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Responses to Auditory Feedback Manipulations in Speech May Be Affected by Previous Exposure to Auditory Errors
Caroline A Niziolek1, Benjamin Parrell1
1Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research : JSLHR
|March 11, 2021
Summary
Speakers adjust their speech based on auditory feedback, but how much they compensate for errors varies. This study suggests the brain may adjust speech compensation based on the perceived reliability of auditory feedback, though results require cautious interpretation.
Area of Science:
- Speech production
- Auditory feedback
- Sensorimotor control
Background:
- Individuals exhibit varying compensatory responses to auditory feedback errors during speech.
- Factors influencing the magnitude and flexibility of these compensatory responses remain largely unknown.
- Optimal sensorimotor control models predict that feedback reliability influences compensation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if manipulating the perceived reliability of auditory feedback affects speakers' compensation to auditory perturbations.
- To test predictions from optimal sensorimotor control models regarding feedback reliability and speech compensation.
Main Methods:
- Forty participants produced monosyllabic words in two sessions: one with veridical (normal) auditory feedback and one with noisy (less reliable) feedback during an exposure phase.
- A subsequent test phase in each session introduced larger, unpredictable formant perturbations.
- The magnitude of within-trial compensation for these perturbations was compared across the two feedback reliability conditions.
Main Results:
- Compensatory responses to downward formant perturbations were significantly larger in the veridical feedback session compared to the noisy feedback session.
- No significant difference in compensation was observed for upward formant perturbations.
- Post hoc analyses revealed that the magnitude of this effect was highly dependent on the chosen analysis procedures, and compensation magnitude did not correlate reliably across sessions.
Conclusions:
- The findings offer tentative support for the hypothesis that the auditory-motor feedback control system monitors sensory feedback reliability.
- However, the results must be interpreted with caution due to the observed dependency of compensation measures on analysis choices and session variability.
- Further research is needed to clarify the stability and reliability of auditory feedback compensation measures.
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