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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations

Published on: July 1, 2015

Spatiotemporal dynamics of audiovisual speech processing.

Lynne E Bernstein¹, Edward T Auer, Michael Wagner

¹Communication Neuroscience Department, House Ear Institute, 2100 W. Third St., Los Angeles, CA 90057, USA. lbernstein@hei.org

|October 9, 2007

Summary

This study used electroencephalography (EEG) to map audiovisual speech processing. Findings reveal early simultaneous brain activations and suggest the supramarginal and angular gyrus (SMG/AG) may be key for integrating multisensory speech signals.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Science
Auditory and Visual Processing

Background:

Cortical processing of speech is complex, involving distributed temporal and spatial dynamics.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has limitations in resolving the rapid temporal aspects of this processing.
Understanding the spatiotemporal organization of audiovisual speech circuits is crucial for cognitive neuroscience.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the spatiotemporal organization of audiovisual speech processing circuits.
To explore the neural dynamics underlying the integration of auditory and visual speech information.
To identify brain regions involved in multisensory speech perception using high temporal resolution methods.

Main Methods:

Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded using electroencephalography (EEG).
Stimuli included congruent and incongruent audiovisual speech, as well as auditory-only and visual-only speech.
Current density reconstructions (CDRs) were computed for ERP data from 50-250 ms latency.

Main Results:

Complex spatiotemporal activation patterns were observed, differing across stimulus conditions.
Early (<100 ms) simultaneous activations occurred in the supramarginal and angular gyrus (SMG/AG), intraparietal sulcus (IPS), inferior frontal gyrus, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
Emergent left hemisphere SMG/AG activation was noted around 160-220 ms for audiovisual conditions, distinct from unisensory processing.

Conclusions:

The superior temporal sulcus (STS) was not the earliest or most prominent integration site.
The findings challenge traditional models by highlighting early widespread activation and later SMG/AG involvement.
Late SMG/AG activity under audiovisual conditions presents a potential candidate for audiovisual speech integration.