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Cortical contribution related to top-down regulation in tone perception
Xiaotong Zhang1, Yuting Tang1, Houmin Wang2
1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong China.
Top-down regulation enhances speech perception efficiency by synchronizing brain regions. This study reveals how semantic priming influences Mandarin tone processing and its neural pathways, impacting brain connectivity.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Psycholinguistics
Background:
- Top-down regulation enhances speech perception via theta-band synchronization.
- The impact of top-down regulation on tone processing and its neural pathways is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how top-down regulation affects Mandarin Chinese tone processing.
- To identify the specific functional pathways involved in top-down regulation of tone perception.
Main Methods:
- Utilized three auditory oddball paradigms with varying prior constraints in Mandarin speakers.
- Measured P3 amplitude differences to assess tone processing efficiency.
- Analyzed theta-band functional connectivity (FC) at the source level.
Main Results:
- Top-down regulation, particularly semantic priming, reduced P3 amplitude differences, indicating modulated tone processing.
- Semantic-driven top-down regulation enhanced FC between the left caudal middle frontal gyrus and phonetic processing areas.
- Semantic violation led to increased FC between the left pars triangularis/supramarginal gyrus and phonetic areas.
Conclusions:
- Top-down regulation significantly impacts the efficiency of tone perception.
- Specific neural pathways are recruited for semantic-driven and semantically violated top-down regulation of tone processing.
- This research offers neurophysiological insights into the cognitive mechanisms of speech perception.
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