Neural dynamics of speech and non-speech motor planning

As the speech apparatus is also involved in producing non-speech movements, understanding whether speech and non-speech planning are controlled by the same brain mechanisms is central to the comprehension of motor speech planning. A crucial issue is whether a specialized motor planning/control system is dedicated to speech or if the motor planning/control system is shared across oromotor behaviors. We investigated the EEG/ERP spatio-temporal dynamics of the motor planning processes preceding articulation by comparing the production of non-speech gestures matched to monosyllabic words and non-words. To isolate motor from pre-motor planning, we used a delayed production task combined with an articulatory suppression task. Results suggest that the planning processes preceding articulation for non-speech, words and non-words recruit the same neural networks but with different involvement for non-speech and speech. The results support the idea of shared motor planning/control systems for speech and non-speech but with different dynamics for each oromotor behavior.