Timing Research Forum 4

Chair:Sonja Kotz(Maastricht University), Teresa Raimondi (Sapienza University of Rome)

Time and rhythm, the structured recurrence of events in time, orchestrate multiple functions in animal and human life, from oscillations in physiology, to gait patterning and social interaction. Despite their central role, the biological roots and evolution of time and rhythmicity remain only partially understood. This symposium will illuminate time and rhythm's multifaceted nature through an integrative, comparative framework, bridging proximate mechanisms and evolutionary explanations.
A central premise is that time and rhythm are not unitary phenomena but units of dissociable behavioral and neural modules. A comparative approach can dissect time and rhythm into components and trace their presence across taxa. Identifying homologies and analogies in temporal and rhythmic behavior allows reconstruction of their phylogenetic history and evolutionary significance.
However, isolated top-down (neurobiological) and bottom-up approaches have limitations. Top-down approaches identify brain modules enabling time and rhythm but are often ecologically limited and invasive. Bottom-up approaches detail observable output and ecological relevance but are a "black box" regarding proximate evolutionary causes, challenging phylogenetic tracing.
This symposium advocates for an integrative approach synthesizing both perspectives. Non-human animal models can reveal proximate neural and physiological mechanisms and ultimate causes (e.g., ecological pressures, communication, social dynamics) shaping the evolution of time and rhythm. Rodents and primates offer insights into convergent and divergent temporal and rhythmic behavior via phylogenetic and ethological proximity, respectively.
With this symposium, we pursue the following key objectives:
1. Fostering Interdisciplinary Dialogue: To bring together leading researchers from diverse fields including cognitive neuroscience, neurophysiology, comparative psychology, and ethology in a dialogue between mechanistic and evolutionary viewpoints.
2. Reviewing Current Advances: To provide a comprehensive overview of the most recent and innovative advances in experimental paradigms that link observed behavior to underlying brain activity across a wide range of species.
3. Catalyzing Future Research: To identify and catalyze promising new research directions and methodologies by highlighting both the conserved and unique aspects of timing and rhythmicity across different species.
4. Constructing a Comprehensive Framework: To collaboratively construct a more comprehensive and biologically grounded framework for understanding time and rhythm by recognizing their inherent architecture, remarkable evolutionary plasticity in response to diverse selective pressures, and fundamental role in coordinating the lives of animals, including humans.