Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 21, 2026

Memorization-Based Training and Testing Paradigm for Robust Vocal Identity Recognition in Expressive Speech Using Event-Related Potentials Analysis
Published on: August 9, 2024
Neural bases of talker normalization
Patrick C M Wong1, Howard C Nusbaum, Steven L Small
1University of Chicago, IL, USA. pwong@northwestern.edu
Abstract:
To recognize phonemes across variation in talkers, listeners can use information about vocal characteristics, a process referred to as "talker normalization." The present study investigates the cortical mechanisms underlying talker normalization using fMRI. Listeners recognized target words presented in either a spoken list produced by a single talker or a mix of different talkers. It was found that both conditions activate an extensive cortical network. However, recognizing words in the mixed-talker condition, relative to the blocked-talker condition, activated middle/superior temporal and superior parietal regions to a greater degree. This temporal-parietal network is possibly associated with selectively attending and processing spectral and spatial acoustic cues required in recognizing speech in a mixed-talker condition.
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