Engagement of the motor system in the perception and cognition of music

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This program of research is intended to contribute to basic knowledge about the role of motor engagement in perception and cognition of music. This will be accomplished through a series of four experiments that feature increasingly complex stimuli. The first three series of experiments focus on motor simulation of vocal melodies, commencing with two-note melodies and ending with expressively performed multi-note melodies. The fourth series of experiments focuses on motor entrainment of rhythm in complete pieces of recorded music. There are two main objectives I hope to achieve with this program of research. First, I intend to determine the extent to which the motor system is engaged when music is presented through unimodal (auditory, visual, tactile) and bimodal input. I assume that the pattern of engagement will be uniquely expressed in regards to stimulus properties, input modality, and an observer's experience. Second, I intend to determine the circumstances under which the engagement of the motor system may impact the processing of music. At this point cognitive neuroscience does not possess a thorough conceptualization of when motor engagement is ancillary and when it is instrumental to perceptual and cognitive processes. We believe that the proposed work is highly novel, providing several opportunities for contributing to knowledge about the functional role of the motor system in perceptual and cognitive processes that transcend music. The proposed work is also poised to develop key insights about the appropriate use of multimodal input in assistive and rehabilitative technologies that are specifically designed to engage the motor system.