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Updated: Feb 4, 2026

Molecular Evolution of the Tre Recombinase
Published on: May 29, 2008
The Evolution of Rhythm Processing
S A Kotz1, A Ravignani2, W T Fitch3
1Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands; Equal first authors.
Abstract:
Behavioral and brain rhythms in the millisecond-to-second range are central in human music, speech, and movement. A comparative approach can further our understanding of the evolution of rhythm processing by identifying behavioral and neural similarities and differences across cognitive domains and across animal species. We provide an overview of research into rhythm cognition in music, speech, and animal communication. Rhythm has received considerable attention within each individual field, but to date, little integration. This review article on rhythm processing incorporates and extends existing ideas on temporal processing in speech and music and offers suggestions about the neural, biological, and evolutionary bases of human abilities in these domains.
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