title: Attention modulates cortical processing of pitch feedback errors in voice control.
abstract: Considerable evidence has shown that unexpected alterations in auditory feedback elicit fast compensatory adjustments in vocal production. Although generally thought to be involuntary in nature, whether these adjustments can be influenced by attention remains unknown. The present event-related potential (ERP) study aimed to examine whether neurobehavioral processing of auditory-vocal integration can be affected by attention. While sustaining a vowel phonation and hearing pitch-shifted feedback, participants were required to either ignore the pitch perturbations, or attend to them with low (counting the number of perturbations) or high attentional load (counting the type of perturbations). Behavioral results revealed no systematic change of vocal response to pitch perturbations irrespective of whether they were attended or not. At the level of cortex, there was an enhancement of P2 response to attended pitch perturbations in the low-load condition as compared to when they were ignored. In the high-load condition, however, P2 response did not differ from that in the ignored condition. These findings provide the first neurophysiological evidence that auditory-motor integration in voice control can be modulated as a function of attention at the level of cortex. Furthermore, this modulatory effect does not lead to a general enhancement but is subject to attentional load.
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Rehabilitation Medicine The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China 510080 [2] Guangdong Provincial Work Injury Rehabilitation Center, Guangzhou, China 510440.
authors.forename: Huijing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China 510080.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China 510006.
authors.forename: Zhiqiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China 510080.
authors.forename: Weifeng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China 510080.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China 510080.
authors.forename: Shaozhen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Rehabilitation Medicine The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China 510080 [2] Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China 510006.
authors.forename: Hanjun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D001519:Behavior; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D056228:Feedback, Sensory / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000502:physiology*; D010898:Pitch Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014831:Voice / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult