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Is the Sensorimotor Cortex Relevant for Speech Perception and Understanding? An Integrative Review
Malte R Schomers1, Friedemann Pulvermüller1
1Brain Language Laboratory, Department of Philosophy and Humanities, Freie Universität BerlinBerlin, Germany; Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu BerlinBerlin, Germany.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
|October 7, 2016
Summary
The brain processes speech sounds (phonemes) using both auditory and sensorimotor regions. Methodological improvements reveal sensorimotor cortex plays a causal role in speech perception and language understanding.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience of Language
- Auditory and Speech Processing
Background:
- Phoneme representation is debated: multimodal (auditory/sensorimotor) vs. acoustic-only (temporal).
- Previous studies show mixed results regarding sensorimotor cortex involvement in phoneme perception.
Approach:
- Reviewed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies.
- Analyzed methodological factors influencing sensorimotor cortex mapping of phonological information.
- Highlighted studies using sparse imaging, passive perception, and representational similarity analysis (RSA).
Key Points:
- Acoustic and motor noise can obscure sensorimotor contributions to phoneme processing.
- Advanced analysis techniques (MVPA, RSA) successfully separated acoustic-phonological from general-acoustic processes.
- Phonological information is mapped onto temporal and frontoparietal regions.
Conclusions:
- Frontoparietal cortices, including motor and somatosensory areas, reflect phonological information during speech perception.
- Sensorimotor cortex exerts a causal influence on language understanding.
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