The channel capacity of multilevel linguistic features constrains speech comprehension

Giroud, Jérémy; Lerousseau, Jacques Pesnot; Pellegrino, François; Morillon, Benjamin

doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2022.105345

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 90 publications

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“…In contrast, deviations in piano tone sequences were detected better at slower rates around 2 Hz. The findings are consistent with previous research indicating that produced speech signals exhibit dominant temporal modulations at faster rates than music signals 13,15,118 and that these rates are reflected in optimal perception performance 14,27,60,64,66 . A possible interpretation is that speech and music signals activate cortical rhythmic timing circuits with different optimal rates, resulting in better processing at these rates.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…For example, beat deviance detection in pure tone sequences has been shown to be maximal for beat rates of about 1.4 Hz 60 . In contrast, speech comprehension performance has been suggested to be highest for syllable rates in the theta range (~4.5 Hz) and drop at faster rates around 9 Hz 64,65 (or at even higher rates 27,66 ). Accordingly, on a neural level, overlapping brain areas recruited for speech and music processing 3,4,6 have been suggested to show frequencyspecific selectivity for speech and music (preprint: 67 ).…”

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confidence: 98%

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Auditory-motor synchronization and perception suggest partially distinct time scales in speech and music

Barchet,

Henry,

Pelofi

et al. 2024

Commun Psychol

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Speech and music might involve specific cognitive rhythmic timing mechanisms related to differences in the dominant rhythmic structure. We investigate the influence of different motor effectors on rate-specific processing in both domains. A perception and a synchronization task involving syllable and piano tone sequences and motor effectors typically associated with speech (whispering) and music (finger-tapping) were tested at slow (~2 Hz) and fast rates (~4.5 Hz). Although synchronization performance was generally better at slow rates, the motor effectors exhibited specific rate preferences. Finger-tapping was advantaged compared to whispering at slow but not at faster rates, with synchronization being effector-dependent at slow, but highly correlated at faster rates. Perception of speech and music was better at different rates and predicted by a fast general and a slow finger-tapping synchronization component. Our data suggests partially independent rhythmic timing mechanisms for speech and music, possibly related to a differential recruitment of cortical motor circuitry.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

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confidence: 98%

Auditory-motor synchronization and perception suggest partially distinct time scales in speech and music

Barchet,

Henry,

Pelofi

et al. 2024

Commun Psychol

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“…However, in line with our findings, several other studies, also observed shallower decreases in speech comprehension, with relatively high comprehension at higher syllable rates (approx. 12 syllables per second) [ 3 , 56 , 81 , 82 ]. We consider several possible explanations for these discrepancies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Explaining flexible continuous speech comprehension from individual motor rhythms

et al. 2023

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When speech is too fast, the tracking of the acoustic signal along the auditory pathway deteriorates, leading to suboptimal speech segmentation and decoding of speech information. Thus, speech comprehension is limited by the temporal constraints of the auditory system. Here we ask whether individual differences in auditory-motor coupling strength in part shape these temporal constraints. In two behavioural experiments, we characterize individual differences in the comprehension of naturalistic speech as function of the individual synchronization between the auditory and motor systems and the preferred frequencies of the systems. Obviously, speech comprehension declined at higher speech rates. Importantly, however, both higher auditory-motor synchronization and higher spontaneous speech motor production rates were predictive of better speech-comprehension performance. Furthermore, performance increased with higher working memory capacity (digit span) and higher linguistic, model-based sentence predictability—particularly so at higher speech rates and for individuals with high auditory-motor synchronization. The data provide evidence for a model of speech comprehension in which individual flexibility of not only the motor system but also auditory-motor synchronization may play a modulatory role.

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“…In another manipulation, speech was compressed by different factors. Subjects in these tasks showed robust success in recognising speech as long as the compression factor was less than 2, above which performance dropped catastrophically [28][29][30][31]. Intriguingly, when this temporally squeezed and incomprehensible speech was split into chunks interspersed with silences, recognition recovered [24,30,[32][33][34].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A brain-rhythm based computational framework for semantic context and acoustic signal integration in speech processing

Dogonasheva,

Doelling,

Zakharov

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Unraveling the mysteries of how humans effortlessly grasp speech amidst diverse environmental challenges has long intrigued researchers in systems and cognitive neuroscience. This study delves into the neural intricacies underpinning robust speech comprehension, giving a computational mechanistic proof for the hypothesis proposing a pivotal role for rhythmic, predictive top-down contextualization facilitated by the delta rhythm in achieving time-invariant speech processing. We propose a Brain-Rhythm-Based Inference (BRyBI) model that integrates three key rhythmic processes - theta-gamma interactions for parsing phoneme sequences, dynamic delta rhythm for inferred prosodic-phrase context, and resilient speech representations. Demonstrating mechanistic proof-of-principle, BRyBI replicates human behavioral experiments, showcasing its ability to handle pitch variations, time-warped speech, interruptions, and silences in non-comprehensible contexts. Intriguingly, the model aligns with human experiments, revealing optimal silence time scales in the theta- and delta-frequency ranges. Comparative analysis with deep neural network language models highlights distinctive performance patterns, emphasizing the unique capabilities of our rhythmic framework. In essence, our study sheds light on the neural underpinnings of speech processing, emphasizing the role of rhythmic brain mechanisms in structured temporal signal processing - an insight that challenges prevailing artificial intelligence paradigms and hints at potential advancements in compact and robust computing architectures.

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The channel capacity of multilevel linguistic features constrains speech comprehension

Cited by 6 publications

References 90 publications

Auditory-motor synchronization and perception suggest partially distinct time scales in speech and music

Auditory-motor synchronization and perception suggest partially distinct time scales in speech and music

Explaining flexible continuous speech comprehension from individual motor rhythms

A brain-rhythm based computational framework for semantic context and acoustic signal integration in speech processing

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