Cerebral Cortex, Vol. 9, No. 5, 484-496,
July 1999
© 1999 Oxford University Press
Specialization of Left Auditory Cortex for Speech Perception in Man Depends on Temporal Coding
INSERM CJF 9706. Laboratoire de Neurophysiologie et Neuropsychologie, Marseille, France
Speech perception requires cortical mechanisms capable of analysing and encoding successive spectral (frequency) changes in the acoustic signal. To study temporal speech processing in the human auditory cortex, we recorded intracerebral evoked potentials to syllables in right and left human auditory cortices including Heschl's gyrus (HG), planum temporale (PT) and the posterior part of superior temporal gyrus (area 22). Natural voiced (/ba/, /da/, /ga/) and voiceless (/pa/, /ta/, /ka/) syllables, spoken by a native French speaker, were used to study the processing of a specific temporally based acoustico-phonetic feature, the voice onset time (VOT). This acoustic feature is present in nearly all languages, and it is the VOT that provides the basis for the perceptual distinction between voiced and voiceless consonants. The present results show a lateralized processing of acoustic elements of syllables. First, processing of voiced and voiceless syllables is distinct in the left, but not in the right HG and PT. Second, only the evoked potentials in the left HG, and to a lesser extent in PT, reflect a sequential processing of the different components of the syllables. Third, we show that this acoustic temporal processing is not limited to speech sounds but applies also to non-verbal sounds mimicking the temporal structure of the syllable. Fourth, there was no difference between responses to voiced and voiceless syllables in either left or right areas 22. Our data suggest that a single mechanism in the auditory cortex, involved in general (not only speech-specific) temporal processing, may underlie the further processing of verbal (and non-verbal) stimuli. This coding, bilaterally localized in auditory cortex in animals, takes place specifically in the left HG in man. A defect of this mechanism could account for hearing discrimination impairments associated with language disorders.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  D. A. Abrams, T. Nicol, S. Zecker, and N. Kraus Right-Hemisphere Auditory Cortex Is Dominant for Coding Syllable Patterns in Speech J. Neurosci., April 9, 2008; 28(15): 3958 - 3965. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. E. Frye, J. McGraw Fisher, A. Coty, M. Zarella, J. Liederman, and E. Halgren Linear coding of voice onset time. J. Cogn. Neurosci., September 1, 2007; 19(9): 1476 - 1487. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. A. Abrams, T. Nicol, S. G. Zecker, and N. Kraus Auditory Brainstem Timing Predicts Cerebral Asymmetry for Speech J. Neurosci., October 25, 2006; 26(43): 11131 - 11137. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. Karino, M. Yumoto, K. Itoh, A. Uno, K. Yamakawa, S. Sekimoto, and K. Kaga Neuromagnetic Responses to Binaural Beat in Human Cerebral Cortex J Neurophysiol, October 1, 2006; 96(4): 1927 - 1938. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 H. L. Jamison, K. E. Watkins, D. V. M. Bishop, and P. M. Matthews Hemispheric Specialization for Processing Auditory Nonspeech Stimuli Cereb Cortex, September 1, 2006; 16(9): 1266 - 1275. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. Giraud, J.F. Demonet, M. Habib, P. Marquis, P. Chauvel, and C. Liegeois-Chauvel Auditory Evoked Potential Patterns to Voiced and Voiceless Speech Sounds in Adult Developmental Dyslexics with Persistent Deficits Cereb Cortex, October 1, 2005; 15(10): 1524 - 1534. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. J. Edwards, T. B. Alder, and G. J. Rose Pulse Rise Time But Not Duty Cycle Affects the Temporal Selectivity of Neurons in the Anuran Midbrain That Prefer Slow AM Rates J Neurophysiol, March 1, 2005; 93(3): 1336 - 1341. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Steinschneider, I. O. Volkov, Y. I. Fishman, H. Oya, J. C. Arezzo, and M. A. Howard III Intracortical Responses in Human and Monkey Primary Auditory Cortex Support a Temporal Processing Mechanism for Encoding of the Voice Onset Time Phonetic Parameter Cereb Cortex, February 1, 2005; 15(2): 170 - 186. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J.-F. Demonet, G. Thierry, and D. Cardebat Renewal of the Neurophysiology of Language: Functional Neuroimaging Physiol Rev, January 1, 2005; 85(1): 49 - 95. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. Liegeois-Chauvel, C. Lorenzi, A. Trebuchon, J. Regis, and P. Chauvel Temporal Envelope Processing in the Human Left and Right Auditory Cortices Cereb Cortex, July 1, 2004; 14(7): 731 - 740. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. R Palmer and A Q. Summerfield Microelectrode and neuroimaging studies of central auditory function Br. Med. Bull., October 1, 2002; 63(1): 95 - 105. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. Samson, R. J. Zatorre, and J. O. Ramsay Deficits of musical timbre perception after unilateral temporal-lobe lesion revealed with multidimensional scaling Brain, March 1, 2002; 125(3): 511 - 523. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. J. Zatorre and P. Belin Spectral and Temporal Processing in Human Auditory Cortex Cereb Cortex, October 1, 2001; 11(10): 946 - 953. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. A. Poldrack, E. Temple, A. Protopapas, S. Nagarajan, P. Tallal, M. Merzenich, and J. D. E. Gabrieli Relations Between the Neural Bases of Dynamic Auditory Processing and Phonological Processing: Evidence from fMRI J. Cogn. Neurosci., July 1, 2001; 13(5): 687 - 697. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Habib The neurological basis of developmental dyslexia: An overview and working hypothesis Brain, December 1, 2000; 123(12): 2373 - 2399. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|