Distinct representations of syllables and phonemes in Chinese production: Evidence from fMRI adaptation.
Existing linguistic theories have converged on the fundamental role of syllable and phoneme as the phonological production units that drive articulation in most alphabetic languages, while much remains controversial concerning the logographic Chinese because there is no conclusive evidence of the neural correlates of syllabic and phonemic processing during Chinese speech production. Here, fMRI adaptation paradigm was used to explore the possibility of distinctive neural representations of phonemes and syllables when native Chinese speakers pronounced Chinese pseudowords. We found that bilateral basal ganglia (BG) exhibited evident neural adaptation effect for phonemic repetition, indicating independent neural representation of phonemes in the speech production network in Chinese speakers. Moreover, neural adaptation effect for syllabic repetition was found in bilateral superior temporal gyrus (STg). These findings thus suggest that, similar to alphabetic languages, both phonemes and syllables are phonological production units associated with distinctive neural representations in Mandarin Chinese and further implicate the universality of hierarchical phonological coding across different linguistic systems.
Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China.
Mengxia
M
Yu
Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
Ce
C
Mo
Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China.
You
Y
Li
Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China. Electronic address: molei@scnu.edu.cn.
Lei
L
Mo
D000293:Adolescent; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D007807:Language Tests; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011932:Reading; D013060:Speech / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
Mandarin Chinese; Phoneme; Speech production; Syllable; fMRI adaptation