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Abstract
Genomic imprinting refers to the parent-of-origin expression of genes, which originates from epigenetic events in the mammalian germ line. The evolution of imprinting may reflect a conflict over resource allocation early in life, with silencing of paternal genes in offspring soliciting increased maternal provision and silencing of maternal genes limiting demands on the mother. Parental caregiving has been identified as an area of potential conflict, with several imprinted genes serendipitously found to directly influence the quality of maternal care. Recent systems biology approaches, based on single-cell RNA sequencing data, support a more deliberate relationship, which is reinforced by the finding that imprinted genes expressed in the offspring influence the quality of maternal caregiving. These bidirectional, reiterative relationships between parents and their offspring are critical both for short-term survival and for lifelong wellbeing, with clear implications for human health.
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2
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Mehr SA, Bortfeld H. Music, a piece of many puzzles in developmental science. Dev Sci 2023; 26:e13438. [PMID: 37501524 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Samuel A Mehr
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
- Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Heather Bortfeld
- Department of Psychology, University of California at Merced, Merced, California, USA
- Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California at Merced, Merced, California, USA
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3
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Peng ZE, Burg EA, Thakkar T, Godar SP, Anderson SR, Litovsky RY. Web-based psychoacoustics of binaural hearing: Two validation experiments. J Acoust Soc Am 2023; 154:751-762. [PMID: 37556566 PMCID: PMC10415019 DOI: 10.1121/10.0020567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Revised: 07/15/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023]
Abstract
Web-based testing is an appealing option for expanding psychoacoustics research outside laboratory environments due to its simple logistics. For example, research participants partake in listening tasks using their own computer and audio hardware and can participate in a comfortable environment of their choice at their own pace. However, it is unknown how deviations from conventional in-lab testing affect data quality, particularly in binaural hearing tasks that traditionally require highly precise audio presentation. Here, we used an online platform to replicate two published in-lab experiments: lateralization to interaural time and level differences (ITD and ILD, experiment I) and dichotic and contralateral unmasking of speech (experiment II) in normal-hearing (NH) young adults. Lateralization data collected online were strikingly similar to in-lab results. Likewise, the amount of unmasking measured online and in-lab differed by less than 1 dB, although online participants demonstrated higher speech reception thresholds overall than those tested in-lab by up to ∼7 dB. Results from online participants who completed a hearing screening versus those who self-reported NH did not differ significantly. We conclude that web-based psychoacoustics testing is a viable option for assessing binaural hearing abilities among young NH adults and discuss important considerations for online study design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Z Ellen Peng
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53715, USA
| | - Emily A Burg
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53715, USA
| | - Tanvi Thakkar
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53715, USA
| | - Shelly P Godar
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53715, USA
| | - Sean R Anderson
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53715, USA
| | - Ruth Y Litovsky
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53715, USA
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4
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Nayak S, Coleman PL, Ladányi E, Nitin R, Gustavson DE, Fisher SE, Magne CL, Gordon RL. The Musical Abilities, Pleiotropy, Language, and Environment (MAPLE) Framework for Understanding Musicality-Language Links Across the Lifespan. Neurobiol Lang (Camb) 2022; 3:615-664. [PMID: 36742012 PMCID: PMC9893227 DOI: 10.1162/nol_a_00079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 04/18/2023]
Abstract
Using individual differences approaches, a growing body of literature finds positive associations between musicality and language-related abilities, complementing prior findings of links between musical training and language skills. Despite these associations, musicality has been often overlooked in mainstream models of individual differences in language acquisition and development. To better understand the biological basis of these individual differences, we propose the Musical Abilities, Pleiotropy, Language, and Environment (MAPLE) framework. This novel integrative framework posits that musical and language-related abilities likely share some common genetic architecture (i.e., genetic pleiotropy) in addition to some degree of overlapping neural endophenotypes, and genetic influences on musically and linguistically enriched environments. Drawing upon recent advances in genomic methodologies for unraveling pleiotropy, we outline testable predictions for future research on language development and how its underlying neurobiological substrates may be supported by genetic pleiotropy with musicality. In support of the MAPLE framework, we review and discuss findings from over seventy behavioral and neural studies, highlighting that musicality is robustly associated with individual differences in a range of speech-language skills required for communication and development. These include speech perception-in-noise, prosodic perception, morphosyntactic skills, phonological skills, reading skills, and aspects of second/foreign language learning. Overall, the current work provides a clear agenda and framework for studying musicality-language links using individual differences approaches, with an emphasis on leveraging advances in the genomics of complex musicality and language traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Srishti Nayak
- Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Psychology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, TN, USA
| | - Peyton L. Coleman
- Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Enikő Ladányi
- Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Linguistics, Potsdam University, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Rachana Nitin
- Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Daniel E. Gustavson
- Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Simon E. Fisher
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Cyrille L. Magne
- Department of Psychology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN, USA
- PhD Program in Literacy Studies, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN, USA
| | - Reyna L. Gordon
- Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Curb Center for Art, Enterprise, and Public Policy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, TN, USA
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5
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Bazhydai M, Ke H, Thomas H, Wong MKY, Westermann G. Investigating the effect of synchronized movement on toddlers' word learning. Front Psychol 2022; 13:1008404. [PMID: 36506988 PMCID: PMC9731293 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1008404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The effect of interpersonal behavioral synchrony on children's behavior is an emerging field rich with research potential. While studies demonstrate its effect on affiliative and prosocial outcomes, the role of synchronized movement on children's specific learning outcomes has not yet been investigated experimentally. One possibility is that synchrony, as a coordinated social activity, encourages perceived social bonds, leading to heightened attention, and better information retention. Equally likely is that physiological, rather than social learning, mechanisms mediate the effect, given the previously demonstrated role of autonomic arousal in attentional fluctuations, cognitive engagement, problem solving, exploration, and curiosity. The present study investigated the behavioral and physiological effects of synchrony conceptualized as induced, interpersonal, behavioral, movement-based interaction, on word learning in 2.5-year-old children. In a laboratory experiment, toddlers engaged in either a synchronous or an asynchronous movement-based interaction with an adult experimenter while listening to an upbeat children's song. After the (a)synchronous movement episode, the same experimenter engaged children in a word learning task. During the (a)synchrony and learning phases, children's physiological arousal was continuously recorded, resulting in heart rate and skin conductance response measures. Following a caregiver-child free play break, children were tested on their novel word retention. The results indicated that children learned novel labels at equal rates during the learning phase in both conditions, and their retention at test did not differ between conditions: although above chance retention of novel labels was found only following the synchronous, but not the asynchronous episode, the cross-episode comparisons did not reach statistical significance. Physiological arousal indices following the (a)synchrony episode did not differ between conditions and did not predict better word learning, although skin conductance response was higher during the learning than the movement episode. This study contributes to our understanding of the underlying cognitive and physiological mechanisms of interpersonal behavioral synchrony in the knowledge acquisition domain and paves the way to future investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Bazhydai
- Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom,*Correspondence: Marina Bazhydai,
| | - Han Ke
- Psychology School of Social Science, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Hannah Thomas
- Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom
| | - Malcolm K. Y. Wong
- Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom
| | - Gert Westermann
- Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom
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6
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Hilton CB, Moser CJ, Bertolo M, Lee-Rubin H, Amir D, Bainbridge CM, Simson J, Knox D, Glowacki L, Alemu E, Galbarczyk A, Jasienska G, Ross CT, Neff MB, Martin A, Cirelli LK, Trehub SE, Song J, Kim M, Schachner A, Vardy TA, Atkinson QD, Salenius A, Andelin J, Antfolk J, Madhivanan P, Siddaiah A, Placek CD, Salali GD, Keestra S, Singh M, Collins SA, Patton JQ, Scaff C, Stieglitz J, Cutipa SC, Moya C, Sagar RR, Anyawire M, Mabulla A, Wood BM, Krasnow MM, Mehr SA. Acoustic regularities in infant-directed speech and song across cultures. Nat Hum Behav 2022; 6:1545-56. [PMID: 35851843 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-022-01410-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 06/10/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
When interacting with infants, humans often alter their speech and song in ways thought to support communication. Theories of human child-rearing, informed by data on vocal signalling across species, predict that such alterations should appear globally. Here, we show acoustic differences between infant-directed and adult-directed vocalizations across cultures. We collected 1,615 recordings of infant- and adult-directed speech and song produced by 410 people in 21 urban, rural and small-scale societies. Infant-directedness was reliably classified from acoustic features only, with acoustic profiles of infant-directedness differing across language and music but in consistent fashions. We then studied listener sensitivity to these acoustic features. We played the recordings to 51,065 people from 187 countries, recruited via an English-language website, who guessed whether each vocalization was infant-directed. Their intuitions were more accurate than chance, predictable in part by common sets of acoustic features and robust to the effects of linguistic relatedness between vocalizer and listener. These findings inform hypotheses of the psychological functions and evolution of human communication.
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7
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Peng ZE, Waz S, Buss E, Shen Y, Richards V, Bharadwaj H, Stecker GC, Beim JA, Bosen AK, Braza MD, Diedesch AC, Dorey CM, Dykstra AR, Gallun FJ, Goldsworthy RL, Gray L, Hoover EC, Ihlefeld A, Koelewijn T, Kopun JG, Mesik J, Shub DE, Venezia JH. FORUM: Remote testing for psychological and physiological acoustics. J Acoust Soc Am 2022; 151:3116. [PMID: 35649891 PMCID: PMC9305596 DOI: 10.1121/10.0010422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2021] [Revised: 03/22/2022] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Acoustics research involving human participants typically takes place in specialized laboratory settings. Listening studies, for example, may present controlled sounds using calibrated transducers in sound-attenuating or anechoic chambers. In contrast, remote testing takes place outside of the laboratory in everyday settings (e.g., participants' homes). Remote testing could provide greater access to participants, larger sample sizes, and opportunities to characterize performance in typical listening environments at the cost of reduced control of environmental conditions, less precise calibration, and inconsistency in attentional state and/or response behaviors from relatively smaller sample sizes and unintuitive experimental tasks. The Acoustical Society of America Technical Committee on Psychological and Physiological Acoustics launched the Task Force on Remote Testing (https://tcppasa.org/remotetesting/) in May 2020 with goals of surveying approaches and platforms available to support remote testing and identifying challenges and considerations for prospective investigators. The results of this task force survey were made available online in the form of a set of Wiki pages and summarized in this report. This report outlines the state-of-the-art of remote testing in auditory-related research as of August 2021, which is based on the Wiki and a literature search of papers published in this area since 2020, and provides three case studies to demonstrate feasibility during practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Z Ellen Peng
- Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, Nebraska 68131, USA
| | - Sebastian Waz
- University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, USA
| | - Emily Buss
- The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599, USA
| | - Yi Shen
- University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | | | | | | | - Jordan A Beim
- University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA
| | - Adam K Bosen
- Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, Nebraska 68131, USA
| | - Meredith D Braza
- The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599, USA
| | - Anna C Diedesch
- Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington 98225, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Lincoln Gray
- James Madison University, Harrisburg, Virginia 22807, USA
| | - Eric C Hoover
- University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
| | - Antje Ihlefeld
- Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
| | | | - Judy G Kopun
- Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, Nebraska 68131, USA
| | - Juraj Mesik
- University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA
| | - Daniel E Shub
- Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, USA
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8
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Morett LM, Feiler JB, Getz LM. Elucidating the influences of embodiment and conceptual metaphor on lexical and non-speech tone learning. Cognition 2022; 222:105014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2022.105014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2021] [Revised: 01/04/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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9
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Yan R, Jessani G, Spelke ES, de Villiers P, de Villiers J, Mehr SA. Across demographics and recent history, most parents sing to their infants and toddlers daily. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20210089. [PMID: 34719251 PMCID: PMC8558774 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Music is universally prevalent in human society and is a salient component of the lives of young families. Here, we studied the frequency of singing and playing recorded music in the home using surveys of parents with infants (N = 945). We found that most parents sing to their infant on a daily basis and the frequency of infant-directed singing is unrelated to parents' income or ethnicity. Two reliable individual differences emerged, however: (i) fathers sing less than mothers and (ii) as infants grow older, parents sing less. Moreover, the latter effect of child age was specific to singing and was not reflected in reports of the frequency of playing recorded music. Last, we meta-analysed reports of the frequency of infant-directed singing and found little change in its frequency over the past 30 years, despite substantial changes in the technological environment in the home. These findings, consistent with theories of the psychological functions of music, in general, and infant-directed singing, in particular, demonstrate the everyday nature of music in infancy. This article is part of the theme issue 'Voice modulation: from origin and mechanism to social impact (Part I)'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ran Yan
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 500 S State Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Department of Psychology, Smith College, 10 Elm Street, Northampton, MA 01063, USA
| | - Ghazal Jessani
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, 13 Appian Way, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Elizabeth S. Spelke
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Peter de Villiers
- Department of Psychology, Smith College, 10 Elm Street, Northampton, MA 01063, USA
| | - Jill de Villiers
- Department of Psychology, Smith College, 10 Elm Street, Northampton, MA 01063, USA
| | - Samuel A. Mehr
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Data Science Initiative, Harvard University, 8 Story Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Kelburn Parade, Wellington 6012, New Zealand
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10
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Abstract
Credible signaling may have provided a selection pressure for producing and discriminating increasingly elaborate proto-musical signals. But, why evolve them to have hierarchical structure? We argue that the hierarchality of tonality and meter is a byproduct of domain-general mechanisms evolved for reasons other than credible signaling.
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11
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Abstract
We discuss approaches to the study of the evolution of music (sect. R1); challenges to each of the two theories of the origins of music presented in the companion target articles (sect. R2); future directions for testing them (sect. R3); and priorities for better understanding the nature of music (sect. R4).
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel A Mehr
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA02138, , https://, https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/epl
- Data Science Initiative, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA02138
- School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington6012, New Zealand
| | - Max M Krasnow
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA02138, , https://, https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/epl
| | - Gregory A Bryant
- Department of Communication, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA90095, , http://gabryant.bol.ucla.edu
- Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA90095, USA
| | - Edward H Hagen
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA98686, USA. , https://anthro.vancouver.wsu.edu/people/hagen
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12
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Navarro L, Martinón-Torres F, Salas A. Sensogenomics and the Biological Background Underlying Musical Stimuli: Perspectives for a New Era of Musical Research. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:1454. [PMID: 34573436 PMCID: PMC8472585 DOI: 10.3390/genes12091454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2021] [Revised: 09/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
What is the actual impact of music on the human being and the scope for scientific research in this realm? Compared to other areas, the study of the relationship between music and human biology has received limited attention. At the same time, evidence of music's value in clinical science, neuroscience, and social science keeps increasing. This review article synthesizes the existing knowledge of genetics related to music. While the success of genomics has been demonstrated in medical research, with thousands of genes that cause inherited diseases or a predisposition to multifactorial disorders identified, much less attention has been paid to other human traits. We argue for the development of a new discipline, sensogenomics, aimed at investigating the impact of the sensorial input on gene expression and taking advantage of new, discovery-based 'omic' approaches that allow for the exploration of the whole transcriptome of individuals under controlled experiments and circumstances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Navarro
- Unidade de Xenética, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses (INCIFOR), Facultade de Medicina, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain;
- GenPoB Research Group, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS), Hospital Clínico Universitario de San-tiago (SERGAS), Galicia, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
- Genetics, Vaccines and Pediatric Infectious Diseases Research Group (GENVIP), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago (IDIS), Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (USC), Galicia, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain;
| | - Federico Martinón-Torres
- Genetics, Vaccines and Pediatric Infectious Diseases Research Group (GENVIP), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago (IDIS), Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (USC), Galicia, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain;
- Translational Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago de Compostela (SERGAS), Galicia, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Antonio Salas
- Unidade de Xenética, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses (INCIFOR), Facultade de Medicina, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain;
- GenPoB Research Group, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS), Hospital Clínico Universitario de San-tiago (SERGAS), Galicia, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
- Genetics, Vaccines and Pediatric Infectious Diseases Research Group (GENVIP), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago (IDIS), Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (USC), Galicia, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain;
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13
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Kalinowski K, Kozłowska A, Malesza M, Danel DP. Evolutionary origins of music. Classical and recent hypotheses. Anthropological Review 2021; 84:213-31. [DOI: 10.2478/anre-2021-0011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to review recent hypotheses on the evolutionary origins of music in Homo sapiens, taking into account the most influential traditional hypotheses. To date, theories derived from evolution have focused primarily on the importance that music carries in solving detailed adaptive problems. The three most influential theoretical concepts have described the evolution of human music in terms of 1) sexual selection, 2) the formation of social bonds, or treated it 3) as a byproduct. According to recent proposals, traditional hypotheses are flawed or insufficient in fully explaining the complexity of music in Homo sapiens. This paper will critically discuss three traditional hypotheses of music evolution (music as an effect of sexual selection, a mechanism of social bonding, and a byproduct), as well as and two recent concepts of music evolution - music as a credible signal and Music and Social Bonding (MSB) hypothesis.
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14
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Bainbridge CM, Bertolo M, Youngers J, Atwood S, Yurdum L, Simson J, Lopez K, Xing F, Martin A, Mehr SA. Infants relax in response to unfamiliar foreign lullabies. Nat Hum Behav 2021; 5:256-264. [PMID: 33077883 PMCID: PMC8220405 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-020-00963-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2020] [Accepted: 09/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Music is characterized by acoustic forms that are predictive of its behavioural functions. For example, adult listeners accurately identify unfamiliar lullabies as infant-directed on the basis of their musical features alone. This property could reflect a function of listeners' experiences, the basic design of the human mind, or both. Here, we show that US infants (N = 144) relax in response to eight unfamiliar foreign lullabies, relative to matched non-lullaby songs from other foreign societies, as indexed by heart rate, pupillometry and electrodermal activity. They do so consistently throughout the first year of life, suggesting that the response is not a function of their musical experiences, which are limited relative to those of adults. The infants' parents overwhelmingly chose lullabies as the songs that they would use to calm their fussy infant, despite their unfamiliarity. Together, these findings suggest that infants may be predisposed to respond to common features of lullabies found in different cultures.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mila Bertolo
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Julie Youngers
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - S Atwood
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Lidya Yurdum
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Jan Simson
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Kelsie Lopez
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Feng Xing
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Education, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Alia Martin
- School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Samuel A Mehr
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.
- Data Science Initiative, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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15
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Abstract
Music comprises a diverse category of cognitive phenomena that likely represent both the effects of psychological adaptations that are specific to music (e.g., rhythmic entrainment) and the effects of adaptations for non-musical functions (e.g., auditory scene analysis). How did music evolve? Here, we show that prevailing views on the evolution of music - that music is a byproduct of other evolved faculties, evolved for social bonding, or evolved to signal mate quality - are incomplete or wrong. We argue instead that music evolved as a credible signal in at least two contexts: coalitional interactions and infant care. Specifically, we propose that (1) the production and reception of coordinated, entrained rhythmic displays is a co-evolved system for credibly signaling coalition strength, size, and coordination ability; and (2) the production and reception of infant-directed song is a co-evolved system for credibly signaling parental attention to secondarily altricial infants. These proposals, supported by interdisciplinary evidence, suggest that basic features of music, such as melody and rhythm, result from adaptations in the proper domain of human music. The adaptations provide a foundation for the cultural evolution of music in its actual domain, yielding the diversity of musical forms and musical behaviors found worldwide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel A Mehr
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA02138, ; https://; https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/epl
- Data Science Initiative, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA02138
- School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington6012, New Zealand
| | - Max M Krasnow
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA02138, ; https://; https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/epl
| | - Gregory A Bryant
- Department of Communication, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA90095, ; https://gabryant.bol.ucla.edu
- Center for Behavior, Evolution, & Culture, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA90095
| | - Edward H Hagen
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA98686, USA. ; https://anthro.vancouver.wsu.edu/people/hagen
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Bongard S, Schulz I, Studenroth KU, Frankenberg E. Attractiveness Ratings for Musicians and Non-musicians: An Evolutionary-Psychology Perspective. Front Psychol 2019; 10:2627. [PMID: 31849756 PMCID: PMC6895061 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2019] [Accepted: 11/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
From an evolutionary perspective, musical behavior such as playing an instrument can be considered as part of an individual's courting behavior. Playing a musical instrument or singing might fulfill a function similar to that of a bird's colored feathers: attracting attention. Therefore, musicians may be rated as more attractive than non-musicians. In an online survey, 137 volunteers (95 female) with ages ranging from 16 to 39 years rated the attractiveness of fictitious persons of the opposite sex described in short verbal profiles. These profiles differed with respect to whether the described person made music or not. Additionally, the musicians' profiles varied with regard to whether the described person played music or sang in public or in private only. Results show that musicians' profiles were not generally rated as more attractive than non-musicians', but attractiveness did vary according to setting: private musicians were rated as most attractive, followed by non-musicians and public musicians. Furthermore, results indicate that participants who played a musical instrument or sang themselves gave higher ratings to profiles of musicians. But for participants who do not make music themselves, higher attractiveness ratings for musicians playing instruments or sing in private settings were found. These results indicate that the impression of sharing a common interest (making music) and furthermore making music in private instrumental settings seems to make people attractive to other people. No additional support for the sexual selection hypotheses for the evolution of music was provided by the current results. The musical status of the rater affected his or her judgements, with musicians rating other people as more attractive if they share the common interest in making music. Not the display of being a musician seems to be critical for attractiveness ratings but the perceived or imagined similarity by the rater created by information on musicality, fostering the theoretical significance of the communication aspect of music.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephan Bongard
- Department of Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Ilka Schulz
- Department of Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Karin U. Studenroth
- Department of Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Emily Frankenberg
- Division of Pediatric Neurology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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Abstract
Parent-offspring conflict-conflict over resource distribution within families due to differences in genetic relatedness-is the biological foundation for many psychological phenomena. In genomic imprinting disorders, parent-specific genetic expression is altered causing imbalances in behaviors influenced by parental investment. We use this natural experiment to test the theory that parent-offspring conflict contributed to the evolution of vocal music by moderating infant demands for parental attention. Individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome, a genomic imprinting disorder resulting from increased relative maternal genetic contribution, show enhanced relaxation responses to song, consistent with reduced demand for parental investment (Mehr et al., 2017, Psychological Science). We report the necessary complementary pattern here: individuals with Angelman syndrome, a genomic imprinting disorder resulting from increased relative paternal genetic contribution, demonstrate a relatively reduced relaxation response to song, suggesting increased demand for parental attention. These results support the extension of genetic conflict theories to psychological resources like parental attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Kotler
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.,Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Samuel A Mehr
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.,Data Science Initiative, Harvard University, 8 Story St., Suite 380, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Alena Egner
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Max M Krasnow
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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