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Updated: Aug 10, 2026

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
Published on: July 1, 2015
A new model of sensorimotor coupling in the development of speech
Gert Westermann1, Eduardo Reck Miranda
1Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, School of Psychology, Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX, UK. gwestermann@brookes.ac.uk
Abstract:
We present a computational model that learns a coupling between motor parameters and their sensory consequences in vocal production during a babbling phase. Based on the coupling, preferred motor parameters and prototypically perceived sounds develop concurrently. Exposure to an ambient language modifies perception to coincide with the sounds from the language. The model develops motor mirror neurons that are active when an external sound is perceived. An extension to visual mirror neurons for oral gestures is suggested.
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