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ARTIGOS

Vol. 14 (2026): Percepta - Revista de Cognição Musical

Functional Convergence: A Theoretical Model of the Perceptual Conditions Underlying the Emergence of Primary Musical Cognition

DOI
https://doi.org/10.34018/2318-891X.14e026010
Submitted
June 30, 2026
Published
2026-10-27

Abstract

This article proposes a theoretical model of the perceptual conditions underlying primary musical cognition, the perceptual level arising from the interaction between acoustic regularities of periodic sounds and the functional architecture of the auditory system. An interdisciplinary theoretical review integrates acoustics, psychoacoustics, auditory neuroscience, and music cognition. The model centers on periodicity, harmonicity, and auditory plasticity. Periodicity is argued to structure temporal and spectral organization, ideally represented by the harmonic series and perceptually expressed as harmonicity. The theoretical outcome is functional convergence: the auditory system’s exploitation of acoustic regularities, grounded in compatibility with its tonotopic organization and modulated by auditory plasticity. This interaction establishes the perceptual basis for higher cognitive and cultural processes and conditions, without determining, the organization of musical experience.

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