title: Sensory-motor networks involved in speech production and motor control: an fMRI study.
abstract: Speaking is one of the most complex motor behaviors developed to facilitate human communication. The underlying neural mechanisms of speech involve sensory-motor interactions that incorporate feedback information for online monitoring and control of produced speech sounds. In the present study, we adopted an auditory feedback pitch perturbation paradigm and combined it with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) recordings in order to identify brain areas involved in speech production and motor control. Subjects underwent fMRI scanning while they produced a steady vowel sound /a/ (speaking) or listened to the playback of their own vowel production (playback). During each condition, the auditory feedback from vowel production was either normal (no perturbation) or perturbed by an upward (+600 cents) pitch-shift stimulus randomly. Analysis of BOLD responses during speaking (with and without shift) vs. rest revealed activation of a complex network including bilateral superior temporal gyrus (STG), Heschl's gyrus, precentral gyrus, supplementary motor area (SMA), Rolandic operculum, postcentral gyrus and right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Performance correlation analysis showed that the subjects produced compensatory vocal responses that significantly correlated with BOLD response increases in bilateral STG and left precentral gyrus. However, during playback, the activation network was limited to cortical auditory areas including bilateral STG and Heschl's gyrus. Moreover, the contrast between speaking vs. playback highlighted a distinct functional network that included bilateral precentral gyrus, SMA, IFG, postcentral gyrus and insula. These findings suggest that speech motor control involves feedback error detection in sensory (e.g. auditory) cortices that subsequently activate motor-related areas for the adjustment of speech parameters during speaking.
authors.affiliation: Human Brain Research Lab, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States; Speech Neuroscience Lab, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, United States. Electronic address: r-behroozmand@sc.edu.
authors.forename: Roozbeh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Behroozmand
authors.affiliation: Human Brain Research Lab, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shebek
authors.affiliation: Human Brain Research Lab, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States.
authors.forename: Daniel R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.affiliation: Human Brain Research Lab, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Oya
authors.affiliation: Research Imaging Institute, Departments of Neurology, Radiology and Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78229, United States.
authors.forename: Donald A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Robin
authors.affiliation: Human Brain Research Lab, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States.
authors.forename: Matthew A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Howard
authors.affiliation: Human Brain Research Lab, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States.
authors.forename: Jeremy D W
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Greenlee
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D056228:Feedback, Sensory; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D009415:Nerve Net; D010700:Phonetics; D010898:Pitch Perception / Q000502:physiology; D066191:Sensorimotor Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D013060:Speech / Q000502:physiology*; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Auditory feedback; Pitch perturbation; Sensory–motor integration; Speech motor control; fMRI