Humans are not the only ones who beat time when listening to music: rats do so too, although their movements are less noticeable, according to a recently published Japanese study.
Rats that had never been exposed to music showed innate synchronisation to songs played at 120 to 140 beats per minute. This is the same rhythmic frequency to which humans generally respond, according to researchers at the University of Tokyo.
“The brains of rats are designed to respond well to music,” even if their bodies do not move too much, Hirokazu Takahashi, a scientist involved in the study published last week in the journal Science Advances, told AFP on Tuesday.
Magical powers
That’s why the Japanese researchers used accelerometers, sensors to measure the rodents’ micro-vibrations. “We all think music has magical powers, but we don’t know anything about its mechanisms. So “we wanted to find out what kind of sound connections appeal to the brain, without the influence of emotion or memory,” Takahashi added.
The rats’ reactions were tested with several pieces including Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos in D major, played at four different tempos, as well as pop songs such as Lady Gaga’s’ Born this Way,’ Queen’s ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ and Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat It.’
According to the Japanese researchers, the results of their study support the hypothesis of the existence of an “optimal tempo” for the synchronisation of beats that is common to many species.
Another hypothesis is that this optimal tempo varies from one species to another depending on many physiological factors such as size and weight.
In the future, Takahashi says he wants to explore the effects of melodies and harmonies on the brain, beyond rhythms: “If music acts on emotions, it would be really interesting to be able to observe it in animals,” he said.
