Abstract
Our experience of the world unfolds over time, and consequently, our perception, thoughts and actions are temporally organized. Sound events of music and speech occur in rapid sequences, and regularities in their temporal structures—i.e., rhythms—help us perceptually organize them into meaningful units such as melodic phrases or words in real time. Rhythms are also powerful in that their temporal regularities enable prediction about when important future events are expected, allowing optimal focusing of attention. Infants need to learn the musical and linguistic communication systems in their environment. An early ability to process rhythm and timing is likely a prerequisite for this. Indeed, the major developmental disorders, including dyslexia, language impairment, autism, attention deficits and developmental coordination disorder are associated with timing and rhythm deficits. Here we synthesize research on infants’ early rhythmic abilities, from neural processing of rhythmic structure to the role of rhythm in early social interactions.
Bio
Laurel Trainor is a Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour at McMaster University, a Research Scientist at the Rotman Research Institute, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, a McMaster Distinguished University Professor.
Her recognitions include a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for Music Perception and Cognition and a Woman of Distinction Award from the YWCA. She directs the Auditory Development Lab and has published over 180 articles in journals including Science and Nature on the neuroscience of auditory development and the perception of music, including work on pitch, tonality, timing, rhythm, neuroplasticity, and the role of music in social interaction and developmental disorders. She co-holds a patent for the Neuro-compensator hearing aid. She has held major grants, including from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, The Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Social Science Research Council of Canada, la Fondation de l’Audition, and the Grammy Foundation. She is also the founding and present director of the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind (MIMM), which houses the LIVELab, a unique research-concert hall with high acoustic control, that is equipped with multi-person motion capture and EEG for studying how performers and audiences interact, and how music can be used to promote health and well-being. Laurel also has a Bachelor of Music Performance from the University of Toronto, enjoys chamber music, and is principal flutist of the Burlington Symphony Orchestra.