The sensitivity of auditory-motor representations to subtle changes in auditory feedback while singing

Abstract

Singing requires accurate control of the fundamental frequency ͑F0͒ of the voice. This study examined trained singers' and untrained singers' ͑nonsingers'͒ sensitivity to subtle manipulations in auditory feedback and the subsequent effect on the mapping between F0 feedback and vocal control. Participants produced the consonant-vowel /ta/ while receiving auditory feedback that was shifted up and down in frequency. Results showed that singers and nonsingers compensated to a similar degree when presented with frequency-altered feedback ͑FAF͒; however, singers' F0 values were consistently closer to the intended pitch target. Moreover, singers initiated their compensatory responses when auditory feedback was shifted up or down 6 cents or more, compared to nonsingers who began compensating when feedback was shifted up 26 cents and down 22 cents. Additionally, examination of the first 50 ms of vocalization indicated that participants commenced subsequent vocal utterances, during FAF, near the F0 value on previous shift trials. Interestingly, nonsingers commenced F0 productions below the pitch target and increased their F0 until they matched the note. Thus, singers and nonsingers rely on an internal model to regulate voice F0, but singers' models appear to be more sensitive in response to subtle discrepancies in auditory feedback.

The effects of language learning and vocal training on sensorimotor control of lexical tone

“…Certainly, vocal training alters audio-vocal interactions (Burnett & Larson, 2002;Jones & Keough, 2008;Keough & Jones, 2009;Zarate, Wood, & Zatorre, 2010;Zarate & Zatorre, 2005. We found limited but relevant evidence that vocal training was associated with attenuated pitch-shift amplitudes for simple vowel production and under the T12 condition.…”

Evidence for Auditory-Motor Impairment in Individuals With Hyperfunctional Voice Disorders

“…Gradual modification of speakers' feedback is a paradigm known as sensorimotor adaptation, which has been employed by a number of research groups over the years. These types of experiments have been shown to yield a robust, consistent response in which speakers compensate over time for the gradually increased manipulations in f o : If f o is experimentally increased, speakers respond by lowering their f o over time (Jones & Keough, 2008;Jones & Munhall, 2000Keough & Jones, 2009;Patel, Niziolek, Reilly, & Guenther, 2011). As evidenced by short-term maintenance of the response after removal of the shift, speakers seem to temporarily update (i.e., adapt) their motor programs.…”

Multiple instances of vocal sensorimotor adaptation to frequency-altered feedback within a single experimental session

“…However, it should be noted that all the participants in this study were non-singers. Given the potential differences in vocal motor control between singers and non-singers (Keough and Jones, 2009), the results of this study should not be applied to trained singers without further testing. Also, it would be interesting to test if the lack of carry-over effects in different vocalization contexts applies to formant control as well as F0 control.…”

“…Some studies have suggested that there may be differences between singers, who are highly trained in vocal control, and non-singers when they adapt to changes in F0 (Jones and Keough, 2008;Keough and Jones, 2009). There are several other special populations who are of interest in studies of sensory-motor adaptation, including Parkinson patients, amusics, schizophrenics (who may have a disruption in the signals sent to auditory cortex to identify speech as self-generated; Ford and Mathalon, 2004), and children at various stages of development.…”

“…In studies examining the control of F0, the F0 value at utterance onset has more recently been used as a measure of vocal sensory-motor adaptation (Keough and Jones, 2009;Hawco and Jones, 2009). This measure allows for an online analysis of the time course of adaptation without the need to examine after-effects.…”