title: Linguistic status of timbre influences pitch encoding in the brainstem.
abstract: The aim of this experiment is to assess the effects of the linguistic status of timbre on pitch processing in the brainstem. Brainstem frequency following responses were evoked by the Mandarin high-rising lexical tone superimposed on a native vowel quality ([i]), nonnative vowel quality ([œ]), and iterated rippled noise (nonspeech). Results revealed that voice fundamental frequency magnitudes were larger when concomitant with a native vowel quality compared with either nonnative vowel quality or nonspeech timbre. Such experience-dependent effects suggest that subcortical sensory encoding of pitch interacts with timbre in the human brainstem. As a consequence, responses of the perceptual system can be differentially shaped to pitch patterns in relation to the linguistic status of their concomitant timbre.
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech Language Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-2038, USA.
authors.forename: Ananthanarayan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krishnan
authors.forename: Jackson T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Gandour
authors.forename: Saradha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ananthakrishnan
authors.forename: Gavin M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Bidelman
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Smalt
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D000328:Adult; D001306:Auditory Pathways / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008037:Linguistics / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D010898:Pitch Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult