Group dynamics and temporal coordination

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Modern societies rely on accurate predictions of temporal coordination among individuals, from traffic patterns to communications transmissions. Conversational speakers, music ensembles, and dancers demonstrate the precise timing required of human coordination, as well as flexibility to adapt to change. Our ability to coordinate - to synchronize our behaviour in time - is most apparent in how people synchronize with auditory rhythmic signals. Humans show fast and flexible adaptation in response to temporally predictable sound (such as auditory cross-walk signals) as well as to temporally fluctuating sound (human-produced speech and music). Although coordination with auditory signals is not unique to humans, we show greater adaptation and flexibility than other species who typically move at a spontaneous intrinsic frequency that constrains their coordination. My research program has discovered intrinsic frequencies that partially constrain how humans coordinate movement with sound. These individual differences present a challenge for models of temporal coordination. My long-term objective is to specify precise models that account for temporal coordination in group behaviour. Although models exist for individual coordination with (inanimate) external signals, less is known about how individuals interact with each other. My trainees and I model the group dynamics: nonlinear dynamics that emerge from interactions among individuals, groups, or populations. The proposed research addresses group dynamics in musical ensembles and joint (group) tapping, and in concurrent measures of auditory-motor networks based on electroencephalography. We derive theoretical predictions from formal models that are tested in temporal coordination tasks. The proposed research examines three key factors in temporal coordination between individuals: a) transmission of multiple sensory/perceptual cues among individuals; b) role of social relationships (including leadership and social dominance); and c) influence of group members' auditory and motor expertise. Auditory-motor behaviours are evaluated with models developed in my lab, to contrast group coordination with measures of individual coordination during interaction with a virtual partner. Temporal coordination demonstrates our capacity to integrate information, perceive change, and act in concert with others. Advanced models of auditory-motor coordination are important for better understanding of sensorimotor disorders such as stroke recovery, focal dystonia, and Parkinson's disease. The proposed research also helps to identify which auditory or motor short-term experiences enhance coordination in other contexts, from second language learning to gait rehabilitation. Benefits of these findings extend to both biological applications (pro-social benefits to group members who are well-synchronized) and technological applications (automated prediction of future actions) that arise in group contexts.