Rhythm & Brains Lab
ions | Bruxelles Woluwe, Louvain-la-Neuve
Research
Musical rhythm is a cross-cultural, non-verbal means of communication that has the power to make us move. Understanding the neural processing of musical rhythm can provide key insight at the intersection between basic neuroscience research, humanities and the arts. It is also increasingly proven successful to develop effective strategies for the functional evaluation and rehabilitation of pathological conditions as diverse as hearing impairment, cochlear implants, epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease.
Our goal is to understand how the human brain makes us able to perceive and categorize rhythm, and engage in cultural practice where rhythms are produced. Key questions that we address in our research are how this ability for rhythm develops across the lifespan from birth, and how it is shaped by culture, individual differences, or body movement. Moreover, we investigate how our ability for musical rhythm is embodied in a network of brain areas, and how entraining to musical rhythm can help brain-damaged patients to recover from sensory or motor deficits.
To address these fascinating questions, we use functional neuroimaging techniques (scalp and intracerebral electroencephalography, functional magnetic resonance imaging) combined with novel signal processing and statistical approaches to selectively capture brain activity in response to rhythmic inputs conveyed through sounds, visual displays, vibrations or movement of the body, or a multisensory combination of those inputs.
The Rhythm & Brains Lab is an enthusiastic and highly diverse group currently hosting post-doctoral fellows, PhD students, and master's students. The team is sponsored by local, national and international funding bodies including ERC, FNRS and UCLouvain, in collaborations with colleagues within and outside Europe.
Publications
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Article de journalValentin, O., Foster, N. E. V., Intartaglia, B., Prud’homme, M.-A., Schönwiesner, M., Nozaradan, S., & Lehmann, A. (2025). Intact sensorimotor rhythm abilities but altered audiovisual integration in cochlear implant users. PLoS One, 20(4), e0320815. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0320815 (Original work published 2025)
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Criscuolo, A., Schwartze, M., Nozaradan, S., & Kotz, S. A. (2025). Basal ganglia and cerebellar lesions causally impact the neural encoding of temporal regularities. Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.), 3. https://doi.org/10.1162/imag_a_00492 (Original work published 2025)
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Coulon, E., Baum, S., Lenc, T., Polak, R., & Nozaradan, S. (2025). Neural representation of the musical beat is facilitated but not contingent on the repetition of rhythmic patterns. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization. Bureau of Scientific Services. Annual Report. Accepted/in-press. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-30780-1 (Original work published 2025)
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Lenoir, C., Lenc, T., Polak, R., & Nozaradan, S. (2025). Behavior-Relevant Periodized Neural Representation of Acoustic But Not Tactile Rhythm in Humans. The Journal of Neuroscience, 45(46). https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0664-25.2025 (Original work published 2025)
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Lenc, T., Lenoir, C., Keller, P. E., Polak, R., Mulders, D., & Nozaradan, S. (2025). Measuring self-similarity in empirical signals to understand musical beat perception. European Journal of Neuroscience, 61(2), e16637. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.16637 (Original work published 2025)
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Lenoir, C., Tomas, L., Rainer, P., & Nozaradan, S. (2025). Behavior-relevant periodized neural representation of acoustic but not tactile rhythm in humans. The Journal of Neuroscience, e0664252025. https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.0664-25.2025 (Original work published 2025)
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Varlet, M., Nozaradan, S., & Keller, P. E. (2025). Dynamic neural processing of self-other synchronization error in interpersonal coordination. iScience, 28(12), 114081. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.114081 (Original work published 2025)
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Article de journalBarbero, F., Lenc, T., Jacoby, N., Polak, R., Varlet, M., & Nozaradan, S. (2024). Revealing rhythm categorization in human brain activity. Science advances. Published. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adu9838 (Original work published 2024)
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Esposito, G., Nozaradan, S., Kuzminova, A., Collignon, O., & Mouraux, A. (2024). Processing the fine-grained features of tactile textures involves the primary somatosensory cortex. Imaging neuroscience, 2, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1162/imag_a_00341 (Original work published 2024)
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Article de journalVarlet, M., Nozaradan, S., Schmidt, R. C., & Keller, P. E. (2023). Neural tracking of visual periodic motion. European Journal of Neuroscience, 57(7), 1081-1097. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.15934 (Original work published 2023)
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Lenc, T., Peter, V., Hooper, C., Keller, P. E., Burnham, D., & Nozaradan, S. (2023). Infants show enhanced neural responses to musical meter frequencies beyond low-level features. Developmental science, 26(5), e13353 [1-15]. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.13353 (Original work published 2023)
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Lapenta, O. M., Keller, P. E., Nozaradan, S., & Varlet, M. (2023). Spatial and temporal (non)binding of audiovisual rhythms in sensorimotor synchronisation. Experimental Brain Research, 241(3), 875-887. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-023-06569-x (Original work published 2023)
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Article de journalSifuentes-Ortega, R., Lenc, T., Nozaradan, S., & Peigneux, P. (2022). Partially Preserved Processing of Musical Rhythms in REM but Not in NREM Sleep. Cerebral Cortex, 32(7), 1508-1519. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhab303 (Original work published 2022)
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Lapenta, O. M., Keller, P. E., Nozaradan, S., & Varlet, M. (2022). Lateralised dynamic modulations of corticomuscular coherence associated with bimanual learning of rhythmic patterns. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 6271 [1-11]. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-10342-5 (Original work published 2022)
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Nijhuis, P., Keller, P. E., Nozaradan, S., & Varlet, M. (2022). Null effects of musical groove on cortico-muscular coherence during isometric contraction. Neuroimage: Reports, 2(1), 100075 [1-15]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ynirp.2021.100075 (Original work published 2022)
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Sauvé, S. A., Bolt, E. L. W., Nozaradan, S., & Zendel, B. R. (2022). Aging effects on neural processing of rhythm and meter. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 14, 848608 [1-16]. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2022.848608 (Original work published 2022)
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Article de journalAlemi, R., Nozaradan, S., & Lehmann, A. (2021). Free-Field Cortical Steady-State Evoked Potentials in Cochlear Implant Users. Brain Topography : journal of functional neurophysiology, 34(5), 664-680. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10548-021-00860-2 (Original work published 2021)
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Lenc, T., Merchant, H., Keller, P. E., Honing, H., Varlet, M., & Nozaradan, S. (2021). Mapping between sound, brain and behaviour: four-level framework for understanding rhythm processing in humans and non-human primates. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, 376(1835), 20200325. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2020.0325 (Original work published 2021)
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Nijhuis, P., Keller, P. E., Nozaradan, S., & Varlet, M. (2021). Dynamic modulation of cortico-muscular coupling during real and imagined sensorimotor synchronisation. NeuroImage, 238, 118209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118209 (Original work published 2021)
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Chang, A., Bedoin, N., Canette, L.-H., Nozaradan, S., Thompson, D., Corneyllie, A., Tillmann, B., & Trainor, L. J. (2021). Atypical beta power fluctuation while listening to an isochronous sequence in dyslexia. Clinical Neurophysiology., 132(10), 2384-2390. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinph.2021.05.037 (Original work published 2021)
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Article de journalBouvet, C. J., Bardy, B. G., Keller, P. E., Dalla Bella, S., Nozaradan, S., & Varlet, M. (2020). Accent-induced Modulation of Neural and Movement Patterns during Spontaneous Synchronization to Auditory Rhythms. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 32(12), 2260-2271. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_01605 (Original work published 2020)
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Varlet, M., Nozaradan, S., Trainor, L., & Keller, P. E. (2020). Dynamic Modulation of Beta Band Cortico-Muscular Coupling Induced by Audio-Visual Rhythms. Cerebral Cortex, 1(1), tgaa043. https://doi.org/10.1093/texcom/tgaa043 (Original work published 2020)
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Lenc, T., Keller, P. E., Varlet, M., & Nozaradan, S. (2020). Neural and Behavioral Evidence for Frequency-Selective Context Effects in Rhythm Processing in Humans. Cerebral cortex communications, 1(1), tgaa037. https://doi.org/10.1093/texcom/tgaa037 (Original work published 2020)
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Article de journalLenc, T., Keller, P. E., Varlet, M., & Nozaradan, S. (2019). Reply to Rajendran and Schnupp: Frequency tagging is sensitive to the temporal structure of signals. Proceedings of the National academy of sciences of the United States of America, 116(8), 2781-2782. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1820941116 (Original work published 2019)
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Varlet, M., Nozaradan, S., Nijhuis, P., & Keller, P. E. (2019). Neural tracking and integration of ‘self’ and ‘other’ in improvised interpersonal coordination. NeuroImage, 116303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116303 (Original work published 2019)
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Article de journalLenc, T., Keller, P. E., Varlet, M., & Nozaradan, S. (2018). Reply to Novembre and Iannetti: Conceptual and methodological issues. Proceedings of the National academy of sciences of the United States of America, 115(47), E11004. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1815750115 (Original work published 2018)
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Nozaradan, S., Schönwiesner, M., Keller, P. E., Lenc, T., & Lehmann, A. (2018). Neural bases of rhythmic entrainment in humans: critical transformation between cortical and lower-level representations of auditory rhythm. European Journal of Neuroscience, 47(4), 321-332. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.13826 (Original work published 2018)
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Lenc, T., Keller, P. E., Varlet, M., & Nozaradan, S. (2018). Neural tracking of the musical beat is enhanced by low-frequency sounds. Proceedings of the National academy of sciences of the United States of America, 115(32), 8221-8226. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1801421115 (Original work published 2018)
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Derosiere, G., Klein, P.-A., Nozaradan, S., Zenon, A., Mouraux, A., & Duque, J. (2018). Visuomotor Correlates of Conflict Expectation in the Context of Motor Decisions. The Journal of Neuroscience, 38(44), 9486-9504. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0623-18.2018 (Original work published 2018)
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Article de journalNozaradan, S., Keller, P. E., Rossion, B., & Mouraux, A. (2017). EEG Frequency-Tagging and Input-Output Comparison in Rhythm Perception. Brain Topography : journal of functional neurophysiology. Published. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10548-017-0605-8 (Original work published 2017)
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Nozaradan, S., Schwartze, M., Obermeier, C., & Kotz, S. A. (2017). Specific contributions of basal ganglia and cerebellum to the neural tracking of rhythm. Cortex, 95, 156-168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2017.08.015 (Original work published 2017)
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Nozaradan, S., Mouraux, A., & Cousineau, M. (2017). Frequency tagging to track the neural processing of contrast in fast, continuous sound sequences. Journal of Neurophysiology, 118(1), 243-253. https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00971.2016 (Original work published 2017)
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Nozaradan, S., Mouraux, A., Jonas, J., Colnat-Coulbois, S., Rossion, B., & Maillard, L. (2017). Intracerebral evidence of rhythm transform in the human auditory cortex. Brain Structure and Function, 222(5), 2389-2404. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-016-1348-0 (Original work published 2017)
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Papier de conférenceDerosiere, G., Klein, P.-A., Nozaradan, S., Mouraux, A., Zenon, A., & Duque, J. (2017). Impact of conflict expectation on selective attention and action selection processes during motor decisions: an EEG study. Front. Neurosci. Conference Proceedings: 12th National Congress of the Belgian Society for Neuroscience., 1(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.3389/conf.fnins.2017.94.00121 (Original work published 2017)
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Article de journalNozaradan, S., Peretz, I., & Keller, P. E. (2016). Individual Differences in Rhythmic Cortical Entrainment Correlate with Predictive Behavior in Sensorimotor Synchronization. Scientific Reports, 6(20612), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep20612 (Original work published 2016)
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Nozaradan, S., Schönwiesner, M., Caron-Desrochers, L., & Lehmann, A. (2016). Enhanced brainstem and cortical encoding of sound during synchronized movement. NeuroImage, 142, 231-240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.07.015 (Original work published 2016)
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Cirelli, L. K., Spinelli, C., Nozaradan, S., & Trainor, L. J. (2016). Measuring Neural Entrainment to Beat and Meter in Infants: Effects of Music Background. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 10, 229. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2016.00229 (Original work published 2016)
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Papier de conférenceWarlop, T., Chemin, B., Cambier, C., Nozaradan, S., Detrembleur, C., Crevecoeur, F., Stoquart, G., Jeanjean, A., & Lejeune, T. (2015). Does metronome really help timing gait in Parkinson’s disease? Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, 58s(58s), e73-e77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rehab.2015.07.180 (Original work published 2015)
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Article de journalChemin, B., Mouraux, A., & Nozaradan, S. (2014). Body Movement Selectively Shapes the Neural Representation of Musical Rhythms. Psychological Science, 25(12), 2147-2159. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614551161 (Original work published 2014)
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Nozaradan, S. (2014). Exploring how musical rhythm entrains brain activity with electroencephalogram frequency-tagging. Philosophical transactions. Biological sciences / Royal Society of London, 369(1658). https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2013.0393 (Original work published 2014)
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Article de journalNozaradan, S., Zerouali, Y., Peretz, I., & Mouraux, A. (2013). Capturing with EEG the neural entrainment and coupling underlying sensorimotor synchronization to the beat. Cerebral Cortex. Published. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bht261 (Original work published 2013)
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Article de journalNozaradan, S., Peretz, I., & Mouraux, A. (2012). Selective neuronal entrainment to the beat and meter embedded in a musical rhythm. The Journal of Neuroscience, 32, 17572-17581. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3203-12.2012 (Original work published 2012)
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Colon, E., Nozaradan, S., Legrain, V., & Mouraux, A. (2012). Steady-state evoked potentials to tag specific components of nociceptive cortical processing. NeuroImage, 60(1), 571-581. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.12.015 (Original work published 2012)
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Nozaradan, S., Peretz, I., & Mouraux, A. (2012). Steady-state evoked potentials as an index of multisensory temporal binding. NeuroImage, 60(1), 21-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.11.065 (Original work published 2012)
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Article de journalMouraux, A., Iannetti, G. D., Colon, E., Nozaradan, S., Legrain, V., & Plaghki, L. (2011). Nociceptive steady-state evoked potentials elicited by rapid periodic thermal stimulation of cutaneous nociceptors. The Journal of Neuroscience, 31(16), 6079-6087. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3977-10.2011 (Original work published 2011)
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Phillips-Silver, J., Toiviainen, P., Gosselin, N., Piché, O., Nozaradan, S., Palmer, C., & Peretz, I. (2011). Born to dance but beat deaf: a new form of congenital amusia. Neuropsychologia, 49, 961-969. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.02.002 (Original work published 2011)
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Nozaradan, S., Peretz, I., Missal, M., & Mouraux, A. (2011). Tagging the neuronal entrainment to beat and meter. The Journal of Neuroscience, 31(28), 10234-10240. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0411-11.2011 (Original work published 2011)
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Article de journalde Hemptinne, C., Nozaradan, S., Duvivier, Q., Lefèvre, P., & Missal, M. (2007). How do primates anticipate uncertain future events? The Journal of Neuroscience, 27(16), 4334-4341. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0388-07.2007 (Original work published 2007)
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