Speech Kinematics and Perioral Muscle Activity Are Influenced by Stroop Effects

Area of Science:

• Cognitive neuroscience
• Speech science
• Linguistics

Background:

• Cognitive-linguistic tasks, such as the Stroop task, are used to study executive functions and interference.
• Speech kinematics and muscle activation provide insights into the motor control of speech production.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of the Stroop task and a primed Stroop task on speech kinematics and perioral muscle activation.
• To understand the relationship between cognitive-linguistic interference and motor speech control.

Main Methods:

• Collected acoustic, kinematic, and surface electromyographic data from 30 healthy young adults.
• Utilized choice response, classic Stroop, and primed Stroop tasks with congruent and incongruent trials.
• Standardized response options (color words: red, green, black) for consistent performance comparison.

Main Results:

• Incongruent trials in Stroop tasks significantly increased upper lip muscle activation during response selection.
• Primed Stroop tasks showed greater spatial variation in lip and jaw movements for spoken responses.
• Incongruent trials in both Stroop tasks led to longer response times, confirming expected interference effects.

Conclusions:

• Central cognitive-linguistic interference may impair peripheral speech motor control.
• Findings suggest a link between higher-level cognitive processes and the physical execution of speech.
• Future research should examine these effects in older adults and individuals with motor speech disorders.