I am interested in the developmental and evolutionary origins of the human music capacity. My research is driven by the general questions of domain-specificity, innateness, and uniqueness of music -- Why is music a fundamental and universal part of human nature, and yet absent in other primate species?

In particular, I focus on how the music capacity interacts with other cognitive domains, such as social reasoning, emotion, and the motor system. Current questions of interest include: What is the role of infant-directed song and infant-directed speech in early social development? How does music evoke emotional/physiological response, and to what extent do other animals experience similar responses to music? What role does motor entrainment play in social and emotional response to music, and to what extent to we see a similar phenomenon in non-human animals?