Speech-sound discrimination in neonates as measured with MEG.
Magnetic brain responses to speech sounds were measured in 10 healthy neonates. The stimulation consisted of a frequent vowel sound [a:] with a steady pitch contour, which was occasionally replaced by the vowel [i:] with a steady pitch, or the vowel [a:] with a rising pitch, manifesting a change of intonation. The magnetic mismatch-negativity response (MMNm) was obtained and successfully modelled to the speech sound quality change in all infants and to the intonation change in 6 infants. The present results indicate that auditory-cortex speech-sound discrimination may well be studied with magnetic recordings as early as in newborn infants.
Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology, P.O. Box 9, FIN-00014, Helsinki, Finland. anu.kujala@helsinki.fi
Anu
A
Kujala
Minna
M
Huotilainen
Merja
M
Hotakainen
Mietta
M
Lennes
Lauri
L
Parkkonen
Vineta
V
Fellman
Risto
R
Näätänen
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D001931:Brain Mapping; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008280:Magnetics; D015225:Magnetoencephalography / Q000379:methods*; D010700:Phonetics; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000528:radiation effects; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*