Evidence for a shared cognitive mechanism underlying relative rhythmic and melodic perception.

Musical melodies and rhythms are typically perceived in a relative manner: two melodies are considered "the same" even if one is shifted up or down in frequency, as long as the relationships among the notes are preserved. Similar principles apply to rhythms, which can be slowed down or sped up proportionally in time and still be considered the same pattern. We investigated whether humans perceiving rhythms and melodies may rely upon the same or similar mechanisms to achieve this relative perception.

The perception of regularity in an isochronous stimulus in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) and humans.

Perceiving temporal regularity in an auditory stimulus is considered one of the basic features of musicality. Here we examine whether zebra finches can detect regularity in an isochronous stimulus. Using a go/no go paradigm we show that zebra finches are able to distinguish between an isochronous and an irregular stimulus.