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Neural-Behavioral Relation in Phonetic Discrimination Modulated by Language Background.

Tian Christina Zhao1,2

  • 1Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.

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|April 21, 2022
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Summary

Listeners better distinguish native language sounds. This study found that while English speakers showed poorer discrimination and broader brain responses to a Spanish sound, Spanish speakers showed a link between discrimination ability and brain response. This suggests different neural mechanisms for processing non-native speech sounds.

Keywords:
individual differenceslinguistic experiencemagnetoencephalographymismatch responsespeech perception

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Linguistics
  • Psychology

Background:

  • Listeners exhibit superior discrimination of native phonetic contrasts compared to non-native ones.
  • Neuroimaging studies using mismatch negativity/response (MMN/R) show neural differences in processing native versus non-native speech sounds.
  • Direct correlations between behavioral discrimination and MMN/R are infrequently reported.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between behavioral phonetic discrimination and neural responses (MMR) in native English and Spanish speakers.
  • To examine how a non-native speech contrast (Spanish VOT) is processed by native speakers of English and Spanish.
  • To explore individual differences in the neural mechanisms of speech sound discrimination.

Main Methods:

  • A behavioral discrimination task measuring sensitivity (d') to a voice-onset-time (VOT) contrast.
  • Magnetoencephalography (MEG) recording to measure the mismatch response (MMR) to the same VOT contrast.
  • Comparison of behavioral and neural data between 15 native English speakers and 15 native Spanish speakers.

Main Results:

  • Native English speakers demonstrated lower behavioral sensitivity (d') and a more expansive MMR to the non-native contrast compared to native Spanish speakers.
  • Native Spanish speakers showed significantly better behavioral discrimination of the VOT contrast.
  • A significant correlation between behavioral sensitivity and MMR was found only in the native Spanish speaker group.

Conclusions:

  • Behavioral and neural responses to speech contrasts differ between native and non-native language groups.
  • The relationship between behavioral discrimination and neural processing (MMR) may be language-specific.
  • Individual differences in neural mechanisms underlie behavioral performance in speech sound discrimination across different language backgrounds.