Bass Makes us Move
Researchers at Western Sydney University are closing in on the neural underpinnings of our propensity to move to the rhythm of a beat. In a study of brain activity and low and high pitched rhythms, they found that subjects’ brain activities synchronize to the beat of sound at lower frequencies.
From the WSU article: New Research Suggests It’s All About the Bass, Emma Sandham, Senior Media Officer
Co-author of the paper, Dr Sylvie Nozaradan from the MARCS Institute, say these findings strongly suggest that the bass exploits a neurophysiological mechanism in the brain – essentially forcing it to lock onto the beat.
“There is mounting evidence supporting the hypothesis that selective synchronization of large pools of neurons of the brain to the beat frequency may support perception and movement to the musical beat”, says Dr Nozaradan.