Author Correction: Multi-layer adaptation of group coordination in musical ensembles.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Multi-layer adaptation of group coordination in musical ensembles.

Group coordination passes through an efficient integration of multimodal sources of information. This study examines complex non-verbal communication by recording movement kinematics from conductors and two sections of violinists of an orchestra adapting to a perturbation affecting their normal pattern of sensorimotor communication (rotation of half a turn of the first violinists' section). We show that different coordination signals are channeled through ancillary (head kinematics) and instrumental movements (bow kinematics).

The neural oscillatory markers of phonetic convergence during verbal interaction.

During a conversation, the neural processes supporting speech production and perception overlap in time and, based on context, expectations and the dynamics of interaction, they are also continuously modulated in real time. Recently, the growing interest in the neural dynamics underlying interactive tasks, in particular in the language domain, has mainly tackled the temporal aspects of turn-taking in dialogs. Besides temporal coordination, an under-investigated phenomenon is the implicit convergence of the speakers toward a shared phonetic space.

Speech Recognition for the iCub Platform.

This paper describes open source software (available at https://github.com/robotology/natural-speech) to build automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems and run them within the YARP platform. The toolkit is designed (i) to allow non-ASR experts to easily create their own ASR system and run it on iCub and (ii) to build deep learning-based models specifically addressing the main challenges an ASR system faces in the context of verbal human-iCub interactions.

Measuring social interaction in music ensembles.

Music ensembles are an ideal test-bed for quantitative analysis of social interaction. Music is an inherently social activity, and music ensembles offer a broad variety of scenarios which are particularly suitable for investigation. Small ensembles, such as string quartets, are deemed a significant example of self-managed teams, where all musicians contribute equally to a task.

Automatic imitation of the arm kinematic profile in interacting partners.

Cognitive neuroscience, traditionally focused on individual brains, is just beginning to investigate social cognition through realistic interpersonal interaction. However, quantitative investigation of the dynamical sensorimotor communication among interacting individuals in goal-directed ecological tasks is particularly challenging. Here, we recorded upper-body motion capture of 23 dyads, alternating their leader/follower role, in a tower-building task.

Computational validation of the motor contribution to speech perception.

Action perception and recognition are core abilities fundamental for human social interaction. A parieto-frontal network (the mirror neuron system) matches visually presented biological motion information onto observers' motor representations. This process of matching the actions of others onto our own sensorimotor repertoire is thought to be important for action recognition, providing a non-mediated "motor perception" based on a bidirectional flow of information along the mirror parieto-frontal circuits.

Sensorimotor communication in professional quartets.

Non-verbal group dynamics are often opaque to a formal quantitative analysis of communication flow. In this context, ensemble musicians can be a reliable model of expert group coordination. In fact, bodily motion is a critical component of inter-musician coordination and thus could be used as a valuable index of sensorimotor communication.

Listener-speaker perceived distance predicts the degree of motor contribution to speech perception.

Listening speech sounds activates motor and premotor areas in addition to temporal and parietal brain regions. These activations are somatotopically localized according to the effectors recruited in the production of particular phonemes. Previous work demonstrated that transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of speech motor centers somatotopically altered speech perception, suggesting a role for the motor system.

Modeling speech imitation and ecological learning of auditory-motor maps.

Classical models of speech consider an antero-posterior distinction between perceptive and productive functions. However, the selective alteration of neural activity in speech motor centers, via transcranial magnetic stimulation, was shown to affect speech discrimination. On the automatic speech recognition (ASR) side, the recognition systems have classically relied solely on acoustic data, achieving rather good performance in optimal listening conditions.

Leadership in orchestra emerges from the causal relationships of movement kinematics.

Non-verbal communication enables efficient transfer of information among people. In this context, classic orchestras are a remarkable instance of interaction and communication aimed at a common aesthetic goal: musicians train for years in order to acquire and share a non-linguistic framework for sensorimotor communication. To this end, we recorded violinists' and conductors' movement kinematics during execution of Mozart pieces, searching for causal relationships among musicians by using the Granger Causality method (GC).

The use of phonetic motor invariants can improve automatic phoneme discrimination.

We investigate the use of phonetic motor invariants (MIs), that is, recurring kinematic patterns of the human phonetic articulators, to improve automatic phoneme discrimination. Using a multi-subject database of synchronized speech and lips/tongue trajectories, we first identify MIs commonly associated with bilabial and dental consonants, and use them to simultaneously segment speech and motor signals. We then build a simple neural network-based regression schema (called Audio-Motor Map, AMM) mapping audio features of these segments to the corresponding MIs.

Alterations in the field stimulation-induced release of endogenous norepinephrine from the coccygeal artery of spontaneously hypertensive and Wistar-Kyoto rats.

The field stimulation-induced release of endogenous NE from the isolated caudal artery from 5-6, 8-10 and 28-30 week old SHR resulted in a greater release of transmitter compared to age-matched WKY. The alpha 2-selective adrenoceptor antagonist, yohimbine produced a significant enhancement in the release of NE from both SHR and WKY of 5-6 and 10-12 and 28 week old WKY but release was attenuated in 28 week old SHR. It is concluded that the enhanced release of NE contributes to the development of hypertension in the SHR.

Effect of low sodium diet on the facilitatory effect of angiotensin on 3H-norepinephrine release in the rat portal vein.

The ability of angiotensin to enhance the field-stimulation induced release of 3H-norepinephrine from the superfused rat portal vein was examined in vessels obtained from animals fed a normal (0.5% Na+) or low sodium diet (0.05% Na+).

Effect of sodium depletion on the release of [3H]norepinephrine from central and peripheral tissue of Wistar-Kyoto and spontaneously hypertensive rats.

To study the relationship between sodium intake, the sympathetic nervous system, and hypertension, we studied the effects of a 7-9 day dietary restriction of sodium in three different ages of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). Field-stimulated [3H]norepinephrine ( [3H]NE) release was measured in portal vein, anterior hypothalamus, and the A2 region of the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) of 5- to 6-, 10- to 11-, and 28- to 30- week-old SHR and age-matched WKY. A low-sodium diet (0.

Angiotensin facilitation of noradrenergic neurotransmission in central tissues of the rat: effects of sodium restriction.

This study investigated the ability of angiotensin II (Ang II) to facilitate the stimulation-induced release of [3H]norepinephrine [( 3H]NE) from two cardiovascular regulatory areas in normal and sodium-restricted rats. Ang II (10(-7) M) facilitated the field-stimulation-induced release of [3H]NE from the A2 area of the nucleus tractus solitarius but not from the anterior hypothalamus of Sprague-Dawley and Wistar rats. Placement of rats on a sodium-restricted diet abolished the facilitation of [3H]NE release due to Ang II.

Noradrenergic transmission in the isolated portal vein of the spontaneously hypertensive rat.

The effect of electrical field stimulation (1, 2, 5, 10 Hz for a total of 480 pulses at 15-minute intervals) on the release of 3H-norepinephrine from the superfused portal vein of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) or Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) of various ages was studied. The ages of the animals were (in weeks) 5-6 (prehypertensive), 8-10 (young hypertensives), 16-18 (older hypertensives), and 28 (mature hypertensives). There was no difference in the release of 3H-norepinephrine or developed tension of the portal vein to any frequency of field stimulation of SHR or WKY at 5-6 weeks of age.