes time-locked to the musical beat than would be expected by chance.

By 6 months of age, when infants are highly experienced in face-to-face musical games and are developing increasingly sophisticated rhythmic and communicative behaviors like babbling, they were more than four times as likely to look to the singers’ eyes synchronized to the musical beats.

“Singing to infants seems like such a simple act, but it is full of rich and meaningful social information,” said study lead author Miriam Lense, PhD, assistant professor of Otolaryngology and co-director of the Music Cognition Lab at VUMC. “Here we show that when caregivers sing to their infants, they are intuitively structuring their behavior to support the caregiver-infant social bond and infant social learning.”

During testing, researchers used eye-tracking technology to measure every movement of each infant’s eyes while they watched videos of people engaging them with song.

“For this study, we used videos of singing rather than live singing to ensure that any change in infant looking behavior was due to the infant, and not the singer adjusting to the infant,” Lense said. “Infants could look anywhere while watching the videos but we found that their looking behavior was not random.

“Critically, the predictable rhythm of singing is essential for this entrained social interaction. When we experimentally manipulate the singing so that it no longer has a predictable rhythm, entrainment is disrupted and infants no longer successfully synchronize their eye-looking to the caregivers’ social cues,” she added.

Researchers confirmed their findings in a different group of 6-month-old infants who watched both the original videos of singing, as well as videos that had been manipulated to be jittered so that their rhythms were no longer predictable.

While the infants again displayed entrained eye-looking to the original videos when the singing was rhythmically predictable, this time-locked eye-looking effect was no longer present when the predictable rhythm had been disrupted.

“This is important because it reveals a remarkable physical coupling between caregiver behavior and infant experience,” said Warren Jones, PhD, the study’s senior author and Nien Distinguished Chair in Autism at Emory University School of Medicine. “Without conscious awareness, something as simple and intuitive as caregiver singing sets in motion a whole cascade of behaviors that alters infants’ experiences,” he said.

“Although what a caregiver expresses is important, when and how they express social cues is particularly critical for infant-caregiver communication,” Lense added. “Rhythmic predictability — a universal feature of song — is an integral mechanism for structuring social interactions and supporting infant social development.”

Reyna Gordon, PhD, associate professor of Otolaryngology and co-director of the Music Cognition Lab at VUMC, said the study underscores that making music is not only about entertainment: making music is a core aspect of early socio-emotional development.

“It is remarkable that these infants are basically tracking the beat of music with their eyes by modulating their eye contact with the singer’s eyes around the beat (or pulse) of singing,” said Gordon, who was not involved in the study.

“These findings represent a major step forward in our understanding of the extent that very young children are sensitive to musical rhythm, suggesting that innateness for music is intertwined with early social engagement,” she added.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health (National Institute of Mental Health, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institute for Deafness and Communication Disorders) and the GRAMMY Foundation.

Lense said her team has now extended the research to study synchronization in autism as part of the Sound Health Initiative, a partnership between the National Institutes of Health and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in association with the National Endowment for the Arts.

Tags

rhythm, infants, infant-directed singing, parents, eye-tracking

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2022 VKC Science Day Poster Competition winners announced

lensemd — Thu, 03 Nov 2022 01:38:52 +0000

2022 VKC Science Day Poster Competition winners announced lensemd Wed, 11/02/2022 - 20:38 RSS:

https://vkc.vumc.org/news/4060

Several Music Cognition Lab trainees presented at the 2022 VKC Science Day!

Postdoctoral fellows Camila Alviar, PhD, and Noah Fram, PhD, were highlighted in the Data Blitz and Poster Awards for their outstanding research.

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We Got the Beat

chok3 — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 20:51:57 +0000

We Got the Beat chok3 Fri, 07/01/2022 - 15:51 RSS:

23andMe

https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/we-got-the-beat/

There might be something to the saying, “you’ve got the music in you.”

A new genetic study in the journal Nature Human Behavior led by researchers at Vanderbilt University and 23andMe found more than 60 regions of the genome associated with beat synchronization, the ability to move in time with the beat of music.

Many of the variants are in or near genes involved in neural function and early brain development. In addition, the researchers found that beat synchronization shares some of the same genetic architecture involved in biological rhythms such as walking, breathing, and circadian patterns.

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Understanding the genetics of musical beat synchronization

chok3 — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 20:43:01 +0000

Understanding the genetics of musical beat synchronization chok3 Fri, 07/01/2022 - 15:43 RSS:

Reyna Gordon

https://socialsciences.nature.com/posts/understanding-the-genetics-of-musical-beat-synchronization

When we move in time with a musical beat, we are harnessing one of the most exquisite feats of perception and coordination of everyday human existence. In a new study published this week in Nature Human Behaviour, we investigate the genetic architecture of beat synchronization.

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Wired for sound: The genetics of music

scartoa — Tue, 24 May 2022 14:40:16 +0000

Wired for sound: The genetics of music scartoa Tue, 05/24/2022 - 09:40 RSS:

Genetics Unzipped Podcast

https://geneticsunzipped.com/blog/2021/11/4/genetics-of-music

In the latest episode of Genetics Unzipped, presenter Dr Kat Arney is getting in harmony with the science of music. Is there a music gene? Does musical talent really run in families? And how does the inability to perceive music impact on daily life?

Music is a deeply human characteristic – whether it’s clapping, tapping, singing or playing, most of us love to listen – and maybe move – to good tune or a funky beat, and there are plenty of music makers in the world, from schoolkids playing the recorder or making beats on a laptop to virtuoso concert pianists and global pop stars. But where does our musical urge come from? And is it in our genes?

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ACM Tempo Magazine: Music Mends

lensemd — Thu, 14 Apr 2022 14:01:20 +0000

ACM Tempo Magazine: Music Mends lensemd Thu, 04/14/2022 - 09:01 RSS:

Libby Gardner (interview with Miriam Lense, p. 22, 24)

https://issuu.com/acm_pubs/docs/temposp22_whole/22

Academy of Country Music Tempo Magazine, Spring 2022 issue: Vanderbilt’s Music Cognition Lab Co-Director, Dr. Miriam Lense, highlights the research and valuable programs her team is working on to help uncover the benefits of using music for healing.

Tags

music, autism, Academy of Country Music, Lifting Lives Foundation

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FAQ about Beat synchronization GWAS study

gordonr1 — Sun, 22 Aug 2021 14:19:34 +0000

FAQ about Beat synchronization GWAS study gordonr1 Sun, 08/22/2021 - 09:19 RSS:

Reyna Gordon

https://www.vumc.org/music-cognition-lab/FAQbeatGWAS

This page is an FAQ about Niarchou, Gustavson et al., 2022, Nature Human Behaviour. Genome-wide association study of musical beat synchronization demonstrates high polygenicity.

Access the full paper at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-022-01359-x

Q: What are the study’s main findings?

In this study, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of beat synchronization in over 600,000 individuals. We discovered that the genetic architecture of this trait is highly polygenic, meaning that it is influenced by many genes in the human genome. We identified 69 separate locations on the genome in which different genetic alleles in the population account for some of the variability in how accurately people synchronize to a musical beat (according to their self-reported beat synchronization skill, which we also validated; see question below). Genes associated with beat synchronization are more likely than chance to be genes involved in central nervous system function, including genes expressed in brain tissue and genes involved in early brain development. We also discovered that beat synchronization shares some of its genetic architecture with other traits, including several that are involved in biological rhythms (walking, breathing, and circadian chronotype).

Q: Is beat synchronization the same as rhythm ability?

A: Beat synchronization, or the degree to which an individual can synchronize their movements accurately in time with a musical beat, is one particular human rhythm trait. Music cognition scientists also study other rhythm-related traits (for example, the accuracy with which an individual can tell if two musical rhythmic sequences are the same or different, or the degree to which an individual can keep a steady beat without a reference metronome). In the present study, we assessed beat synchronization (in the genetic study sample) by asking people if they can clap in time with a musical beat. To be sure that this self-report question is an accurate way to assess people’s beat synchronization, we asked another group of people to tap in time to the beat of musical excerpts, and to perform a rhythm perception task. The results of these “phenotype validation tasks” showed that how people respond to the self-report question is correlated with how accurately they tap to the beat of music (and also to how well they can perceive differences in musical rhythms), thus suggesting that the self-report question is a good proxy for actually measuring people’s beat synchronization and related rhythm abilities.

Q: Is rhythm in your genes?

A: In short, yes, rhythm (beat synchronization) is genetically influenced! The longer, more nuanced answer, though, is that within the population, we were able to see how genetic variants that differ from person to person account for some of the overall variability in beat synchronization. Certain genetic variants were more prevalent in the study group that self-identified as having higher beat synchronization ability versus the group with difficulties with beat synchronization. However, this is far from genetic determinism! The biology of rhythm and of musicality in general is very complex, and humans interact with their environment in complex ways that are not always discoverable with the type of study design that we used. We discuss this idea below in more detail (see the question on our study’s limitations and what does the study not say).

Q: Can we predict someone’s rhythm ability based on their genes?

A: We cannot make definitive predictions at the individual level. One of the methods we used, called polygenic scores, computes the sum of genetic effects associated with beat synchronization in each individual (using weights derived from the primary GWAS dataset), but the resulting polygenic scores are only a rough guess: they can tell us only what an individual’s likelihood of specific levels of beat synchronization would be in relation to the population-based model, but they do not correspond directly to an exact match with the person’s beat synchronization accuracy. A better way to do that would be to test their beat synchronization directly, with a rhythm test! However, we are still excited about the current results because when we pool together data from many individuals, we are able to use these models to start to get a foothold on the underlying biology and to explain a small amount of the variation in the phenotype. As we point out in the Discussion, results from this type of study should be used fairly and ethically, and never for harm (i.e. we should not decide which children should get music training based their genetics; children should have access to music education because it is an important part of our culture and well-being in society).

Q. The paper talks about the enrichment of certain biological functions; what does it mean for the genetic architecture of beat synchronization to be enriched for a biological function?

A: Here we are talking about a greater than chance likelihood that the genes involved in our phenotype have a particular biological function. When we say that that the genetic architecture of beat synchronization is enriched for genes expressed in brain tissue, or for genes involved in neurodevelopment or synaptic transmission we mean that that the list of genes significantly linked to beat synchronization in the initial GWAS analyses include many genes expressed in brain tissue, and so on.

Q. What are our study’s limitations and what does our study NOT say?

This is the first very large-scale GWAS of a musicality trait, and as such there were several initial limitations. First, the phenotype in the GWAS is quite simple (“yes” versus “no” responses to the question Can you clap in time with a musical beat?) and future GWAS of rhythm could make use of more detailed rhythm questions, or directly measuring participants’ beat synchronization task performance. Also, the current study was conducted in individuals of European ancestry (this is the genetics term for white people), and while we believe the main results would be broadly similar in other groups, we definitely need to do studies in groups from other genetic ancestries to fully understand the genetic architecture of the trait.

Importantly, the current study only shows that we’ve been able to use genetics to explain a portion of the variability in beat synchronization skills (again, at the level of pooled data in a large study sample). Where we talk about “heritability” we are referring to the amount of phenotypic variance explained by genetic variation. This does not mean that rhythm is only “genetic” versus only “environmental,” or that rhythm is genetic in certain people but not others. We already know from the twin-based literature that rhythm skills, as well as other musicality traits - including even how much music training people pursue - are in part genetically influenced and in part environmentally influenced. While colloquially we often have intuitions and biases about whether a person’s music accomplishment are caused by their genetics (talent “running in the family”) or by the amount and quality of training (that “10,000 hours” idea), these are in fact biases and assumptions; scientifically we really can’t say for sure how and why an individual reaches (or does not reach) a certain level of musicality. So it’s not “either-or” but “both-and” genes and environment, and the incredibly complex biological interrelationships that occur during human development of musicality will take many, many more years of work to unravel!

Q: Is perfect pitch related to rhythm?

A: Perfect pitch, known as “absolute pitch” to scientists studying the phenomenon, is the (rare) ability to identify and name musical pitches without use of a reference pitch for comparison. Studies in twins and families (for example, Barharloo et al., 2001) have shown that absolute pitch ability is somewhat heritable (meaning that genes partially influence the trait). We did not examine absolute pitch in our study, but there is not an equivalent in the rhythm domain: people with high musical talent overall may excel at both pitch and rhythm, but we don’t know to what extent those overlaps are genetically driven. Moreover, many individuals with impairments in processing/detecting changes in musical pitch (i.e. congenital amusia) do not demonstrate rhythm impairments (Peretz & Vuvan, 2017). Also, most individuals with high music aptitude when measured with melodic tasks do not have absolute pitch (it is a relatively rare ability). However, we do know that the rhythmic structure of music (including the feeling of a “pulse” or beat) helps orient our attention to specific important moments in musical time, and thus beat can change the way that our brains process melodies. More research is needed to understand the complex genetic and phenotypic relationships between rhythm abilities (including beat synchronization) and pitch-related abilities.

Q: What are the implications of the study?

A: We believe that this study marks an important step forward for the emerging field of musicality genetics, as we demonstrated that rhythm can be assessed reliably with self-report measures deployed at very large scale in a population cohort, and that the resulting GWAS of beat synchronization shows an expected pattern of polygenicity. Moreover, we found that the genetic architecture of beat synchronization is enriched for genes expressed in brain tissues, and excitingly, in motor and timing areas of the brain such as the basal ganglia and cerebellum that are known from neuroimaging studies to be active while participants perform beat synchronization and beat perception tasks. Also, the findings of enrichment in genes expressed in fetal brain development suggest that the brain might begin to wire itself for sensitivity to musical beat structure very early in neurodevelopment. Considered together, these results have implications for connecting the genetic architecture of beat synchronization to its neural architecture. Finally, we found interesting genetic correlations between beat synchronization and a constellation of interrelated traits: walking pace, musculoskeletal strength, breathing function, and processing speed; the shared genetic architecture has implications for physical and cognitive function during aging. Thus, with this first GWAS of beat synchronization we have paved the way for future basic and clinical-translational work on various aspects of the genetics of rhythm.

Tags

genetics, rhythm, beat synchrony

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Mental Notes: Music Cognition Lab is dedicated to the scientific study of how music affects the brain and behavior

scartoa — Wed, 05 Aug 2020 16:09:08 +0000

Mental Notes: Music Cognition Lab is dedicated to the scientific study of how music affects the brain and behavior scartoa Wed, 08/05/2020 - 11:09 RSS:

Vanderbilt News

https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2020/08/05/mental-notes-music-cognition-lab-is-dedicated-to-the-scientific-study-of-how-music-affects-the-brain-and-behavior/

The past decade in particular has been marked by a dramatic increase in music cognition inquiry, as about 100 laboratory groups around the world, including at Vanderbilt, are working across disciplines to understand music’s relationship to the brain, behavior and health, and to develop effective intervention strategies.

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At home with children? Have fun and get creative with this music toolkit.

scartoa — Wed, 27 May 2020 16:45:02 +0000

At home with children? Have fun and get creative with this music toolkit. scartoa Wed, 05/27/2020 - 11:45 RSS:

VUMC Voice

http://voice.vumc.org/home-children-fun-get-creative-music-toolkit/

“Musical activities can also support one of the most critical social relationships: that between a parent and child.”

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Using music to understand how children develop speech skills

scartoa — Wed, 27 May 2020 16:37:59 +0000

Using music to understand how children develop speech skills scartoa Wed, 05/27/2020 - 11:37 RSS:

Reyna L. Gordon

https://notables.vkcsites.org/2020/05/using-music-to-understand-how-children-develop-speech-skills/

Music is everywhere in modern life, even during quarantine times of Covid-19. Yet individuals vary a lot in their music abilities. In my lab we are particularly focused on studying people’s rhythm skills. Some folks pick up rhythms easily – they can tap in time to the beat, dance, and learn new songs almost effortlessly. Other people may struggle more with rhythm – they may not really hear the beat in music. Across the population, it turns out that there is a huge range of rhythm abilities! Have you ever wondered why this could be?

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Studies Link Musical Rhythm and Language

scartoa — Wed, 27 May 2020 16:31:48 +0000

Studies Link Musical Rhythm and Language scartoa Wed, 05/27/2020 - 11:31 RSS:

VUMC Reporter

https://discover.vumc.org/2020/05/studies-link-musical-rhythm-and-language/

Studies present links between musical rhythm and language are impactful upon childhood development and how neural circuitry channels into these connections.

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We shared about Musical Activities to Support Parent-Child Relationships on the NEA Art Works blog!

liut4 — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 16:23:35 +0000

We shared about Musical Activities to Support Parent-Child Relationships on the NEA Art Works blog! liut4 Thu, 04/02/2020 - 11:23 RSS:

Miriam Lense

https://www.arts.gov/art-works/2020/taking-note-musical-activities-support-parent-child-relationships

With schools and daycares closed, many parents are looking for activities to engage in with their young children. As part of the National Endowment for the Arts Research Lab project awarded to the Vanderbilt Music Cognition Lab in 2018, our Research Lab studies how parent-child musical activities may support families of children with and without developmental disabilities. Findings from our Research Lab, as well as from other scientists and clinicians across the music cognition field, suggests that musical activities may provide a particularly powerful and effective medium for parent-child interactions.

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The Big Picture: A Look at the National Endowment for the Arts

liut4 — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 17:41:44 +0000

The Big Picture: A Look at the National Endowment for the Arts liut4 Wed, 02/26/2020 - 11:41 RSS:

https://www.arts.gov/magazine/2020/1/land-arts/big-picture

The VUMC NEA Research Lab was mentioned by Mary Ann Carter, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, in this article on the NEA in American Artscape Magazine!

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Autism study tracks musical rhythm as possible treatment

liut4 — Mon, 11 Nov 2019 20:08:49 +0000

Autism study tracks musical rhythm as possible treatment liut4 Mon, 11/11/2019 - 14:08 RSS:

VUMC Reporter

http://news.vumc.org/2019/11/06/autism-study-tracks-musical-rhythm-as-possible-treatment/

Researchers from the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center and the Marcus Autism Center at Emory University School of Medicine are partnering to study musical rhythm synchronization as a part of social development and how it’s disrupted in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in hopes of developing music interventions for improving social communication.

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Dr. Gordon Receives NIH New Innovator Award

gordonr1 — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 20:30:01 +0000

Dr. Gordon Receives NIH New Innovator Award gordonr1 Fri, 10/05/2018 - 15:30 RSS:

http://news.vumc.org/2018/10/02/gordon-receives-2-3-million-nih-directors-new-innovator-award/

Dr. Gordon has received a highly competitive New Innovator award, part of the NIH’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research program, given to exceptionally creative scientists proposing to use highly innovative approaches to tackle major challenges in biomedical research. “I am honored and thrilled to be a New Innovator recipient, as this particular project really speaks to my professional mission to work across disciplinary boundaries to enhance our understanding of how and why musicality is related to brain development and human health,” Gordon said. “I look forward to the collaborative opportunities afforded by the grant, with particular emphases on novel work we will conduct with the Vanderbilt Genetics Institute and the new research training experiences that the project will create for neuroscience students working with my lab through our affiliation with the Vanderbilt Brain Institute.”

The grant, "Biomarkers of Rhythmic Communication: Integrating Foundational and Translational Approaches", has received 2.3 Million in funding from the National Institutes of Health, Office of the Director.

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Biology and the Beat

goodkir — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 11:21:29 +0000

Biology and the Beat goodkir Fri, 10/05/2018 - 06:21 RSS:

Vanderbilt Medicine Magazine

https://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/vanderbiltmedicine/biology-and-the-beat/

“We are looking at really broad factors of how we can use music and study music to impact social engagement, emotional well-being and community inclusion for individuals both with and without autism and other developmental disabilities,” said Lense, who is the principal investigator in the studies. “We are bringing together people with different areas of expertise to bring new perspectives to the field of music cognition.”

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Our rhythm research appears in The Amazing Human Body: Learn Episode (BBC/PBS)

goodkir — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 11:18:21 +0000

Our rhythm research appears in The Amazing Human Body: Learn Episode (BBC/PBS) goodkir Fri, 10/05/2018 - 06:18 RSS:

PBS/BBC

https://www.pbs.org/program/amazing-human-body/

We were featured in the Learn Episode of the Human Body program; our segment starts at 14:40.

Special thanks to Sara Beck, Allison Aaron, Natalie Wiens, Kate Margulis, Emelyne Bingham and Sara Johnson for making this filming a success!

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Music, Mind and Society Program Growing Fast

gordonr1 — Fri, 14 Sep 2018 02:51:39 +0000

Music, Mind and Society Program Growing Fast gordonr1 Thu, 09/13/2018 - 21:51 RSS:

http://news.vumc.org/2018/05/17/music-mind-and-society-program-growing-fast/

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has designated the Program for Music, Mind and Society at Vanderbilt as a 2018 National Endowment for the Arts Research Lab for its focus on the arts, health and socio-emotional well-being in families of children with and without autism spectrum disorder.

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Country Music And Brain Research Come Together At Nashville Summer Camp

Visitor — Wed, 25 Oct 2017 20:34:15 +0000

Country Music And Brain Research Come Together At Nashville Summer Camp Visitor Wed, 10/25/2017 - 15:34 RSS:

Emily Siner

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/07/31/540553819/country-music-and-brain-research-come-together-at-nashville-summer-camp

Speaking to Emily Siner on NPR's All Things Considered, Dr. Miriam Lense discusses the intersection of neuroscience research and country music at Vanderbilt University's Williams syndrome camp for individuals with Williams syndrome. A clinical scientist with research and clinical expertise working with individuals with Williams syndrome and other neurodevelopment disorders, Dr. Lense aims to better understand the social, cognitive, and affective processes of these individuals through the approaches of auditory neuroscience/music cognition and stress biology.

Campers with Williams syndrome on stage at the Grand Ole Opry performing their original song, "I Love Big," with country artist Chris Young in front of a crowd of thousands.

(Emily Siner/WPLN)

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Using Music And Rhythm To Help Kids With Grammar And Language

Visitor — Wed, 25 Oct 2017 20:29:26 +0000

Using Music And Rhythm To Help Kids With Grammar And Language Visitor Wed, 10/25/2017 - 15:29 RSS:

Robert Siegel and Andrea Hsu

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/06/01/530723046/using-music-and-rhythm-to-help-kids-with-grammar-and-language

In May 2017, Robert Siegel NPR's host of All Things Considered took a trip to Nashville to observe our research and speak with our lab members. Click on the link to check out our story!

Research analyst Allison Aaron and Assistant Professor Reyna Gordon are studying how music and rhythm training could help children who struggle with language development. Their work is part of Vanderbilt's Program for Music, Mind and Society.

(Kacie Dunham/Courtesy of Reyna Gordon)

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