Timing Research Forum 4

Chair:Andrea Ravignani(Sapienza University of Rome)

Rhythm and timing capacities are fundamental aspects of cognition, movement, and communication, essential for human expression, social interaction, and cognitive development. Studying these capacities from a combined developmental and cross-species perspective offers a comprehensive understanding of their complexities, nuances, and evolutionary roots. In this proposed symposium we focus on rhythm in the acoustic domain and discuss its many developmental and cross-species facets.
Why sound? Surely timing and rhythm capacities can manifest in multiple dimensions and modalities. Here we focus on sound as a common thread connecting the different talks because: 1) it is easy to record and measure in empirical contexts; 2) it is also easy to control and administer in experimental contexts; 3) it can be sampled at high temporal resolutions; 4) it connects with abilities that appear early in human life, are plastic, and are present in other species.
Why rhythm? Timing and rhythm have had an interesting historical relationship. By some they are seen as strongly related. Others consider them mechanistically unrelated systems. In both cases, rhythm provides a “twin system” for timing, i.e. the other side of the coin of human timing.
Why development and plasticity? Infants as young as a few months old exhibit rhythmic entrainment, synchronizing their movements with external beats. This capacity develops and refines throughout early childhood, laying the foundation for music and language acquisition. Rhythm and timing abilities are closely tied to cognitive development, in e.g. attention, memory, and executive functions.
Studying these relationships provides insights into cognitive development and potential interventions for developmental disorders. Studying infant responses to rhythmic sounds can reveal the earliest manifestations of timing and time perception, shedding light on their developmental origins.
Why cross-species? This approach can show similarities and differences with animal groups closer or farther from us. Studying rhythmic behaviors in animals, such as songs of songbirds or drumming in great apes, can reveal shared neural mechanisms and cognitive processes underlying timing and time perception. How do these arise? On the one hand, common ancestry can give rise to “homologies”: comparative neuroanatomy can uncover homologous brain structures involved in timing and rhythm, providing clues about the evolutionary conservation of these mechanisms. On the other hand, convergent evolution can create “analogies”: finding rhythmic abilities in diverse species can suggest convergent evolutionary pressures that have shaped timing and rhythm across the animal kingdom. Finally, animal work can discover new animal models for human disorders. Research on animal models can help us better understand those human disorders – e.g. Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, and autism spectrum disorder - which often involve disruptions in rhythmic and timing abilities. 
Together, the cross-species and plasticity angles allow comparing developmental trajectories of rhythm and timing capacities across species. One of our goals is to showcase how colleagues working on timing and time perception can connect to the study of rhythmic sounds in other species and human development. A comparative and developmental approach can pinpoint evolutionary trends, test the boundaries of cognitive and neural plasticity, and provide testable hypotheses for timing and time perception.