Emily Bell

Genome-wide association study of musical beat synchronization demonstrates high polygenicity

Nature Human Behaviour · 2019-11-09 · 12 citations

Abstract Moving in synchrony to the beat is a fundamental component of musicality. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study to identify common genetic variants associated with beat synchronization in 606,825 individuals. Beat synchronization exhibited a highly polygenic architecture, with 69 loci reaching genome-wide significance ( P < 5 × 10 −8 ) and single-nucleotide-polymorphism-based heritability (on the liability scale) of 13%–16%. Heritability was enriched for genes expressed i…

Confronting ethical and social issues related to the genetics of musicality

2022-05-13 · 3 citations

New interdisciplinary research into genetic influences on musicality raises a number of ethical and social issues for future avenues of research and public engagement. The historical intersection of music cognition and eugenics heightens the need to vigilantly weigh potential risks and benefits of these studies and use of their outcomes. Here we bring together diverse perspectives (complex trait genetics, music cognition, musicology, bioethics, and neuroscience) to guide ethical use of this new…

Unravelling the genetic architecture of musical rhythm

2019-11-09 · 3 citations

Abstract While timing and rhythm-related phenotypes are heritable, the human genome variations underlying these traits are not yet well-understood. We conducted a genome-wide association study to identify common genetic variants associated with a self-reported musical rhythm phenotype in 606,825 individuals. Rhythm exhibited a highly polygenic architecture with sixty-eight loci reaching genome-wide significance (p

7 UNRAVELING THE GENETIC ARCHITECTURE OF HUMAN MUSIC RHYTHM ABILITY: FINDINGS FROM THE FIRST GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDY OF A MUSICAL RHYTHM TRAIT IN 606,825 INDIVIDUALS

European Neuropsychopharmacology · 2019-09-27 · 1 citations

The Computational Attitude in Music Theory

2019-01-01 · 1 citations

Music studies’s turn to computation during the twentieth century has engendered particular habits of thought about music, habits that remain in operation long after the music scholar has stepped away from the computer. The computational attitude is a way of thinking about music that is learned at the computer but can be applied away from it. It may be manifest in actual computer use, or in invocations of computationalism, a theory of mind whose influence on twentieth-century music theory is palp…