ABSTRACT
When we listen to musical rhythm, we are often compelled to spontaneously tap our hands or feet, nod our heads, sway our bodies, or even dance to the beat. Movement along with a beat in musical rhythms seems to emerge automatically and at a very young age. Indeed, children as young as 5 months old move their bodies rhythmically in response to music (although their movements are not always synchronized with the music; Zentner & Eerola, 2010). One potential reason for this automatic, and sometimes uncontrollable, urge to move along with the beat in musical rhythms is that listening to rhythms (even without actually moving) activates motor areas of the brain, including the supplementary motor area, premotor cortex, basal ganglia, and cerebellum (Grahn & Brett, 2007). Moreover, listening to beat-based auditory rhythms increases communication, or “connectivity,” between auditory and motor regions (Chen, Penhune, & Zatorre, 2008b; Grahn & Rowe, 2009; see also Loui & Przysinda, this volume). Thus, automatic activation of motor regions and connectivity between auditory and motor regions during rhythm listening might underlie the tight connection between rhythm and movement. The goal of this chapter will be to explore the link between musical rhythm and movement. We will first review functional brain imaging work, revealing the motor system’s involvement in the perception of rhythm and beat. Then, we will describe how moving along with a rhythm actually improves perception of that rhythm. We will suggest that neural oscillations in the delta (0.5–4 Hz) and beta (~13–30 Hz) frequency bands might constitute a mechanism supporting auditory–motor connectivity, thereby allowing for anticipation and better perception of the events that comprise musical rhythms. Finally, we will suggest that the rising popularity of noninvasive brain stimulation paradigms that probe motor system excitability will provide another angle from which we can gain insight about why we move to the beat.
