Somatosensory function in speech perception

Itō, Takayuki; Tiede, Mark; Ostry, David J.

doi:10.1073/pnas.0810063106

Cited by 166 publications

(211 citation statements)

References 26 publications

(56 reference statements)

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“…The reported instances extend from somatosensory inputs to the cochlear nucleus through to bidirectional interactions between auditory and somatosensory cortex (16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22). There is also evidence that somatosensory inputs affect auditory perceptual function including cases involving speech (8,23,24). The present example of somatosensory-auditory interaction is intriguing because subjects do not normally receive somatosensory inputs in conjunction with the perception of speech sounds but rather with their production.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Auditory plasticity and speech motor learning

Nasir

Ostry

2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Is plasticity in sensory and motor systems linked? Here, in the context of speech motor learning and perception, we test the idea sensory function is modified by motor learning and, in particular, that speech motor learning affects a speaker's auditory map. We assessed speech motor learning by using a robotic device that displaced the jaw and selectively altered somatosensory feedback during speech. We found that with practice speakers progressively corrected for the mechanical perturbation and after motor learning they also showed systematic changes in their perceptual classification of speech sounds. The perceptual shift was tied to motor learning. Individuals that displayed greater amounts of learning also showed greater perceptual change. Perceptual change was not observed in control subjects that produced the same movements, but in the absence of a force field, nor in subjects that experienced the force field but failed to adapt to the mechanical load. The perceptual effects observed here indicate the involvement of the somatosensory system in the neural processing of speech sounds and suggest that speech motor learning results in changes to auditory perceptual function.sensorimotor adaptation ͉ speech perception ͉ speech production A s a child learns to talk, or as an adult learns a new language, a growing mastery of oral fluency is matched by an increase in the ability to distinguish different speech sounds (1-5). Although these abilities may develop in isolation, it is also possible that speech motor learning alters a speaker's auditory map. This study offers a direct test of this hypothesis, that speech motor learning, and, in particular, somatosensory inputs associated with learning, affect the auditory classification of speech sounds (6-8). We assessed speech learning by using a robotic device that displaced the jaw and modified somatosensory input without altering speech acoustics (9-11). We found that even though auditory feedback was unchanged over the course of learning, subjects classify the same speech sounds differently after motor learning than before. Moreover, the perceptual shift was observed only in subjects that displayed motor learning. Subjects that failed to adapt to the mechanical load showed no perceptual shift even though they experienced the same force field as subjects that showed learning. Our findings are consistent with the idea that speech learning affects not only the motor system but also involves changes to sensory areas of the brain. ResultsTo explore the idea that speech motor learning affects auditory perception, we trained healthy adults in a force-field learning task (12, 13) in which a robotic device applied a mechanical load to the jaw as subjects repeated aloud test utterances that were chosen randomly from a set of four possibilities (bad, had, mad, sad) (Fig. 1). The test utterances were displayed on a computer monitor that was placed in front of the subjects. The mechanical load was velocity-dependent and acted to displace the jaw in a protrusion direction, al...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Auditory plasticity and speech motor learning

Nasir

Ostry

2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…The experimental setup with the EEG system is represented in Figure 1. The details of the somatosensory stimulation device have been described in the previous studies 1,7,[12][13][14] . Briefly, two small plastic tabs (2 cm wide and 3 cm height) are attached with double-sided tape to the facial skin.…”

Section: Somatosensory Stimulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent results suggest that somatosensory processes contribute to perception as well as production. For example, the identification of speech sounds is altered when a robotic device stretches the facial skin as participants listen to auditory stimuli 1 . Air puffs to the cheek that coincide with auditory speech stimuli alter participants' perceptual judgments 2 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Somatosensory Event-related Potentials from Orofacial Skin Stretch Stimulation

Itō

Ostry

Gracco

2015

JoVE

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Cortical processing associated with orofacial somatosensory function in speech has received limited experimental attention due to the difficulty of providing precise and controlled stimulation. This article introduces a technique for recording somatosensory event-related potentials (ERP) that uses a novel mechanical stimulation method involving skin deformation using a robotic device. Controlled deformation of the facial skin is used to modulate kinesthetic inputs through excitation of cutaneous mechanoreceptors. By combining somatosensory stimulation with electroencephalographic recording, somatosensory evoked responses can be successfully measured at the level of the cortex. Somatosensory stimulation can be combined with the stimulation of other sensory modalities to assess multisensory interactions. For speech, orofacial stimulation is combined with speech sound stimulation to assess the contribution of multi-sensory processing including the effects of timing differences. The ability to precisely control orofacial somatosensory stimulation during speech perception and speech production with ERP recording is an important tool that provides new insight into the neural organization and neural representations for speech. Video LinkThe video component of this article can be found at

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“…Among the vast number of active learning architectures, 191 this paper considers the exploration architecture proposed 192 In [28], a robotic device able to generate patterns of facial 246 skin deformation related to certain speech productions was 247 used. The results showed that when the facial skin is stretched 248 whilst subjects are listening to words, the sounds they hear are 249 altered.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, the fact that CB also emerges 242 in deaf infants suggests that somatosensory feedback must play 243 a more relevant role during the prelinguistic vocal development 244 in infants [27]. In [28], a robotic device able to generate patterns of facial 246 skin deformation related to certain speech productions was 247 used. The results showed that when the facial skin is stretched 248 whilst subjects are listening to words, the sounds they hear are 249 altered.…”

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confidence: 99%