The tendency of human beings to move in synchrony with an auditory rhythmical
pulse is considered a cross-cultural unive
rsal (Nettl, 2000). Music and movement
is intricately connected, and in some cultures, the term for music that refers merely
to its acou
stic component and exclu
des dance is even lacking. The link between
auditory and motor systems seems exceptional when it comes to timing. While hu
mans tend to tune in to an auditory beat by head nodding, toe tapping and humming,
they do not feel the urge to spontaneously move to periodic visual pulses such as a
bouncing ball (Zatorre et al., 2007). Remarkably, integration of auditory input and
motor output is at the heart of what has been regarded as the most elementary func
tion of the nervous system – the brain as a sensorimotor machine (Jeannerod, 1985;
York & Steinberg, 1994).
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Function_of_the_Ventral_Premotor_Cortex
