title: Electrocorticographic representations of segmental features in continuous speech.
abstract: Acoustic speech output results from coordinated articulation of dozens of muscles, bones and cartilages of the vocal mechanism. While we commonly take the fluency and speed of our speech productions for granted, the neural mechanisms facilitating the requisite muscular control are not completely understood. Previous neuroimaging and electrophysiology studies of speech sensorimotor control has typically concentrated on speech sounds (i.e., phonemes, syllables and words) in isolation; sentence-length investigations have largely been used to inform coincident linguistic processing. In this study, we examined the neural representations of segmental features (place and manner of articulation, and voicing status) in the context of fluent, continuous speech production. We used recordings from the cortical surface [electrocorticography (ECoG)] to simultaneously evaluate the spatial topography and temporal dynamics of the neural correlates of speech articulation that may mediate the generation of hypothesized gestural or articulatory scores. We found that the representation of place of articulation involved broad networks of brain regions during all phases of speech production: preparation, execution and monitoring. In contrast, manner of articulation and voicing status were dominated by auditory cortical responses after speech had been initiated. These results provide a new insight into the articulatory and auditory processes underlying speech production in terms of their motor requirements and acoustic correlates.
authors.affiliation: Inria Bordeaux Sud-Ouest/LaBRI Talence, France.
authors.forename: Fabien
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lotte
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech-Language-Hearing, University of Kansas Lawrence, KS, USA.
authors.forename: Jonathan S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Brumberg
authors.affiliation: National Center for Adaptive Neurotechnologies, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health Albany, NY, USA ; Department of Neurology, Albany Medical College Albany, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brunner
authors.affiliation: J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Aysegul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gunduz
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Albany Medical College Albany, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Anthony L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Ritaccio
authors.affiliation: ASTAR Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Institute for Infocomm Research, Singapore Singapore.
authors.forename: Cuntai
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.affiliation: National Center for Adaptive Neurotechnologies, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health Albany, NY, USA ; Department of Neurology, Albany Medical College Albany, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Gerwin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schalk
keywords: electrocorticography (ECoG); manner of articulation; place of articulation; speech processing; voicing