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ions | Bruxelles Woluwe, Louvain-la-Neuve
October 2025
How sound—but not touch—shapes rhythm in the brain
How do people keep the beat to music? When people listen to songs, slow waves of activity in the brain correspond to the perceived beat so that they can tap their feet, nod their heads, or dance along. In a new JNeurosci paper, researchers led by Cédric Lenoir, from Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), explored whether this ability is unique to hearing or whether it also happens when rhythm is delivered by touch.
The researchers recorded brain activity as study volunteers finger tapped to the beat of music delivered via sound or rhythmic vibration. With sound, the brain generated slow rhythmic fluctuations that matched the perceived beat, and people tapped along to the rhythm more steadily. However, with touch, the brain mainly tracked each burst of vibrations one by one, without creating the same beat-like fluctuations, and people were less precise in the way they synchronized with the rhythm.
Says Lenoir, “The ability to move in time with a beat is essential for human social interactions through music. Future research will help clarify whether long-term music practice can strengthen the brain’s ability to process rhythm through other senses, or whether sensory loss, such as hearing impairment, might allow the sense of touch to take over part of this function.”
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1100567
https://www.the-scientist.com/sound-is-better-than-touch-in-helping-people-keep-rhythm-73579
September 2025
Why do we instantly recognize Jingle Bells or We Will Rock You?
- Our brain doesn't just follow rhythms: it automatically recognizes and categorizes them, which may explain why certain rhythms are found across musical cultures around the world.
- This UCLouvain research, published in Science Advances, provides a foundation for understanding the brain mechanisms that explain the similarities but also the diversity of musical rhythms around the globe
Read the full articles:
Science Advances: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adu9838
UCLouvain Presse: https://www.uclouvain.be/fr/presse/news/pourquoi-reconnait-on-instantanement-jingle-bells-ou-we-will-rock-you
April 2025
How Gravity Shapes Movement: Breakthrough Research
One of the fundamental questions in neuroscience is how the brain controls movement in different environments.
For over 21 years, Philippe Lefèvre (ICTEAM, EPL UCLouvain), Jean-Louis Thonnard (IoNS, UCLouvain) and their teams have studied how we manipulate objects, both on Earth and in space.
Their latest research, conducted with ESA and 11 ISS astronauts, reveals a surprising finding: On Earth, the brain relies on gravity as a reference point to coordinate eye and hand movements. In microgravity, this coordination is disrupted, leading to systematic movement errors.
It shows that gravity is not just something we fight against, it’s something our brain actively uses to guide movement.
The findings have far-reaching implications, from improving stroke rehabilitation therapies to designing advanced prosthetics and preparing astronauts for long-duration space missions.
Published in the Journal of Neuroscience, this study highlights ICTEAM’s leadership in biomedical engineering, neuroscience and movement science.
Read the article in Le Soir: "Comprendre la motricité humaine grâce à l’ingénierie belge… dans l’espace". LeSoirMag.
RTBF Auvio Replay: Journal télévisé 19h30, 6 avril 2025