Social Affective Neuroscience of Musical Rhythm - Dr. Rie Asano CIMTR Lecture 2024

Summary

Dr. Ria Asano presents on the social affective neuroscience of musical rhythm, exploring how music intertwines social and emotional components, with rhythm playing a key role in movement and emotional contagion. She delves into hierarchical and social cognition in music, discussing the impact of rhythmic structures on emotional responses and social interaction. The lecture also touches on the use of hyperscanning in social neuroscience research, the importance of ecological validity in studying music's social effects, and the integration of computational and phenomenological perspectives on the mind.

Takeaways

• 🎓 Dr. Rano is presenting on the social affective Neuroscience of musical rhythm, a topic that intersects her background in language, music, and cognitive science.
• 🎵 The social and affective components of music are intertwined and inseparable, with emotional contagion being a key aspect of musical experiences.
• 💃 Music can be seen as movement-based emotional engagement, with rhythm playing a significant role in engaging motor systems of the brain and inducing group movement.
• 🎶 Hierarchical cognition and social cognition are linked through the effect of musical rhythm, with hierarchical metrical structures influencing emotional responses.
• 👀 Expectancy and prediction error are important mechanisms in the perception of rhythm, with syncopation being a key example of how musical rhythm can create tension and relaxation.
• 🤝 Entrainment is a central mechanism for rhythmic interaction, both within individuals and between individuals in social settings.
• 🧠 Hyperscanning is a key method in social Neuroscience research, allowing for the simultaneous measurement of multiple brains' activity, which is used to study interpersonal synchrony in musical contexts.
• 🌐 The integration of different brain, body imaging, and behavioral methods is crucial for studying musical rhythm and effect, capturing the multidimensionality of responses during social interaction.
• 🏞 The ecological validity of research is a central challenge for social affective Neuroscience, with the need to develop experimental settings that reflect naturalistic social interactions.
• 🔄 A three-stage cycle framework integrating classical laboratory, naturalistic laboratory, and real-life research is suggested for advancing understanding in the field.
• 🎨 The Mind-Body problem is still relevant, but the talk also introduces the Mind-Mind problem, highlighting the need to consider both the computational and phenomenological aspects of the mind in the study of musical rhythm.

Q & A

What is the main topic of Dr. Ria Asano's presentation?

Dr. Ria Asano's presentation focuses on the social affective neuroscience of musical rhythm.

What are the five research areas of the Cambrid Institute for Music Therapy Research?

The five research areas are aging and dementia, neuroscience of music therapy, neurorehabilitation and stroke, mental health, and children, young people, and families.

What degrees does Dr. Ria Asano hold and from which institutions?

Dr. Ria Asano holds a bachelor's degree in foreign study and linguistics from a university in Japan and a master's degree in musicology, German linguistics, and phonetics from the University of Cologne in Germany. She also completed her PhD at the University of Cologne.

What is the relationship between social and affective components in music according to Dr. Asano?

Dr. Asano explains that social and affective components in music are intertwined and cannot be separated. Music can cause emotional contagion and create a feeling of social and emotional connection between individuals.

How does musical rhythm engage the brain's motor systems?

Listening to musical rhythm engages the motor systems of the brain, including cortical structures such as the premotor cortex, supplementary and primary motor areas, as well as subcortical structures like the basal ganglia and cerebellum.

What is syncopation and how does it affect listeners?

Syncopation involves accentuating a metrically weak beat instead of a strong one, leading to prediction errors and a pleasurable drive towards body movement, known as groove.

What is entrainment and how does it relate to social interactions in music?

Entrainment is the process by which independent rhythmic systems interact and synchronize with each other. In music, this occurs when people make music or dance together, promoting prosocial effects through interpersonal synchrony.

How does the hierarchical metrical structure of music affect tension and relaxation patterns?

The hierarchical metrical structure, which consists of regular patterns of strong and weak beats, affects tension and relaxation patterns in music. Expectancy violations, such as syncopation, can create tension, while alignment with the expected beats causes relaxation.

What is the significance of hyperscanning in social neuroscience research?

Hyperscanning allows researchers to measure brain activity in multiple individuals simultaneously, providing insights into synchrony of brain activities within and between interacting individuals. It is used to study interpersonal synchrony and coordination in social neuroscience of music.

Why is ecological validity important in social affective neuroscience research?

Ecological validity is crucial because social and emotional components of cognition cannot be isolated from real-life contexts. Research settings that closely resemble real-life situations provide more accurate insights into how people experience and interact with music in social settings.