MARCS Research Seminar

Giacomo Novembre, Visiting Research Fellow with The MARCS Institute will be presenting "Action-Perception Coupling in Musicians’ (and Non-Musicians’) Brains: What is It Good for?"

Abstract: The present talk concerns the intimate and reciprocal connection between music and movement, i.e. that music is technically produced by movements, and induces movement in a listener. Three distinct facets of the interaction between music and movement were examined in three series of experiments using a combination of behavioural methods (response times, sensorimotor synchronization measures) and electrophysiological techniques (TMS, EMG, EEG). The first series of studies explores the cognitive and brain mechanisms supporting interpersonal coordination in joint musical performance. Second, the influence of long-term (musical) syntactic knowledge on the production and perception of musical actions is examined. The final line of research explores how subjective experiences of “groove” and “beauty” are mapped in terms of the excitability of the motor control system in individuals with and without musical training.