Nature might have a universal rhythm

Animal communication can look wildly different — flashing lights, chirping calls, croaking songs, and elaborate dances. But new research from NITMB Trainee Guy Amichay and NITMB Member Daniel Abrams suggests many of these signals share a surprising feature: They repeat at nearly the same tempo.

In a new study, Amichay and Abrams found that communication signals across a wide range of species tend to repeat at about 2 hertz, or roughly two beats per second.

The researchers propose that this tempo might reflect a shared biological constraint. Animal brains, including humans, may be naturally tuned to process signals arriving at that pace. In other words, two beats per second may be a rhythmic “sweet spot” that enables brains to detect signals more easily and process communication more efficiently.

Understanding this potentially universal tempo could help scientists better interpret animal signaling and social behavior across species. The findings also hint that human perception of rhythms, including beats in popular music and the cadence of speech, may arise from the same neural timing principles found throughout nature.

The study was published in the journal PLOS Biology.

Read the full story in Northwestern Now.

Cover photo by Kevin Wang on Unsplash