title: Repetition Suppression in the Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus Predicts Tone Learning Performance.
abstract: Do individuals differ in how efficiently they process non-native sounds? To what extent do these differences relate to individual variability in sound-learning aptitude? We addressed these questions by assessing the sound-learning abilities of Dutch native speakers as they were trained on non-native tone contrasts. We used fMRI repetition suppression to the non-native tones to measure participants' neuronal processing efficiency before and after training. Although all participants improved in tone identification with training, there was large individual variability in learning performance. A repetition suppression effect to tone was found in the bilateral inferior frontal gyri (IFGs) before training. No whole-brain effect was found after training; a region-of-interest analysis, however, showed that, after training, repetition suppression to tone in the left IFG correlated positively with learning. That is, individuals who were better in learning the non-native tones showed larger repetition suppression in this area. Crucially, this was true even before training. These findings add to existing evidence that the left IFG plays an important role in sound learning and indicate that individual differences in learning aptitude stem from differences in the neuronal efficiency with which non-native sounds are processed.
authors.affiliation: Neurobiology of Language, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour.
authors.forename: Salomi S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Asaridou
authors.affiliation: Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Atsuko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Takashima
authors.affiliation: Neurobiology of Language, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dediu
authors.affiliation: Neurobiology of Language, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hagoort
authors.affiliation: Neurobiology of Language, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: James M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: McQueen
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D046709:Pattern Recognition, Physiological / Q000502:physiology; D011601:Psychophysics; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: fMRI adaptation; individual variation; inferior frontal gyrus; learning; repetition suppression