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Related Concept Videos

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

Language is a system of communication that allows the expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings. The brain processes language in both hemispheres.
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...

Hearing

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When we hear a sound, our nervous system is detecting sound waves—pressure waves of mechanical energy traveling through a medium. The frequency of the wave is perceived as pitch, while the amplitude is perceived as loudness.

The Cochlea

The Cochlea

The cochlea is a coiled structure in the inner ear that contains hair cells—the sensory receptors of the auditory system. Sound waves are transmitted to the cochlea by small bones attached to the eardrum called the ossicles, which vibrate the oval window that leads to the inner ear. This causes fluid in the chambers of the cochlea to move, vibrating the basilar membrane.

Auditory Pathway

Auditory Pathway

Auditory pathways constitute the complex neural circuits responsible for transmitting and interpreting auditory information from the peripheral auditory system to the brain. Sound waves are initially captured by the outer ear, funneled through the ear canal, and reach the tympanic membrane (eardrum). These vibrations are transmitted via the middle ear's ossicles to the inner ear's cochlea.
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking the...

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The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same frequency...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 7, 2026

fMRI Mapping of Brain Activity Associated with the Vocal Production of Consonant and Dissonant Intervals

fMRI Mapping of Brain Activity Associated with the Vocal Production of Consonant and Dissonant Intervals

Published on: May 23, 2017

Brain activation for consonants and vowels.

Manuel Carreiras¹, Cathy J Price

¹Instituto de Tecnologías Biomédicas, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, 38205, Spain. mcarreir@ull.es

Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)

|February 1, 2008

Summary

This study reveals that how the brain processes vowels and consonants depends on the task. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) showed distinct neural activity for vowel versus consonant changes during reading aloud and lexical decision tasks.

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Psycholinguistics
Neuroimaging

Background:

Previous research indicates a dissociation between the processing of vowels and consonants.
The neural underpinnings and task-dependency of these processing differences remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if differences in vowel and consonant processing are reflected in neural activation patterns using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
To determine if these neural differences are modulated by specific cognitive tasks.

Main Methods:

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed to measure brain activity.
Participants performed two tasks: reading aloud and lexical decision.
Stimuli included visually presented pseudowords with manipulated vowels or consonants.

Main Results:

During reading aloud, vowel manipulation increased activation in the right middle temporal area (prosodic processing).
During lexical decision, consonant manipulation increased activation in the right middle frontal area (response inhibition).
Task-specific activation patterns highlight that differences are at the processing level, not the stimulus level.

Conclusions:

Vowel processing engages prosodic mechanisms during speech output self-monitoring.
Consonant processing relies more on lexico-semantic evaluation and response inhibition, particularly when rejecting word-like nonwords.
Findings support differential demands of vowels and consonants on prosodic and lexico-semantic systems, respectively.