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Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
Published on: July 1, 2015
MEG correlates of categorical perception of a voice onset time continuum in humans
P G Simos1, R L Diehl, J I Breier
1Department of Neurosurgery, The University of Texas-Houston Medical School, 6431 Fannin Suite 7.148, Houston, 77030, TX, USA. asimos@heart.med.uth.tmc.edu
Abstract:
Event-related magnetic fields (ERFs) were recorded from the left hemisphere in nine normal volunteers in response to four consonant-vowel (CV) syllables varying in voice-onset time (VOT). CVs with VOT values of 0 and +20 ms were perceived as /ga/ and those with VOT values of +40 and +60 ms as /ka/. Results showed: (1) a displacement of the N1m peak equivalent current dipole toward more medial locations; and (2) an abrupt reduction in peak magnetic flux strength, as VOT values increased from +20 to +40 ms. No systematic differences were noted between the 0 and +20 ms stimuli or between the +40 and +60 ms CVs. The findings are in agreement with the results of multiunit invasive recordings in non-human primates regarding the spatial and temporal pattern of neuronal population responses in the human auditory cortex which could serve as neural cues for the perception of voicing contrasts.
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