Neural tracking of continuous acoustics: properties, speech‐specificity and open questions

European Journal of Neuroscience, Journal Year: 2023, Volume and Issue: 59(3), P. 394 - 414

Published: Dec. 27, 2023

Abstract Human speech is a particularly relevant acoustic stimulus for our species, due to its role of information transmission during communication. Speech inherently dynamic signal, and recent line research focused on neural activity following the temporal structure speech. We review findings that characterise dynamics in processing continuous acoustics allow us compare these with aspects human highlight properties constraints both have, suggesting auditory systems are optimised process then discuss speech‐specificity their potential mechanistic origins summarise open questions field.

Language: Английский

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Attention-Driven Modulation of Auditory Cortex Activity during Selective Listening in a Multispeaker Setting

Journal of Neuroscience, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 44(15), P. e1157232023 - e1157232023

Published: Feb. 22, 2024

Real-world listening settings often consist of multiple concurrent sound streams. To limit perceptual interference during selective listening, the auditory system segregates and filters relevant sensory input. Previous work provided evidence that cortex is critically involved in this process selectively gates attended input toward subsequent processing stages. We studied at which level filtering information occurs using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) a naturalistic task. Forty-five human listeners (of either sex) to one two continuous speech streams, presented concurrently or isolation. Functional data were analyzed an inter-subject analysis assess stimulus-specific components ongoing activity. Our results suggest stimulus-related activity primary adjacent planum temporale are hardly affected by attention, whereas brain responses higher stages hierarchy become progressively more for Consistent with these findings, complementary stimulus-driven connectivity further demonstrated on to-be-ignored stream shared between but largely fails reach findings neural ignored cannot be effectively suppressed early cortical acoustic features gradually attenuated once competing streams fully segregated.

Language: Английский

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Attentional inhibition by alpha power is modulated by faster theta rhythm and audio-visual congruency during natural speech perception

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: unknown

Published: Feb. 27, 2024

Abstract Audio-visual processing is an essential aspect of human communication, however the mechanisms that underlie attention and in auditory visual domains are still limited. In order to understand how brain attends processes information while ignoring irrelevant information, we employed a complex audio-visual paradigm monitors integrates congruent incongruent conditions. three conditions, participants watched Ted Talk presentation listening 1) audio both ears, 2) one ear other (attending congruent) or 3) incongruent). investigate correlates processing, developed novel method detecting congruency fluctuation rhythms alpha power during each condition. Employing this method, found higher frequency fluctuation, falling delta-theta range, corresponded regionally side attention, suggesting mechanism alpha-band activity may act as temporal filter attentional attention.

Language: Английский

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How the Listener’s Attention Dynamically Switches Between Different Speakers During a Natural Conversation

Psychological Science, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 35(6), P. 635 - 652

Published: April 24, 2024

The neural mechanisms underpinning the dynamic switching of a listener’s attention between speakers are not well understood. Here we addressed this issue in natural conversation involving 21 triadic adult groups. Results showed that when dynamically switched speakers, synchronization with to-be-attended speaker was significantly enhanced, whereas to-be-ignored suppressed. Along switching, semantic distances sentences increased speech. Moreover, negatively correlated increase distance but acoustic change However, no difference found listener and two during phase sustained attention. These findings support attenuation model attention, indicating both speech signals processed beyond basic physical level. Additionally, shifting imposes cognitive burden, as demonstrated by opposite fluctuations interpersonal synchronization.

Language: Английский

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Working memory asymmetrically modulates auditory and linguistic processing of speech

NeuroImage, Journal Year: 2022, Volume and Issue: 264, P. 119698 - 119698

Published: Oct. 18, 2022

Working memory load can modulate speech perception. However, since perception and working are both complex functions, it remains elusive how each component of the system interacts with processing stage. To investigate this issue, we concurrently measure modulates neural activity tracking three levels linguistic units, i.e., syllables, phrases, sentences, using a multiscale frequency-tagging approach. Participants engage in sentence comprehension task is manipulated by asking them to memorize either auditory verbal sequences or visual patterns. It found that similar manners: Higher attenuates phrases sentences but enhances syllables. Since WM similarly influence responses speech, such influences may derive from domain-general system. More importantly, asymmetrically lower-level encoding higher-level possibly reflecting reallocation attention induced mnemonic load.

Language: Английский

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