ERIC Number: EJ1029449
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Dec
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1092-4388
EISSN: N/A
Left Lateralized Enhancement of Orofacial Somatosensory Processing Due to Speech Sounds
Ito, Takayuki; Johns, Alexis R.; Ostry, David J.
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, v56 n6 pS1875-S1881 Dec 2013
Purpose: Somatosensory information associated with speech articulatory movements affects the perception of speech sounds and vice versa, suggesting an intimate linkage between speech production and perception systems. However, it is unclear which cortical processes are involved in the interaction between speech sounds and orofacial somatosensory inputs. The authors examined whether speech sounds modify orofacial somatosensory cortical potentials that were elicited using facial skin perturbations. Method: Somatosensory event-related potentials in EEG were recorded in 3 background sound conditions (pink noise, speech sounds, and nonspeech sounds) and also in a silent condition. Facial skin deformations that are similar in timing and duration to those experienced in speech production were used for somatosensory stimulation. Results: The authors found that speech sounds reliably enhanced the first negative peak of the somatosensory event-related potential when compared with the other 3 sound conditions. The enhancement was evident at electrode locations above the left motor and premotor area of the orofacial system. The result indicates that speech sounds interact with somatosensory cortical processes that are produced by speech-production-like patterns of facial skin stretch. Conclusion: Neural circuits in the left hemisphere, presumably in left motor and premotor cortex, may play a prominent role in the interaction between auditory inputs and speech-relevant somatosensory processing.
Descriptors: Articulation (Speech), Cognitive Processes, Human Body, Nonverbal Ability, Auditory Perception, Sensory Experience, Diagnostic Tests, Tactual Perception, Brain Hemisphere Functions
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). 10801 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. Tel: 800-638-8255; Fax: 301-571-0457; e-mail: subscribe@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.asha.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A