title: Theta-band phase tracking in the two-talker problem.
abstract: It is usually easy to understand speech, but when several people are talking at once it becomes difficult. The brain must select one speech stream and ignore distracting streams. We tested a theory about the neural and computational mechanisms of attentional selection. The theory is that oscillating signals in brain networks phase-lock with amplitude fluctuations in speech. By doing this, brain-wide networks acquire information from the selected speech, but ignore other speech signals on the basis of their non-preferred dynamics. Two predictions were supported: first, attentional selection boosted the power of neuroelectric signals that were phase-locked with attended speech, but not ignored speech. Second, this phase selectivity was associated with better recall of the attended speech.
authors.affiliation: The University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada. Electronic address: dillon.hambrook@uleth.ca.
authors.forename: Dillon A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Hambrook
authors.affiliation: The University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada.
authors.forename: Matthew S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Tata
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology; D008959:Models, Neurological; D013060:Speech; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D013826:Theta Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Attention; Cocktail party; Electroencephalogram; Phase tracking; Selective entrainment; Speech