Abstract
How the brain encodes the speech acoustic signal into phonological representations is a fundamental question for the neurobiology of language. Determining whether this process is characterized by tonotopic maps in primary or secondary auditory areas, with bilateral or leftward activity, remains a long-standing challenge. Magnetoencephalographic studies failed to show hierarchical and asymmetric hints for speech processing. We employed high-density electroencephalography to map the Salento Italian vowel system onto cortical sources using the N1 auditory evoked component. We found evidence that the N1 is characterized by hierarchical and asymmetrical indexes in primary and secondary auditory areas structuring vowel representations. Importantly, the N1 was characterized by early and late phases. The early N1 peaked at 125–135 msec and was localized in the primary auditory cortex; the late N1 peaked at 145–155 msec and was localized in the left superior temporal gyrus. We showed that early in the primary auditory cortex, the cortical spatial arrangements—along the lateral-medial and anterior-posterior gradients—are broadly warped by phonemotopic patterns according to the distinctive feature principle. These phonemotopic patterns are carefully refined in the superior temporal gyrus along the inferior-superior and anterior-posterior gradients. The dynamical and hierarchical interface between primary and secondary auditory areas and the interaction effects between Height and Place features generate the categorical representation of the Salento Italian vowels.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 385-398 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Cortex |
| Volume | 121 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2019 |
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Keywords
- Distinctive features
- Electroencephalography
- N1
- Primary auditory cortex
- Superior temporal gyrus
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
- Cognitive Neuroscience
Cite this
Electrophysiological evidence of phonemotopic representations of vowels in the primary and secondary auditory cortex. / Manca, Anna Dora; Di Russo, Francesco; Sigona, Francesco; Grimaldi, Mirko.
In: Cortex, Vol. 121, 12.2019, p. 385-398.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Electrophysiological evidence of phonemotopic representations of vowels in the primary and secondary auditory cortex
AU - Manca, Anna Dora
AU - Di Russo, Francesco
AU - Sigona, Francesco
AU - Grimaldi, Mirko
PY - 2019/12
Y1 - 2019/12
N2 - How the brain encodes the speech acoustic signal into phonological representations is a fundamental question for the neurobiology of language. Determining whether this process is characterized by tonotopic maps in primary or secondary auditory areas, with bilateral or leftward activity, remains a long-standing challenge. Magnetoencephalographic studies failed to show hierarchical and asymmetric hints for speech processing. We employed high-density electroencephalography to map the Salento Italian vowel system onto cortical sources using the N1 auditory evoked component. We found evidence that the N1 is characterized by hierarchical and asymmetrical indexes in primary and secondary auditory areas structuring vowel representations. Importantly, the N1 was characterized by early and late phases. The early N1 peaked at 125–135 msec and was localized in the primary auditory cortex; the late N1 peaked at 145–155 msec and was localized in the left superior temporal gyrus. We showed that early in the primary auditory cortex, the cortical spatial arrangements—along the lateral-medial and anterior-posterior gradients—are broadly warped by phonemotopic patterns according to the distinctive feature principle. These phonemotopic patterns are carefully refined in the superior temporal gyrus along the inferior-superior and anterior-posterior gradients. The dynamical and hierarchical interface between primary and secondary auditory areas and the interaction effects between Height and Place features generate the categorical representation of the Salento Italian vowels.
AB - How the brain encodes the speech acoustic signal into phonological representations is a fundamental question for the neurobiology of language. Determining whether this process is characterized by tonotopic maps in primary or secondary auditory areas, with bilateral or leftward activity, remains a long-standing challenge. Magnetoencephalographic studies failed to show hierarchical and asymmetric hints for speech processing. We employed high-density electroencephalography to map the Salento Italian vowel system onto cortical sources using the N1 auditory evoked component. We found evidence that the N1 is characterized by hierarchical and asymmetrical indexes in primary and secondary auditory areas structuring vowel representations. Importantly, the N1 was characterized by early and late phases. The early N1 peaked at 125–135 msec and was localized in the primary auditory cortex; the late N1 peaked at 145–155 msec and was localized in the left superior temporal gyrus. We showed that early in the primary auditory cortex, the cortical spatial arrangements—along the lateral-medial and anterior-posterior gradients—are broadly warped by phonemotopic patterns according to the distinctive feature principle. These phonemotopic patterns are carefully refined in the superior temporal gyrus along the inferior-superior and anterior-posterior gradients. The dynamical and hierarchical interface between primary and secondary auditory areas and the interaction effects between Height and Place features generate the categorical representation of the Salento Italian vowels.
KW - Distinctive features
KW - Electroencephalography
KW - N1
KW - Primary auditory cortex
KW - Superior temporal gyrus
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85074161235&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85074161235&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.09.016
DO - 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.09.016
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85074161235
VL - 121
SP - 385
EP - 398
JO - Cortex
JF - Cortex
SN - 0010-9452
ER -