title: Insight into the neurophysiological processes of melodically intoned language with functional MRI.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Melodic Intonation Therapy (MIT) uses the melodic elements of speech to improve language production in severe nonfluent aphasia. A crucial element of MIT is the melodically intoned auditory input: the patient listens to the therapist singing a target utterance. Such input of melodically intoned language facilitates production, whereas auditory input of spoken language does not.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using a sparse sampling fMRI sequence, we examined the differential auditory processing of spoken and melodically intoned language. Nineteen right-handed healthy volunteers performed an auditory lexical decision task in an event related design consisting of spoken and melodically intoned meaningful and meaningless items. The control conditions consisted of neutral utterances, either melodically intoned or spoken.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Irrespective of whether the items were normally spoken or melodically intoned, meaningful items showed greater activation in the supramarginal gyrus and inferior parietal lobule, predominantly in the left hemisphere. Melodically intoned language activated both temporal lobes rather symmetrically, as well as the right frontal lobe cortices, indicating that these regions are engaged in the acoustic complexity of melodically intoned stimuli. Compared to spoken language, melodically intoned language activated sensory motor regions and articulatory language networks in the left hemisphere, but only when meaningful language was used.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that the facilitatory effect of MIT may - in part - depend on an auditory input which combines melody and meaning.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Combined melody and meaning provide a sound basis for the further investigation of melodic language processing in aphasic patients, and eventually the neurophysiological processes underlying MIT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Erasmus MC - University Medical Center Rotterdam Rotterdam, The Netherlands ; Department of Neurology, Erasmus MC - University Medical Center Rotterdam Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Carolina P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Méndez Orellana
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation Medicine, Erasmus MC - University Medical Center Rotterdam Rotterdam, The Netherlands ; Rijndam Rehabilitation Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Mieke E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: van de Sandt-Koenderman
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology - University Medical Center Groningen Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Emi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Saliasi
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation Medicine, Erasmus MC - University Medical Center Rotterdam Rotterdam, The Netherlands ; Rijndam Rehabilitation Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ineke
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: van der Meulen
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Erasmus MC - University Medical Center Rotterdam Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Klip
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Erasmus MC - University Medical Center Rotterdam Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Aad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: van der Lugt
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Erasmus MC - University Medical Center Rotterdam Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Smits
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013060:Speech / Q000502:physiology*; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Aphasia; auditory perception; fMRI; language; language therapy; singing