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Caroline Palmer

Academic title(s): 

Professor

Distinguished James McGill Professor in Cognitive Neuroscience of Performance

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Contact Information:

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Office: 2001 McGill College, Room 652
Phone: 514.398.5270
Email: caroline.palmer[at]mcgill.ca

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Mailing Address:
Department of Psychology
2001 McGill College Avenue
7th Floor
Montreal, QC
H3A 1G1

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Caroline Palmer
Biography: 

Dr. Palmer is the Director of the NSERC-CREATE training grant in ComplexÌýDynamics; an Associate Member of the Schulich School of Music; and aÌýFellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Research Areas:

Cognition & Cognitive NeuroscienceÌý| Behavioral Neuroscience

Research Summary:

From cradle to grave, people across all documented societies use musicÌýto soothe, to invigorate, to bond with others, and even toÌýself-medicate. My research program focuses on how and why music moves usÌýby studying how people make music, from simple rhythms to complexÌýensemble performances. Music, speech, and other auditory behaviorsÌýengage attention, intention, memory, motor control, and emotions. MyÌýresearch focuses on the time course of these processes. One themeÌýaddresses the nonlinear dynamics underlying the production of auditoryÌýsequences. Speech, music, and other human sounds follow predictableÌýpatterns or rhythmic regularities that can be modeled in terms ofÌýoscillations. We apply principles of nonlinear dynamics to understandÌýhow people move in response to sound (such as clapping or tapping theirÌýfeet) and how they act in response to a partner in a joint task (such asÌýmusical ensemble). A second theme addresses the temporal coordinationÌýthat underlies skilled performance, and properties of goal-directedÌýmovement that allow individuals to synchronize their actions withÌýsensory feedback and with other individuals. See our lab website forÌýmore information.

Selected References:

Bégel, V., Demos, A.P., & Palmer, C. (2024)ÌýDuet synchronization interventions affect social interactions.ÌýScientific Reports,Ìý14(1), 9930.Ìý

Wright, S.E., & Palmer, C. (2023) Auditory rhythm complexity affects cardiac dynamics in perception and synchronization.ÌýPLoS One,Ìý18(11): e0293882.Ìý

van Kerrebroeck, B., Wanderley, M.M., Demos, A.P., & Palmer, C. (2024). Human-machine trios show different tempo changes in musical tasks.ÌýIn L. K. Samuelson, S. L. Frank, M. Toneva, A. Mackey, & E. Hazeltine (Eds.),ÌýProceedings of the 46th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society.

Demos, A.P. & Palmer, C. (2023) Social and nonlinear dynamics unite: Musical group synchrony.ÌýTrends in Cognitive Sciences, 11,Ìý1008-1018.ÌýÌý

Palmer, C., & Demos, A.P. (2022). Are we in time? How predictive coding and dynamical systems explain musical synchrony.ÌýCurrent Directions in Psychological Science, 31,Ìý147-153.

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