title: Paradoxical vocal changes in a trained singer by focally cooling the right superior temporal gyrus.
abstract: The production and perception of music is preferentially mediated by cortical areas within the right hemisphere, but little is known about how these brain regions individually contribute to this process. In an experienced singer undergoing awake craniotomy, we demonstrated that direct electrical stimulation to a portion of the right posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG) selectively interrupted singing but not speaking. We then focally cooled this region to modulate its activity during vocalization. In contrast to similar manipulations in left hemisphere speech production regions, pSTG cooling did not elicit any changes in vocal timing or quality. However, this manipulation led to an increase in the pitch of speaking with no such change in singing. Further analysis revealed that all vocalizations exhibited a cooling-induced increase in the frequency of the first formant, raising the possibility that potential pitch offsets may have been actively avoided during singing. Our results suggest that the right pSTG plays a key role in vocal sensorimotor processing whose impact is dependent on the type of vocalization produced.
authors.affiliation: NYU Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA; Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Kalman A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Katlowitz
authors.affiliation: Human Brain Research Lab, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Oya
authors.affiliation: Human Brain Research Lab, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
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, USA.
authors.forename: Jeremy D W
authors.initials: JDW
authors.lastname: Greenlee
authors.affiliation: NYU Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA; Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address: mlong@med.nyu.edu.
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Long
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003080:Cold Temperature; D003399:Craniotomy; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D063346:Singing; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000502:physiology* / Q000601:surgery; D014831:Voice / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Electrical stimulation mapping; Sensorimotor; Temperature; Vocal production