Auditory-motor integration in infancy and early childhood

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The proposed research program addresses fundamental scientific questions about the integration and development of auditory-motor systems in infancy and into early childhood. Listening to musical rhythms activates motor areas in the brain, and rhythmic movements enhance auditory rhythm perception. These reciprocal neural systems make auditory-motor integration an essential process for the perception and production of music and language. Despite the importance of these neural connections for communication, little is known about how and when these systems become intertwined. The research program will 1) enhance our understanding of how auditory features of rhythms (e.g. pitch, tempo) facilitate rhythm perception and auditory-motor integration in infants and children; 2) investigate how movement facilitates infant rhythm perception; 3) track how rhythm perception and production in early childhood scaffold later vocal fluency. The program will be the first to combine physiological (i.e., electroencephalography or EEG) and behavioural (i.e. video coding, rhythm production tasks) measures to investigate how maturation in auditory and motor brain networks facilitates predictive rhythmic movements. The proposed research will allow students to receive training at the forefront of developmental research. It will also provide students with hands-on learning in neurophysiological, behavioural, and computational techniques. Importantly, this investigation of novel questions about basic sensory-motor abilities and their generalized effects on attention and cognition across the lifespan will make substantial theoretical and empirical contributions to rhythm perception.