Electrophysiological Evidence of Early Cortical Sensitivity to Human Conspecific Mimic Voice as a Distinct Category of Natural Sound
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| Title: | Electrophysiological Evidence of Early Cortical Sensitivity to Human Conspecific Mimic Voice as a Distinct Category of Natural Sound |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Talkington, William J., Donai, Jeremy, Kadner, Alexandra S., Layne, Molly L., Forino, Andrew, Wen, Sijin, Gao, Si, Gray, Margeaux M., Ashraf, Alexandria J., Valencia, Gabriela N., Smith, Brandon D., Khoo, Stephanie K., Gray, Stephen J., Lass, Norman, Brefczynski-Lewis, Julie A., Engdahl, Susannah, Graham, David, Frum, Chris A., Lewis, James W. (ORCID |
| Source: | Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. Oct 2020 63(10):3539-3559. |
| Availability: | American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: slhr@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.pubs.asha.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 21 |
| Publication Date: | 2020 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | National Center for Research Resources (NIH/DHHS) National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIH//DHHS) National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIH/DHHS), Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) (DOD), Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) |
| Contract Number: | GM103503 E15524 P20GM103434 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Imitation, Acoustics, Auditory Discrimination, Reaction Time, Animals, Adults |
| DOI: | 10.1044/2020_JSLHR-20-00063 |
| ISSN: | 1092-4388 |
| Abstract: | Purpose: From an anthropological perspective of hominin communication, the human auditory system likely evolved to enable special sensitivity to sounds produced by the vocal tracts of human conspecifics whether attended or passively heard. While numerous electrophysiological studies have used stereotypical human-produced verbal (speech voice and singing voice) and nonverbal vocalizations to identify human voice-sensitive responses, controversy remains as to when (and where) processing of acoustic signal attributes characteristic of "human voiceness" per se initiate in the brain. Method: To explore this, we used animal vocalizations and human-mimicked versions of those calls ("mimic voice") to examine late auditory evoked potential responses in humans. Results: Here, we revealed an N1b component (96-120 ms poststimulus) during a nonattending listening condition showing significantly greater magnitude in response to mimics, beginning as early as primary auditory cortices, preceding the time window reported in previous studies that revealed species-specific vocalization processing initiating in the range of 147-219 ms. During a sound discrimination task, a P600 (500-700 ms poststimulus) component showed specificity for accurate discrimination of human mimic voice. Distinct acoustic signal attributes and features of the stimuli were used in a classifier model, which could distinguish most human from animal voice comparably to behavioral data--though none of these single features could adequately distinguish human voiceness. Conclusions: These results provide novel ideas for algorithms used in neuromimetic hearing aids, as well as direct electrophysiological support for a neurocognitive model of natural sound processing that informs both neurodevelopmental and anthropological models regarding the establishment of auditory communication systems in humans. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2021 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1281472 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Purpose: From an anthropological perspective of hominin communication, the human auditory system likely evolved to enable special sensitivity to sounds produced by the vocal tracts of human conspecifics whether attended or passively heard. While numerous electrophysiological studies have used stereotypical human-produced verbal (speech voice and singing voice) and nonverbal vocalizations to identify human voice-sensitive responses, controversy remains as to when (and where) processing of acoustic signal attributes characteristic of "human voiceness" per se initiate in the brain. Method: To explore this, we used animal vocalizations and human-mimicked versions of those calls ("mimic voice") to examine late auditory evoked potential responses in humans. Results: Here, we revealed an N1b component (96-120 ms poststimulus) during a nonattending listening condition showing significantly greater magnitude in response to mimics, beginning as early as primary auditory cortices, preceding the time window reported in previous studies that revealed species-specific vocalization processing initiating in the range of 147-219 ms. During a sound discrimination task, a P600 (500-700 ms poststimulus) component showed specificity for accurate discrimination of human mimic voice. Distinct acoustic signal attributes and features of the stimuli were used in a classifier model, which could distinguish most human from animal voice comparably to behavioral data--though none of these single features could adequately distinguish human voiceness. Conclusions: These results provide novel ideas for algorithms used in neuromimetic hearing aids, as well as direct electrophysiological support for a neurocognitive model of natural sound processing that informs both neurodevelopmental and anthropological models regarding the establishment of auditory communication systems in humans. |
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| ISSN: | 1092-4388 |
| DOI: | 10.1044/2020_JSLHR-20-00063 |
