Hugo Merchant

Categorical rhythmic priors in macaques

This study shows that macaques can synchronize to complex rhythms and generalize rhythmic representations, similar to humans, with a bias towards isochrony and integer ratios.

Monkeys have rhythm

This study shows that macaques can synchronize taps to a subjective beat in real music, challenging the vocal learning hypothesis.

Manifold properties in the macaque medial premotor cortex during switching from attending to tapping to a metronome

The paper examines neural dynamics in macaque medial premotor cortex during a task involving attention and tapping to a metronome, identifying low-dimensional manifolds that capture behavioral transitions.

Flexible tapping synchronization in macaques: dynamic switching of timing strategies within rhythmic sequences

This study trains macaques in a visual tapping task and identifies two timing strategies used for synchronization across tempos.

Preconfigured cortico-thalamic neural dynamics constrain movement-associated thalamic activity

The paper shows that preconfigured neural activity patterns in the motor thalamus are rigid, experience-independent, and linked to specific movement-related subpopulations.

Common neural mechanisms supporting time judgements in humans and monkeys

This study compares neural mechanisms for time perception in humans and monkeys, finding similar post-interval potentials and firing rate differences during time categorization tasks.

Sequential and dynamic coding of water-sucrose categorization in rat gustatory cortices

The paper investigates how rats categorize sucrose solutions from water using neural activity in the anterior insular cortex and orbitofrontal cortex, finding dynamic and sequential coding rather than static representations.

White matter structural bases for predictive tapping synchronization

This study identifies white matter structural correlates of predictive tapping synchronization in humans, linking fiber density and bundle properties to rhythmic entrainment abilities.

Representation of grasping type and force in the primate motor cortex

This study examines how grip type and force are represented in primate motor cortex during a grasping task, finding that grip type is more robustly encoded than force.

Amodal population clock in the primate medial premotor system for rhythmic tapping

This study investigates how monkeys process rhythmic tapping using visual and auditory stimuli, finding that visual rhythms are more precisely followed and that neural dynamics share common features across modalities.

Rhythmic tapping to a moving beat: motion kinematics overrules motion naturalness.

This study shows that motion kinematics, not naturalness, determines rhythm synchronization when tapping to visual metronomes, with accelerating motion leading to more precise tapping.

Different time encoding strategies within the medial premotor areas of the primate

This study investigates how neural activity in the medial premotor cortex of macaques encodes time during interval categorization and rhythmic timing tasks, revealing distinct encoding strategies and neural clocks.

Distinct beta frequencies reflect categorical decisions

The paper shows that distinct beta frequencies in monkey dlPFC and preSMA reflect categorical decisions during a task with changing category boundaries.

Keeping time and rhythm by replaying a sensory-motor engram

The paper shows that primates internally maintain rhythms through widespread brain activity resembling a metronome, replaying sensory-motor engrams without external stimuli.

The timing network is engaged in the practice of internally driven tapping independently of the learning transfer from perceptual to motor timing

The paper investigates how timing skill training affects neural activity and performance in perceptual and motor timing tasks, finding heterogeneous responses and common neural changes in the timing network.

A collaborative resource platform for non-human primate neuroimaging

The paper introduces PRIME-RE, a collaborative platform for sharing NHP neuroimaging resources, tools, and data.

The amplitude in periodic neural state trajectories underlies the tempo of rhythmic tapping

This study identifies that the amplitude of periodic neural state trajectories in primate motor cortex encodes the tempo of rhythmic tapping, showing resilience to neuron count and accounting for interval timing properties.

Entrainment and maintenance of an internal metronome in premotor cortex

This study investigates how the premotor cortex encodes and maintains rhythms and time perception in nonhuman primates during a visual metronome task.