Coordination Of Rhythmic Movements Research Articles

Use of fNIRS to Characterize the Neural Mechanism of Inter-Individual Rhythmic Movement Coordination

Background: Inter-individual rhythmic movement coordination plays an important role in daily life, particularly in competitive sports. Behaviorally, it is more challenging to coordinate alternating movements than symmetrical movements. The neural activity underlying these different movement coordination modes remains to be clarified, particularly considering complex inter-individual coordination differences.Methods: To further test the neural basis of inter-individual rhythmic movement coordination, a revised experimental paradigm of inter-individual coordination was adopted. Participants were asked to perform symmetric, alternate, or single movements (swinging the lower part of the leg) in the same rhythm. A multi-channel, continuous wave, functional near-infrared spectral (fNIRS) imaging instrument was used to monitor hemodynamic activity while 40 volunteers (9 male pairs and 11 female pairs) performed the task. Multivariate analyses of variance were conducted to compare mean oxy-hemoglobin concentration ([HbO]) across experimental conditions.Results: A significant three-way interaction (leg-swing condition × ROI × laterality) on mean [HbO] was observed. Post hoc analysis revealed a significant main effect of leg-swing condition only in brain regions of interest [right inferior parietal lobule (IPL)] contralateral to movement execution. Activation in brain regions of interest [right inferior parietal lobule (IPL)] was much stronger in alternate mode compared with symmetric or single modes, and the differences between symmetric and single mode were not statistically significant. This result suggests that the alternate mode of movement coordination was more likely to be supported by the IPL region than the other modes.Conclusion: The present findings provide neural evidence relevant to the theory of self-organization of movement coordination, in which an alternating movement mode appeared to be a more demanding condition than symmetrical movement.

Does dance training influence beat sensorimotor synchronization? Differences in finger-tapping sensorimotor synchronization between competitive ballroom dancers and nondancers.

Sensorimotor synchronization is the coordination of rhythmic movement with an external beat. Dancers often synchronize each beat of their motion with an external rhythm. Compared with social dancing, competitive ballroom dancing requires a higher level of sensorimotor ability. Although previous studies have found that dance experience may facilitate sensorimotor synchronization, they did not examine this in competitive ballroom dancers. Thus, the present study compared sensorimotor synchronization in 41 nondancers and 41 skilled, competitive ballroom dancers as they performed a simple beat synchronization finger-tapping task. All participants finger-tapped freely at their preferred tempo before the formal experiments. Participants were then required to synchronize their finger-tapping with auditory, visual, or combined audiovisual signals in separate experiments and at varying tempos. To assess sensorimotor plasticity, the participants then repeated the free-tapping task after completing all three finger-tapping experiments. Compared with nondancers, dancers showed more accurate and stable beat synchronization. Dancers tapped before onset of all three types of sensorimotor stimulation, indicating a significant negative mean asynchrony and had a tendency to anticipate (predict) the stimuli. Dancers tended to auditory stimulation for beat sensorimotor synchronization, whereas nondancers tended to visual stimuli. Dancers had a faster tempo preference in the initial free-tapping task; however, the preferred tapping tempo increased in all participants in the second free-tapping task, suggesting that beat induction is affected by practice. Together these findings suggest that dance experience enhances sensorimotor synchronization and sensorimotor plasticity, with ballroom dancers tending to auditory stimulation for beat induction.

Perceptual and cognitive enhancement with an adaptive timing partner: Electrophysiological responses to pitch change.

(ProQuest: ... denotes formula omitted.)When two people play music together, they need to control timing of their own actions while also adjusting their actions in response to those of other (Nowicki, Prinz, Grosjean, Repp, & Keller, 2013; Wing, Endo, Bradbury, & Vorberg, 2014). Having a partner who adapts can be satisfying. Patients playing a percussion instrument with a music therapist who entrains to them may gain a sense of freedom in expressing their emotion and feel empowered by experience (Bensimon, Amir, & Wolf, 2008; Winkelman, 2003).In many species, individuals synchronize their movements together, such as birds that fly in formation, fish that swim in schools, and fireflies that flash at same time (Buck, 1935, 1937, 1988; Partridge, 1982; Weimerskirch, Martin, Clerquin, Alexandre, & Jiraskova, 2001). More rare, but found in humans and a few vocal learning species, is ability to synchronize movement to a predictable auditory stimulus, such as beat in music (Patel & Iversen, 2014; Patel, Iversen, Bregman, & Schulz, 2009; Schachner, Brady, Pepperberg, & Hauser, 2009; Trainor, 2015). This ability is referred to as sensorimotor synchronization (SMS) and is defined as the coordination of rhythmic movement with an external rhythm (Repp & Su, 2013).In a typical musical performance, underlying beat or tempo produced is not completely steady, with deviations arising from several sources, such as internal time-keeping errors (Torre & Delignieres, 2008; Wing & Kristofferson, 1973a, 1973b), and deliberate deviations for expressive purposes (James, Michel, Britz, Vuilleumier, & Hauert, 2012; Rankin, Large, & Fink, 2009; Repp, 1992). Thus, for two or more people to play music together in synchrony, it necessarily involves mutual adjustments of phase alignment and tempo (period) to achieve SMS.The study of interpersonal synchrony is particularly important because empirical evidence indicates that synchronous movement promotes a sense of group affiliation. For example, walking or singing in synchrony with others increases cooperation, trust, and ratings of likability among participants (Hove & Risen, 2009; Kirschner & Tomasello, 2010; Valdesolo, Ouyang, & DeSteno, 2010; Wiltermuth & Heath, 2009). Synchronous movement to music even leads to enhanced prosocial instrumental helping in infants (Cirelli, Einarson, & Trainor, 2014; Cirelli & Trainor, 2015). Cirelli, Wan, and Trainor (2014) bounced 14-month-old infants to music facing an experimenter who bounced in synchrony with infant, or in antiphase (but at same tempo), or at a different tempo from infant. After this experience, infants were more likely to help experimenter by retrieving accidentally dropped items needed to complete a task if they had bounced at same tempo as experimenter (either in phase or antiphase) compared with if they bounced at a different tempo, whether faster or slower. Of interest to authors, this increase in helping after synchronous bouncing is targeted to bouncing partner and not to neutral strangers (Cirelli, Wan, et al., 2014), although it does apply to friends of synchronous bouncing partner (Cirelli & Trainor, 2015).It has been proposed that three core cognitive-motor skills are needed for people to engage in real-time interpersonal coordination-( a) propensity to synchronize movements, (b) ability to use anticipatory mechanisms during SMS, and (c) ability to divide attention (reviewed by Keller, Novembre, & Hove, 2014), reviewed in more detail below. In present study, we investigate perceptual/cognitive consequences of playing with an adaptive partner. In particular, during a difficult SMS task, we expect that an adaptive virtual partner that adjusts its onset times so as to place its upcoming tones closer to expectations of a musically untrained partner will reduce resource demands for that untrained partner compared with a virtual partner that does not adjust, leading to enhanced perceptual and cognitive processing of music. …

Transfer of learning between unimanual and bimanual rhythmic movement coordination: transfer is a function of the task dynamic.

Under certain conditions, learning can transfer from a trained task to an untrained version of that same task. However, it is as yet unclear what those certain conditions are or why learning transfers when it does. Coordinated rhythmic movement is a valuable model system for investigating transfer because we have a model of the underlying task dynamic that includes perceptual coupling between the limbs being coordinated. The model predicts that (1) coordinated rhythmic movements, both bimanual and unimanual, are organised with respect to relative motion information for relative phase in the coupling function, (2) unimanual is less stable than bimanual coordination because the coupling is unidirectional rather than bidirectional, and (3) learning a new coordination is primarily about learning to perceive and use the relevant information which, with equal perceptual improvement due to training, yields equal transfer of learning from bimanual to unimanual coordination and vice versa [but, given prediction (2), the resulting performance is also conditioned by the intrinsic stability of each task]. In the present study, two groups were trained to produce 90° either unimanually or bimanually, respectively, and tested in respect to learning (namely improved performance in the trained 90° coordination task and improved visual discrimination of 90°) and transfer of learning (to the other, untrained 90° coordination task). Both groups improved in the task condition in which they were trained and in their ability to visually discriminate 90°, and this learning transferred to the untrained condition. When scaled by the relative intrinsic stability of each task, transfer levels were found to be equal. The results are discussed in the context of the perception-action approach to learning and performance.

Rhythm perception, production, and synchronization during the perinatal period.

Sensori-motor synchronization (SMS) is the coordination of rhythmic movement with an external rhythm. It plays a central role in motor, cognitive, and social behavior. SMS is commonly studied in adults and in children from four years of age onward. Prior to this age, the ability has rarely been investigated due to a lack of available methods. The present paper reviews what is known about SMS in young children, infants, newborns, and fetuses. The review highlights fetal and infant perception of rhythm and cross modal perception of rhythm, fetal, and infant production of rhythm and cross modal production of rhythm, and the contexts in which production of rhythm can be observed in infants. A primary question is whether infants, even newborns, can modify their spontaneous rhythmical motor behavior in response to external rhythmical stimulation. Spontaneous sucking, crying, and leg movements have been studied in the presence or absence of rhythmical auditory stimulation. Findings suggest that the interaction between movement and sound is present at birth and that SMS can be observed in special conditions and within a narrow range of tempi, particularly near the infant’s own spontaneous motor tempo. The discussion centers on the fundamental role of SMS in interaction and communication at the beginning of life.

Sensorimotor synchronization: A review of recent research (2006–2012)

Sensorimotor synchronization (SMS) is the coordination of rhythmic movement with an external rhythm, ranging from finger tapping in time with a metronome to musical ensemble performance. An earlier review (Repp, 2005) covered tapping studies; two additional reviews (Repp, 2006a, b) focused on music performance and on rate limits of SMS, respectively. The present article supplements and extends these earlier reviews by surveying more recent research in what appears to be a burgeoning field. The article comprises four parts, dealing with (1) conventional tapping studies, (2) other forms of moving in synchrony with external rhythms (including dance and nonhuman animals' synchronization abilities), (3) interpersonal synchronization (including musical ensemble performance), and (4) the neuroscience of SMS. It is evident that much new knowledge about SMS has been acquired in the last 7 years.

The stability of rhythmic movement coordination depends on relative speed: the Bingham model supported

Following many studies showing that the coupling in bimanual coordination can be perceptual, Bingham (Ecol Psychol in 16:45-53, 2001; 2004a, b) proposed a dynamical model of such movements. The model contains three key hypotheses: (1) Being able to produce stable coordinative movements is a function of the ability to perceive relative phase, (2) the information to perceive relative phase is relative direction of motion, and (3) the ability to resolve this information is conditioned by relative speed. The first two hypotheses have been well supported (Wilson and Bingham in Percept Psychophys 70:465-476, 2008; Wilson et al. in J Exp Psychol Hum 36:1508-1514, 2010a), but the third was not supported when tested by de Rugy et al. (Exp Brain Res 184:269-273, 2008) using a visual coordination task that required simultaneous control of both the amplitude and relative phase of movement. The purposes of the current study were to replicate this task with additional measures and to modify the original model to apply it to the new task. To do this, we conducted two experiments. First, we tested the ability to produce 180° visual coordination at different frequencies to determine frequencies suitable for testing in the de Rugy et al. task. Second, we tested the de Rugy et al. task but included additional measures that yielded results different from those reported by de Rugy et al. These results were used to elaborate the original model. First, one of the phase-driven oscillators was replaced with a harmonic oscillator, so the resulting coupling was unidirectional. This change resulted in the model producing less stable 180° coordination behavior beyond 1.5 Hz consistent with the results obtained in Experiment 1. Next, amplitude control and phase correction elements were added to the model. With these changes, the model reproduced behaviors observed in Experiment 2. The central finding was that the stability of rhythmic movement coordination does depend on relative speed and, thus, all three of the hypotheses contained in the original Bingham model are supported.

The stability of rhythmic movement coordination depends on relative speed

The stability of rhythmic movement coordination depends on relative speed

Human movement coordination implicates relative direction as the information for relative phase

The current studies explore the informational basis of the coupling in human rhythmic movement coordination tasks. Movement stability in these tasks is an asymmetric U-shaped function of mean relative phase; 0° is maximally stable, 90° is maximally unstable and 180° is intermediate. Bingham (2001, 2004a, 2004b) hypothesized that the information used to perform coordinated rhythmic movement is the relative direction of movement, the resolution of which is determined by relative speed. We used an experimental paradigm that entails using a circular movement to produce a linear motion of a dot on a screen, which must then be coordinated with a linearly moving computer controlled dot. This adds a component to the movement that is orthogonal to the display. Relative direction is not uniquely defined between orthogonal components of motion, but relative speed is; it was therefore predicted that the addition of the component would only introduce a symmetric noise component and not otherwise contribute to the U-shape structure of movement stability. Results for experiment 1 supported the hypothesis; movement that involved the additional component was overall less stable than movement that involved only the parallel component along which relative direction can be defined. Two additional studies ruled out alternative explanations for the pattern of data in experiment 1. Overall, the results strongly implicate relative direction as the information underlying performance in rhythmic movement coordination tasks.

Synergies in Intra- and Interpersonal Interlimb Rhythmic Coordination

The authors conducted two experiments that served as a test bed for applying the recently developed uncontrolled manifold (UCM) approach to rhythmic motor coordination, which has been extensively investigated from a coordination dynamics perspective. The results of two experiments, one investigating within-person and one investigating between-persons rhythmic movement coordination, identified synergistic behaviors in both of those types of coordination. Stronger synergies were identified for in-phase than antiphase coordination, at the endpoints of the movement cycles compared with the midpoints, for movement frequencies closer to the intrinsic frequency of the coordinated limbs, and for within-person coordination. Frequency detuning did not weaken the strength of interlimb rhythmic coordination synergies. The results suggest the synergistic behavior captured by the UCM analysis may be identifiable with the strength of coupling between the coordinated limbs. The UCM analysis appears to distinguish coordination parameters that affect coupling strength from parameters that weaken coordination attractors.

Human movement coordination implicates relative direction as the information for relative phase

The current studies explore the informational basis of the coupling in human rhythmic movement coordination tasks. Movement stability in these tasks is an asymmetric U-shaped function of mean relative phase; 0 degrees is maximally stable, 90 degrees is maximally unstable and 180 degrees is intermediate. Bingham (2001, 2004a, 2004b) hypothesized that the information used to perform coordinated rhythmic movement is the relative direction of movement, the resolution of which is determined by relative speed. We used an experimental paradigm that entails using a circular movement to produce a linear motion of a dot on a screen, which must then be coordinated with a linearly moving computer controlled dot. This adds a component to the movement that is orthogonal to the display. Relative direction is not uniquely defined between orthogonal components of motion, but relative speed is; it was therefore predicted that the addition of the component would only introduce a symmetric noise component and not otherwise contribute to the U-shape structure of movement stability. Results for experiment 1 supported the hypothesis; movement that involved the additional component was overall less stable than movement that involved only the parallel component along which relative direction can be defined. Two additional studies ruled out alternative explanations for the pattern of data in experiment 1. Overall, the results strongly implicate relative direction as the information underlying performance in rhythmic movement coordination tasks.

Perceptual coupling in rhythmic movement coordination: stable perception leads to stable action

Rhythmic movement coordination exhibits characteristic patterns of stability, specifically that movements at 0 degrees mean relative phase are maximally stable, 180 degrees is stable but less so than 0 degrees, and other coordinations are unstable without training. Recent research has demonstrated a role for perception in creating this pattern; perceptual variability judgments covary with movement variability results. This suggests that the movement results could be due in part to differential perceptual resolution of the target movement coordinations. The current study used a paradigm that enabled simultaneous access to both perception (between-trial) and movement (within-trial) stability measures. A visually specified 0 degrees target mean relative phase enabled participants to produce stable movements when the movements were at a non-0 degrees relationship to the target being tracked. Strong relationships were found between within-trial stability (the traditional movement measure) and between-trial stability (the traditional perceptual judgment measure), suggestive of a role for perception in producing coordination stability phenomena. The stabilization was incomplete, however, indicating that visual perception was not the sole determinant of movement stability. Rhythmic movement coordination is intrinsically a perception/action system.

Bimanual coordination between isometric contractions and rhythmic movements: an asymmetric coupling.

Interactions between rhythmically moving limbs typically result in attraction to a limited number of coordination modes, which are distinguished in terms of their stability. In addition, the stability of coordination typically decreases with elevations in movement frequency. To gain more insight into the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying these stability characteristics, the effects of phasic voluntary muscle activation onto the movement pattern of the contralateral limb as well as onto the stability of interlimb coordination were examined. This was done in circumstances in which a minimal degree of movement-elicited afferent information was available to mediate the coupling influences. The task involved rhythmic application of isometric torque by one hand, while the other hand was moving rhythmically with unconstrained amplitude. The effects of two levels of applied torque, two coordination patterns (inphase and antiphase), and two movement frequencies were determined, both at the behavioural level (movement kinematics and kinetics) and the neuromuscular level (EMG). The isometric applications of torque clearly influenced the muscle-activation profile and movement pattern of the other limb, affecting both temporal variability and amplitude. Surprisingly, there were no differences between the two coordination patterns or between the tempo conditions. As such, the results did not conform to the Haken-Kelso-Bunz model for rhythmic movement coordination. These data suggest that the archetypal differences in stability of rhythmic bimanual coordination are contingent upon a correspondence between the limbs in terms of their respective tasks. This interpretation is elaborated in terms of the role of sensory feedback and the functional specificity of motor unit recruitment in rhythmic interlimb coordination.

Are frequency-induced transitions in rhythmic coordination mediated by a drop in amplitude?

The coordination of rhythmic movements is characterized by attraction to stable modes as well as by loss of stability due to the manipulation of external control parameters. For isochronous coordination between two oscillating components, frequency-induced transitions from antiphase to inphase coordination are frequently observed. Such transitions have been understood on the basis of a dynamical model, the HKB model, consisting of both a potential function for relative phase and a description of the oscillating limbs in terms of nonlinearly coupled limit cycle oscillators. According to the latter aspect of this model, the loss of stability of the antiphase pattern, which precedes the transition to the inphase pattern, is mediated by the decrease in movement amplitude that occurs when the movement frequency is scaled up. This amplitude-based transition mechanism was examined experimentally in the context of a unimanual tracking task. Subjects were instructed to maintain a prescribed amplitude, while tracking an oscillating visual stimulus in either the inphase or the antiphase mode. Three different movement amplitudes were used to examine the prediction that larger amplitudes lead to more stable coordination. When the frequency of oscillation was gradually increased, transitions from antiphase to inphase coordination were observed in the majority of the trials, despite constant or sometimes even slightly increasing amplitudes. No significant effects of amplitude on pattern stability, as indicated by the variability of relative phase and by the critical frequency, were observed. To the extent that these findings can be generalized beyond the present task domain, they suggest that frequency-induced transitions in coordinated rhythmic movements may not be mediated by a drop in amplitude and that alternative directions in modeling may have to be considered.

A dynamic theory of coordination of discrete movement

The concepts of pattern dynamics and their adaptation through behavioral information, developed in the context of rhythmic movement coordination, are generalized to describe discrete movements of single components and the coordination of multiple components in discrete movement. In a first step we consider only one spatial component and study the temporal order inherent in discrete movement in terms of stable, reproducible space-time relationships. The coordination of discrete movement is captured in terms of relative timing. Using an exactly solvable nonlinear oscillator as a mathematical model, we show how the timing properties of discrete movement can be described by these pattern dynamics and discuss the relation of the pattern variables to observable end-effector movement. By coupling several such component dynamics in a fashion analogous to models of rhythmic movement coordination we capture the coordination of discrete movements of two components. We find the tendency to synchronize the component movements as the discrete analogon of in-phase locking and study its breakdown when the components become too different in their dynamic properties. The concept of temporal stability leads to the prediction that remote compensatory responses occur such as the restore synchronization when one component is perturbed. This prediction can be used to test the theory. We find that the discrete analogon to antiphase locking in rhythmic movement is a tendency to move sequentially, a finding that can also be subjected to empirical test.

Phase transitions and critical fluctuations in the visual coordination of rhythmic movements between people.

By watching each other's lower oscillating leg, 2 seated Ss kept a common tempo and a particular phase relation of either 0 degrees (symmetric mode) or 180 degrees (alternate mode). This study investigated the differential stability of the 2 phase modes. In Experiment 1, in which Ss were instructed to remain in the initial phase mode, the alternate phase mode was found to be less stable as the frequency of oscillation increased. In addition, analysis of the nonsteady state cycles revealed evidence of a switching to the symmetric phase mode for the initial alternate phase mode trials. In Experiments 2 and 3, Ss were instructed to remain at a noninitial phase angle if it was found to be more comfortable. The transition observed between the 2 phase modes satisfies the criteria of a physical bifurcation--hysteresis, critical fluctuations, and divergence--and is consonant with previous findings on transitions in limb coordination within a person.

Phase transitions and critical fluctuations in the visual coordination of rhythmic movements between people.

Phase transitions and critical fluctuations in the visual coordination of rhythmic movements between people.

‘Clock’ and ‘motor’ components in absolute coordination of rhythmic movements

Human subjects swung, through motions at the two wrists, hand-held pendulums of variable mass and length. Within a pair, the two pendulums could be of the same or different magnitude. The subjects were required to produce a coordinated state in which the two rhythmic units oscillated at a single common period. Fifty-four conditions of absolute coordination, that is, 54 different pairs of wrist-pendulum systems, were investigated for each of three subjects in the course of six sessions. Each condition of absolute coordination was conducted in the out of phase mode and at the single most comfortable period. The period variances of the right and left systems in the 162 instances of absolute coordination were analysed according to a method that assumes that a timekeeper function and a motor implementation function contribute independently to the variance in the periodic timing of a rhythmic movement. The major findings were that in absolute coordination: (a) a system's ‘motor’ variance, but not its ‘clock’ variance, depended on the deviation of the period of absolute coordination τ from the system's characteristic period; (b) right and left ‘clock’ variances were related and (c) neither the ‘motor’ variances nor the ‘clock’ variances were affected by deviations in the mean phase relation from 180 degrees. The results were discussed in terms of their implications for interpreting von Hoist's notions of maintenance tendency and magnetic effect and, more generally, the neural and dynamical basis of absolute coordination.