Task-induced asymmetry of the auditory evoked M100 neuromagnetic field elicited by speech sounds

The auditory evoked neuromagnetic fields elicited by synthesized speech sounds (consonant-vowel syllables) were recorded in six subjects over the left and right temporal cortices using a 37-channel SQUID-based magnetometer. The latencies and amplitudes of the peaks of the M100 evoked responses were bilaterally symmetric for passively presented stimuli. In contrast, when subjects were asked to discriminate among the same syllabic stimuli, the amplitude of the M100 increased in the left and decreased in the right temporal cortices. Single equivalent current dipole modeling of the activity elicited by all stimulus-types localized to a well-circumscribed area in supratemporal auditory cortex. The results suggest that attentional modulation affects the two supratemporal cortices in a differential manner. Task-conditioned attention to speech sounds is reflected in lateralized supratemporal cortical responses possibly concordant with hemispheric language dominance.