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Updated: May 7, 2026
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Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
Published on: July 1, 2015
Neural dynamics of phonological processing in the dorsal auditory stream
Einat Liebenthal1, Merav Sabri, Scott A Beardsley
1Department of Neurology, and Clinical Translational Science Institute, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201, and Department of Psychiatry, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467.
Summary
The dorsal auditory pathway involves an interactive network for phonological processing, with somatomotor areas influencing perception early. This suggests functional specialization, not just auditory input, drives lateralization in this crucial speech processing pathway.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Auditory Processing
- Speech Perception
Background:
- Neuroanatomical models propose the dorsal auditory pathway is a feedforward system for phonological processing.
- The precise temporal dynamics and hemispheric lateralization within this pathway remain largely uncharacterized.
- Understanding these aspects is crucial for elucidating the neural basis of speech comprehension.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the functional organization and temporal dynamics of the human dorsal auditory pathway during phonological processing.
- To determine the interplay between auditory, somatosensory, and motor regions and their hemispheric lateralization patterns.
- To explore the influence of articulatory somatomotor areas on phonemic perception.
Main Methods:
- Utilized ambiguous duplex syllables with varying interaural asynchronies to modulate phonological processing.
- Collected concurrent event-related potentials (ERPs) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data.
- Applied joint independent component analysis (jICA) for high spatiotemporal resolution analysis of neural activity.
Main Results:
- Identified a highly interactive network involving posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG), inferior parietal lobule (IPL), and ventral central sulcus (vCS).
- These regions engaged early (80-100 ms), suggesting direct somatomotor influence on phonemic perception.
- Left hemispheric lateralization appeared earlier in IPL and vCS (250 ms) than in pSTG, indicating somatomotor specialization drives lateralization.
Conclusions:
- The dorsal auditory pathway is a dynamic, interactive network, not merely a feedforward system.
- Somatomotor areas play a critical role in phonological processing and determine hemispheric lateralization.
- Temporal dynamics are essential for understanding the neural circuits underlying complex auditory behaviors like speech perception.
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