Is voice processing species-specific in human auditory cortex? An fMRI study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Auditory Processing
• Human-Animal Communication

Background:

• The human superior temporal sulcus (STS) is implicated in processing vocalizations.
• The species specificity of STS responses to vocalizations remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the species specificity of human STS responses to vocalizations.
• To compare neural responses to human versus animal vocalizations.

Main Methods:

• Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used.
• Healthy adult volunteers were scanned while listening to human vocalizations, animal vocalizations, and nonvocal sounds.

Main Results:

• Bilateral activation of the anterior STS was observed for human vocalizations compared to nonvocal and animal sounds.
• Animal vocalizations elicited a more restricted left STS activation, which also responded more strongly to human vocalizations.

Conclusions:

• The findings suggest species specificity in human STS responses to vocalizations.
• The STS demonstrates a preferential response to human vocalizations over animal vocalizations.