Research into music and rhythm
Most of our work is based on the interest in why we move to rhythm, and how movement and rhythm may be connected in the brain. We conduct brain scanning studies examining how different motor areas in the brain respond to different types of rhythm. We are interested in how rhythm and music may be processed in the brains of those who have dysfunction in movement areas (such as in Parkinson's disease). We use brain stimulation to assess how motor excitability fluctuates in response to rhythms, and how our rhythm abilities change when motor areas are stimulated. We conduct cross-species comparisons of rhythm and timing. Finally, the range of individual differences in rhythmic ability are very intriguing, and we am conduct behavioural and fMRI studies to examine why there is such a striking range in the healthy human population.
Below are a selection of studies that have brief summaries available.
Music, Parkinson's disease, and gait
Can music change how quickly we walk, or help patients with Parkinson's disease to walk more easily?
The effects of Parkinson’s disease, music training and dance training on beat perception and production abilities (Hsu, Ready, Grahn, submitted). Here we pooled data on the Beat Alignment Test (BAT) across many studies to assess the affects of music and dance training on BAT performance in young and older adults, as well as people with Parkinson's disease.
Musical enjoyment does not enhance walking speed in healthy adults during music-based auditory cueing. (Roberts, Ready, Grahn, 2021). Here we measured gait changes in response to music that was enjoyed or not enjoyed in younger and older adults with good and poor beat perception, half of whom were synchronizing to the beat, and half of whom were not. Surprisingly, enjoyment produced no effects on gait.
Active music therapy and physical improvements from rehabilitation for neurological conditions (Kogutek, Holmes, Grahn, Lutz, & Ready, 2016). This article investigates the merits of music therapy for aiding patients recovering from physical impairments caused by neurological conditions.
How does familiarity with music influence walking speed in rhythmic auditory cuing? (Leow, Rinchon, & Grahn, 2015). Although rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) therapy with music can ameliorate gait abnormalities, outcomes vary, possibly because music properties, such as familiarity, differ across interventions. In this study we looked at whether one's familiarity with music affects the way people walk. We found that music that was more familiar elicited faster stride velocity, reduced the variability of strides, and allowed for better (step to beat) synchronization performance.
Individual differences in beat perception affect gait responses to low- and high-groove music (Leow, Parrott, & Grahn, 2014). Another possible reason for the variable outcomes of rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) therapy with music is differences in beat perception abilities. Music cueing requires patients to synchronize movements to the “beat,” which might be difficult for patients with PD who tend to show weak beat perception. As a first step to understanding how beat perception affects gait in complex neurological disorders, we examined how beat perception ability affected gait in neurotypical adults.
How often does music and rhythm improve patients’ perception of motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease? (Nombela et al, 2013). Listening to music has long been speculated to improve the symptoms of Parkinson's Disease. In this article, we take a closer look at what PD patients have to say.
How do Parkinson's disease patients respond to rhythm? (Grahn and Brett, 2009). In an earlier study, we identified an area of the brain, called the basal ganglia, that responded to 'feeling the beat' in rhythm. In this study we examine how dysfunction of the basal ganglia (as in Parkinson's disease) affects beat perception. We find that Parkinson's patients do not have the same response to the beat that control volunteers do, suggesting that the basal ganglia are crucial to feeling the beat.
Rhythm and the brain
How does the brain respond to rhythm?
Can we see the beat? (Grahn, 2012) This study examines whether we can feel the beat when we use visual depictions of the rhythm, instead of auditory. Previous work with light flashes suggested that we cannot feel the beat when watching a rhythm, but this study uses a rotating line instead of light flashes. We find that people can see the beat when you use the line instead of light flashes.
Finding and feeling the musical beat: Striatal dissociations between detection and prediction of regularity (Grahn and Rowe, 2012) examined how the brain responds when we are searching for a beat (when a piece of music starts on the dance floor, what happens in the first second before you start moving?). The brain's searching response was compared to the response when know the beat (and we are moving along to the music in synchrony, because we can predict where the next beat will be and coordinate our movements accurately in time).
FMRI investigation of cross-modal interactions in beat perception: Audition primes vision, but not vice versa (Grahn, Henry, and McAuley, 2011) examines at how hearing a rhythm changes whether you feel a beat when you watch a 'visual rhythm', and what areas of the brain relate to this change.
How do we feel the beat? How different accent types influence our brain's response to rhythms (Grahn and Rowe, 2009).
Rhythm studies comparing how our brains respond to regular and irregular rhythms, using fMRI (Grahn and Brett, 2007). This study shows that when we feel the beat in rhythm, a motor center called the basal ganglia responds.
Individual differences in rhythm ability
Some of us feel the beat with ease, but others have two left feet. Why, and what's going on in the brain?
What Makes a Rhythm Complex? The Influence of Musical Training and Accent Type on Beat Perception (Bouwer, Burgoyne, Odijk, Honing, & Grahn, 2018).
Enhanced Timing Abilities in Percussionists Generalize to Rhythms without a Musical Beat (Cameron and Grahn, 2014). Are trained percussionists only experts in musical rhythms? Or do they have a general enhancement in timing? This study compares percussionists and nonpercussionists rhythmic ability in two rhythmic tapping tasks.
Individual differences in beat perception affect gait responses to low- and high-groove music (Leow, Parrott, and Grahn, 2014). Music has the makings to be great tool for Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation, that is, a rehabilitative intervention for improving certain symptoms of motor diseases, including Parkinson's. But will just any music do? This study investigates how musical qualities like tempo and groove could play an important role. We show that people with good and poor beat perception ability differ in their response to music.
Individual Differences in Rhythmic Ability: Behavioral and Neuroimaging Investigations (Grahn and Schuit, 2012). Got rhythm? Not so much? This study examines humans' wide range of musical timing abilities, including the possible underlying causes.
Music and Memory
Does music help or hinder us in remembering things?
Mind Your Music: The Effects of Music-Induced Mood and Arousal Across Different Memory Tasks (Nguyen and Grahn, 2017). Many of us use music to help us study but is it actually helpful? This study examines how background music affects verbal memory performance.
Turn Off the Music! Music Impairs Visual associative Memory Performance in Older Adults (Reaves, Graham, Grahn, Rabannifard, & Duartes, 2015). This study investigates the impact of background music on a paired associate learning task in healthy young and older adults.
Music Performance
How can we improve our learning of music?
Optimizing Music Learning: Exploring How Blocked and Interleaved Practice Schedules Affect Advanced Performance (Carter and Grahn, 2016). This study examined the effects of interleaved and blocked practice schedules on advanced clarinet performances in a realistic practice environment.
