Whether it is the movements animating the stars and those of our dancing bodies, the scrolling of images on our screens or the one of the words we pronounce, the cellular renewal, the cycle of seasons, the speed of our neural connections or the cadence of the notes played by a symphony orchestra, rhythm is at the heart of our lives, our environment and our creations. This essential and yet still so mysterious notion never ceases to animate academics and artists, whether it holds a filigree place or a more prominent importance within their research.
With this same observation in mind, the five winners of the 2018 Killam Prize have dared to cross the boundaries of disciplinary fields by initiating an unprecedented cross-disciplinary reflection on rhythm in an attempt to bring together its different facets and to deploy all its richness. Vladimir Hachinski‘s study of the brain, André Gaudreault‘s study of the language of film, Walter Herzog‘s work on molecules and the body in human movement, James Pinfold‘s exploration of the unperceived melodies of the universe, and Janet Werker‘s study of the acquisition of language in newborns all share this fascinating common denominator.
Viewed organically, mechanically, artistically or technically, the understanding of rhythm generates a deep need and desire to unite horizons, as evidenced by all the researchers who attended the first two UdeM intersectoral meetings dedicated to this unifying, innovative and demanding theme.
Poster session – Hugo Laflamme
Hugo Laflamme is doctoral student in psychology and research assistant at BRAMS. Here, he talks about the presentation of his laboratory on the evaluation and training of perceptual rhythmic abilities and sensory-motor skills.
DATE: May 2nd, 2019
Participants
Hugo Laflamme
Poster session – Karim Jerbi
Karim Jerbi is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the Université de Montréal and Canada Research Chair in Computational Neuroscience and Cognitive Neuroimaging. Here, he talks about the aim of his laboratory: to understand the dynamics of brain networks.
DATE: May 2nd, 2019
Participants
Karim Jerbi
Poster session – Caroline Martin
Caroline Martin, research coordinator of Laboratoire Cinémédias, talks about her laboratory’s current project: measuring the impact of accelerated rhythm in narrative audiovisual content on young viewers’ brains.
DATE: December 5th, 2019
Participants
Caroline Martin
Poster session – André Gaudreault
André Gaudreault, winner of the 2018 Killam Prize in humanities, talks about the challenges and organization of this First Intersectoral Meeting of the Université de Montréal on Rhythm. He also highlights the intersectoral nature of this research project and the importance of intersectoral research in academia.
DATE: May 2nd, 2019
Participants
André Gaudreault
Roundtable – “The importance of the improbable”
André Gaudreault, Vladimir Hachinski, Walter Herzog and Janet Werker recount the unlikely origin of the collaboration that led them to win the Killam Prize in 2018. Amongst other things, they talk about their interest in rhythm, the place held by improbability in their profession and the advice they received throughout their careers. Then, this roundtable focuses on the laureates’ personal experiences with funding agencies and academic institutions as these organizations are facing challenges such as over-specialization in knowledge production and overemphasis on dominant paradigms in many fields. The laureates highlight that a good way to create environments of “comfortable improbability” for the next generation of students would be by allowing researchers to move across disciplines.
DATE: December 5th, 2019
Participants
André Gaudreault Vladimir Hachinski Walter Herzog Janet Werker Marie-Josée Hébert (moderator)
Poster session – Santiago Hidalgo
Santiago Hidalgo is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art History and Film Studies at Université de Montréal. Here, he looks back on this First Intersectoral Meeting on Rhythm, talks about the future of the Laboratoire CinéMédias in terms of intersectorality and highlights the place of film studies within it.
DATE: May 2nd, 2019
Participants
Santiago Hidalgo
Poster session – Camille Gaillard
Camille Gaillard, research assistant at the BRAMS laboratory, explains her laboratory’s project: to measure perceptual and sensorimotor norms in adults in order to determine normal thresholds.
DATE: December 5th, 2019
Participants
Camille Gaillard
Poster session – Julie Carrier
Julie Carrier is the Associate Vice-Rector of Research and Studies at Université de Montréal. Here, she talks about her expectations towards the First Intersectoral Meetings by the Université de Montréal on rhythm and the place of intersectorality in academia.
DATE: May 2nd, 2019
Participants
Julie Carrier
Poster session – Maria Isabel Carreno Munoz
Maria Isabel Carreno Munoz, a postdoctoral researcher at the Université de Montréal and the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, talks about her research project where she focuses on the importance of brain development in relation to people’s ability to perceive as they grow up.
DATE: December 5th, 2019
Participants
Maria Isabel Carreno Munoz
Poster session – Solenne Van der Maren
Solenne Van der Maren is a doctoral student in clinical neuropsychology at Université de Montréal and a member of CÉAMS. Here, she talks about her research project on sleep and circadian rhythms after moderate to severe craniocerebral trauma. She mentions the importance of rhythm in her project and the relevance of intersectoral events in academia for people to gain a greater perspective on their research.
DATE: May 2nd, 2019
Participants
Solenne Van der Maren
Poster session – Victoria Duda
Victoria Duda, a postdoctoral researcher at the Université de Montréal, talks about her research project where she focuses on gaps in noise and temporal resolution.
DATE: December 5th, 2019
Participants
Victoria Duda
Poster session – Ming Ruo Zhang
Ming Ruo Zhang, a master’s student in psychology, talks about her research project where she is trying to train the rhythmic ability in people suffering from rhythmic amusement -i.e. people unable to detect rhythm.
DATE: December 5th, 2019
Participants
Ming Ruo Zhang
Poster session – Caroline Martin
Caroline Martin is a collaborator at the Laboratoire CinéMédias. Here, she talks about her research project on the impact of accelerated audiovisual content on young children in collaboration with the NED Laboratory at Sainte-Justine Hospital.
DATE: May 2nd, 2019
Participants
Caroline Martin
Poster session – Cloé Blanchette-Carrière
Cloé Blanchette-Carrière is a Master’s graduate in Biomedical Sciences at Université de Montréal and a member of CÉAMS. Here, she talks about her research project aimed at raising awareness in people during their sleep by means of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation. She also offers her thoughts on intersectorality in academia.
DATE: May 2nd, 2019
Participants
Cloé Blanchette-Carrière
Poster session – Yann Harel
Yann Harel is a doctoral student at Université de Montréal and member of the CoCo Lab. Here, he explains the objectives of the CoCo Lab: to apply computational sciences to the understanding of the human brain and more specifically to the understanding of brain oscillations. He also talks about his research in brain sonification and looks back on the lecture given by Vladimir Hachinski, winner of the 2018 Killam Prize in Health Science.
DATE: May 2nd, 2019
Participants
Yann Harel
Poster session – Ola Choukair
Ola Choukair is a Master’s student in neuroscience at Université de Montréal. Here, she talks about her research on fractals in the brain and underlines the place of intersectorality in academia.
DATE: May 2nd, 2019
Participants
Ola Choukair
Poster session – Sylvain Caron & Caroline Traube
Sylvain Caron and Caroline Traube are respectively director of the Groupe de recherche en interprétation musicale, analyse et expression (GRIMAE) and professor of acoustics and psychoacoustics at Université de Montréal. Together, they talk about their projects on the production of rhythm perception in interpretation, and on the way emotion is conveyed through music interpretation.
