In time with music: A multi-level entrainment framework

Many of us know this situation: We are listening to music and our foot starts tapping along with the beat almost by itself. This seemingly effortless, irresistible, and contagious movement is an example of entrainment to music. The underlying processes of movements in time with music are based on complex neural timing mechanisms that are influenced by our behavior, knowledge, emotions, and socio-cultural background. The term entrainment to music describes a variety of processes including the synchronization between a rhythm and 1) changes between high and low excitability phases in specific brain regions (neural entrainment), 2) regular body movements of an individual (physiological entrainment), and 3) body movements of two or more individuals (social entrainment). The goal of this research project is the empirical investigation of neural, physiological, and social entrainment, the exploration of the relationships between these entrainment levels in a unified framework, and the critical evaluation of the limitations of such a framework. The empirical investigation of entrainment processes is guided by two perspectives that are tightly interwoven: A micro-perspective that allows the detailed description of fast and locally specific entrainment processes, such as neural and physiological responses to a musical rhythm, and a macro-perspective that examines slowly developing processes that influence entrainment, such as musical expertise, or socio-cultural background. During a two-year stay at the Center for Music in the Brain at Aarhus University in Denmark, behavioral and brain imaging techniques will be used to measure physiological and neural entrainment before and after an intensive 12-week musical training. Additionally, two online experiments with a worldwide reach will investigate the effects of cultural background and cultural context on social entrainment to music. The evidence provided by the studies is then integrated into a comprehensive framework during a one-year return phase at the Institute of Psychology, University of Graz. The research project will not only help to overcome the vagueness of the term entrainment in the music domain, it also promises to provide important findings for the discussion of more general topics in neuroscience, music- supported therapies, and social sciences. The synchronization of high and low excitability phases between specific brain regions is not just important for rhythm perception, but also for attention, prediction, and lasting changes in the brain. The pre-post comparison of behavioral and brain imaging data before and after the musical training will provide important evidence for music-supported rehabilitation interventions. Finally, the empirical evidence provided by the social entrainment experiments will allow us to assess the extent to which knowledge about the role of music in specific cultures can increase social bonding and reduce prejudice.

One of the most direct ways in which music captivates and connects people is through movement. Some rhythms make us tap our feet in time with the beat almost automatically or inspire us to dance with others. My research at the Center for Music in the Brain in Aarhus, Denmark and the University of Graz, Austria focused on the interactions between auditory and motor areas of the brain that enable us to translate rhythm into movement and on prosocial consequences of moving to music with others. One reason why our brains are capable of translating music into movement might be that moving together to the same rhythm strengthens social bonding. Social bonds have long been associated with enhanced mental and physical health. How well we connect with others depends, among others, on our cultural background, individual preferences, and the context of a given situation. By providing temporal and affective frameworks, music can create a unique social context that can increase behavioral synchrony and emotional harmony. In a series of studies, we investigated how these temporal and affective aspects of social interactions with music are connected and how they are modulated by individual musical preferences, cultural familiarity, and trait empathy. In all of these studies, we find that synchronous movements lead to stronger social bonding than asynchronous movements. We also show that the influence of movement synchrony on social bonding during musical activities is less affected by what music we are familiar with but more affected by what music we enjoy. Finally, our findings suggest that higher empathy is associated with stronger social bonding when moving together with music. In sum, our studies go to the heart of why human beings are musical creatures. They show that one of the reason why music connects us is that it combines bodily synchronization with positive emotions. Future opportunities are to explore physiological and psychological benefits of social musical activities involving synchronized movements for individuals with low trait empathy or motor deficits, for example in individuals with autism spectrum disorder or Parkinson's disease.