Towards a neural basis of processing musical semantics

Processing of meaning is critical for language perception, and therefore the majority of research on meaning processing has focused on the semantic, lexical, conceptual, and propositional processing of language. However, music is another a means of communication, and meaning also emerges from the interpretation of musical information. This article provides a framework for the investigation of the processing of musical meaning, and reviews neuroscience studies investigating this issue. These studies reveal two neural correlates of meaning processing, the N400 and the N5 (which are both components of the event-related electric brain potential). Here I argue that the N400 can be elicited by musical stimuli due to the processing of extra-musical meaning, whereas the N5 can be elicited due to the processing of intra-musical meaning. Notably, whereas the N400 can be elicited by both linguistic and musical stimuli, the N5 has so far only been observed for the processing of meaning in music. Thus, knowledge about both the N400 and the N5 can advance our understanding of how the human brain processes meaning information.     

Entomological repercussions of increasing environmental temperatures: Reply to comments on “Modeling the impact of global warming on vector-borne infections”

Global warming will certainly affect the abundance and distribution of disease vectors. The effect of global warming, however, depends on the complex interaction between the human host population and the causative infectious agent. In this work we review some mathematical models that were proposed to study the impact of the increase in ambient temperature on the spread and gravity of some insect-transmitted diseases.     

Reply to Comment on “Towards a large deviation theory for strongly correlated systems”

The computational study commented by Touchette opens the door to a desirable generalization of standard large deviation theory for special, though ubiquitous, correlations. We focus on three inter-related aspects: (i) numerical results strongly suggest that the standard exponential probability law is asymptotically replaced by a power-law dominant term; (ii) a subdominant term appears to reinforce the thermodynamically extensive entropic nature of q-generalized rate function; (iii) the correlations we discussed, correspond to Q-Gaussian distributions, differing from Lévy?s, except in the case of Cauchy–Lorentz distributions. Touchette has agreeably discussed point (i), but, unfortunately, points (ii) and (iii) escaped to his analysis. Claiming the absence of connection with q-exponentials is unjustified.     

“Quantization” of the q-vector in microcrystals of K0.3MoO3 and NbSe3

We report steps of conductivity between discrete conducting states in microsamples of quasi-one-dimensional conductors K_0.3MoO₃ and NbSe₃. The steps reveal single phase-slip events, and the discrete states reveal “quantization” of the wave vector q of the charge-density wave. The “quantization” is observed due to the coherence of the CDW within the sample volume and tight boundary conditions at the contacts. The distribution of steps in temperature gives the temperature dependences of the q-vectors, while the steps' height provides the carriers' mobilities. For the case of NbSe₃ we give the 1st direct confirmation of the extremely high mobility of the “pocket” holes at low temperatures.