Ph.D., Psychology (Cornell University), August, 2004

Current Position: Assistant Professor, University of Nevada at Las Vegas

Dissertation: 

NEURAL CORRELATES OF METER PERCEPTION IN HIGH-FREQUENCY BRAIN ACTIVITY

This dissertation applies electroencephalography (EEG) toward understanding the neural basis of meter perception, the extraction of a periodic accent pattern that is central to rhythm perception in music and speech. EEG provides the necessary temporal resolution to describe brain dynamics involved in the processing of events in complex metrical patterns. The first experiment examined auditory responses to tones presented at a range of tempos found in music, 150–3125 ms inter-onset interval (IOI). Early responses showed constant amplitude across tempos, while later responses cortex showed smaller amplitude at faster tempos. Early and late responses were explainable by phase dynamics of the ongoing EEG. A second experiment presented metrical patterns of alternating strong and weak accents defined by loud and soft tones, with occasional tone omissions. Synchronous with expected tone onset time, induced high-frequency gamma-band activity (GBA) showed larger responses for strongly accented positions, regardless of whether tones were presented or omitted. A third experiment defined meter by the temporal distribution of tone onsets and found evoked GBA that was larger for stronger metrical positions. The findings of this dissertation suggest that high-frequency brain activity occurring around tone onset times shows correlates of metrical expectancy and metrical accent.