scholarly journals Neural basis of learning to perceive speech through touch using an acoustic-to-vibrotactile speech sensory substitution

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick S Malone ◽  
Silvio P Eberhardt ◽  
Edward T Auer ◽  
Richard Klein ◽  
Lynne E Bernstein ◽  
...  

The goal of sensory substitution is to convey the information transduced by one sensory system through a novel sensory modality. One example is vibrotactile (VT) speech, for which acoustic speech is transformed into vibrotactile patterns. Despite an almost century-long history of studying vibrotactile speech, there has been no study of the neural bases of VT speech learning. We here trained hearing adult participants to recognize VT speech syllables. Using fMRI, we showed that both somatosensory (left post-central gyrus) and auditory (right temporal lobe) regions acquire selectivity for VT speech stimuli following training. The right planum temporale in particular was selective for both VT and auditory speech. EEG source-estimated activity revealed temporal dynamics consistent with direct, low-latency engagement of right temporal lobe following activation of the left post-central gyrus. Our results suggest that VT speech learning achieves integration with the auditory speech system by piggybacking onto corresponding auditory speech representations.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zongxia Lv ◽  
Zirong Chen ◽  
Wei Ye ◽  
Xiaomin Pang ◽  
Liluo Nie ◽  
...  

Visuospatial working memory (VSWM) impairment is common in patients with right temporal lobe epilepsy (rTLE). The posterior hippocampus is critical for spatial memory, but the contributions of the different subfields to VSWM deficits remain unclear. Forty-six rTLE patients and 42 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. Resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI) and structural MRI scans were administered, followed by a VSWM_Nback test. The right posterior hippocampus was automatically segmented, and the surface-based functional connectivity (SBFC) of the subiculum (Sub), CA1, CA3, dentate gyrus (DG), hippocampal tail, and right entorhinal cortex (EC) were compared between groups. Correlation analysis was performed between the altered SBFC and VSWM_Nback scores for rTLE patients. The results showed that rTLE patients underperformed in the VSWM_Nback test, with longer mean reaction time of accurate response (ACCmeanRT) in 0back and 2back condition, lower hit rate (HR) and higher false alarm rate (FAR) in 2back condition. Compared with HCs, the rCA3 in the rTLE group exhibited decreased SBFC with inferior parietal cortex (IPC), temporal lateral cortex (TLC), and posterior visual cortex (PVC) in the right hemisphere as well as the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). The SBFC of the rEC and right anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) increased in the rTLE group. Within the rTLE group, the decreased SBFC of the rCA3-rIPC and rCA3-rLTC were correlated with worse VSWM performance. Therefore, the decreased SBFC of the rCA3-rIPC and rCA3-rLTC might be the critical aberrant FC pattern reflecting VSWM impairment in rTLE patients. The mechanism might involve functional disruption between the core subsystem and the medial temporal subsystem of the default mode network (DMN).


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meng Zhang ◽  
Li Wang ◽  
Feng Zou ◽  
Yufeng Wang ◽  
Xin Wu

Wason's selection task (WST) as a representative of the field of conditional proposition testing has been explored by multiple disciplines for more than 50 years, but the neural basis of its key falsification thinking remains unclear. Considering that the accuracy of individuals in WST has stability over time, we believe that falsification thinking has a specific brain structural basis and intrinsic neural characteristics. To test this hypothesis, we studied individuals who were able to complete the WST using T1-weighted MRI (using voxel-based morphology (VBM) analysis) and resting electroencephalogram (EEG) (using microstate analysis, which can reflect stable cognitive characteristics of individuals) techniques. First, VBM analysis found that, compared with the verification group, the gray matter volume (GMV) of the left inferior temporal gyrus and the right superior temporal region of the falsification group was larger, whereas the GMV in the cerebellum of the verification group was significantly larger than that of the falsification group. Subsequently, the results of the microstate analysis of the resting EEG data showed that the contribution of class A of the falsification group, which is closely related to the language network, is significantly higher than that of the verification group. Our structural MRI and resting EEG results consistently show that the structure and intrinsic activity pattern of the temporal lobe in individuals with falsification thinking are specific. Furthermore, the findings may provide potential insights into the role of the temporal lobe (which is also a brain region of language processing) in thought.


2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (07) ◽  
pp. 535-543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Nagle ◽  
Frank E. Musiek ◽  
Eric H. Kossoff ◽  
George Jallo ◽  
Dana Boatman-Reich

Background: The role of the right temporal lobe in processing speech is not well understood. Although the left temporal lobe has long been recognized as critical for speech perception, there is growing evidence for right hemisphere involvement. To investigate whether the right temporal lobe is critical for auditory speech processing, we studied prospectively a normal-hearing patient who underwent consecutive right temporal lobe resections for treatment of medically intractable seizures. Purpose: To test the hypothesis that the right temporal lobe is critical for auditory speech processing. Research Design: We used a prospective, repeated-measure, single-case design. Auditory processing was evaluated using behavioral tests of speech recognition (words, sentences) under multiple listening conditions (e.g., quiet, background noise, etc.). Auditory processing of nonspeech sounds was measured by pitch pattern sequencing and environmental sound recognition tasks. Data Collection: Repeat behavioral testing was performed at four time points over a 2 yr period: before and after consecutive right temporal lobe resection surgeries. Results: Before surgery, the patient demonstrated normal speech recognition in quiet and under real-world listening conditions (background noise, filtered speech). After the initial right anterior temporal resection, speech recognition scores declined under adverse listening conditions, especially for the left ear, but remained largely within normal limits. Following resection of the right superior temporal gyrus 1 yr later, speech recognition in quiet and nonspeech sound processing (pitch patterns, environmental sounds) remained intact. However, speech recognition under adverse listening conditions was severely impaired. Conclusions: The right superior temporal gyrus appears to be critical for auditory processing of speech under real-world listening conditions.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Proulx ◽  
David J. Brown ◽  
Tayfun Esenkaya ◽  
Jack Barnett Leveson ◽  
Orlin S. Todorov ◽  
...  

Visual-to-auditory sensory substitution devices (SSDs) provides improved access to the visual environment for the visually impaired by converting images into auditory information. Research is lacking on the mechanisms involved in processing data that is perceived through one sensory modality, but directly associated with a source in a different sensory modality. SSDs may be similar to reading, as an image (printed word) is converted into sound (when read aloud). Reading, and language more generally, are typically lateralised to the left cerebral hemisphere. Yet, unlike symbolic written language, SSDs convert images to sound based on visuospatial properties, with the right cerebral hemisphere potentially having a role in processing such visuospatial data. Here we investigated whether there is a hemispheric bias in the processing of visual-to-auditory sensory substitution information and whether that varies as a function of expertise and visual ability. We assessed the lateralisation of auditory processing with two tests: a standard dichotic listening test and a novel dichotic listening test created using the auditory information produced by an SSD, The vOICe. Although standard dichotic listening is lateralised to the left hemisphere, the auditory processing of images in SSDs is bilateral, possibly due to the increased influence of right hemisphere processing.


2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guido Gainotti

Abstract The target article carefully describes the memory system, centered on the temporal lobe that builds specific memory traces. It does not, however, mention the laterality effects that exist within this system. This commentary briefly surveys evidence showing that clear asymmetries exist within the temporal lobe structures subserving the core system and that the right temporal structures mainly underpin face familiarity feelings.


2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 135-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miroslaw Wyczesany ◽  
Szczepan J. Grzybowski ◽  
Jan Kaiser

Abstract. In the study, the neural basis of emotional reactivity was investigated. Reactivity was operationalized as the impact of emotional pictures on the self-reported ongoing affective state. It was used to divide the subjects into high- and low-responders groups. Independent sources of brain activity were identified, localized with the DIPFIT method, and clustered across subjects to analyse the visual evoked potentials to affective pictures. Four of the identified clusters revealed effects of reactivity. The earliest two started about 120 ms from the stimulus onset and were located in the occipital lobe and the right temporoparietal junction. Another two with a latency of 200 ms were found in the orbitofrontal and the right dorsolateral cortices. Additionally, differences in pre-stimulus alpha level over the visual cortex were observed between the groups. The attentional modulation of perceptual processes is proposed as an early source of emotional reactivity, which forms an automatic mechanism of affective control. The role of top-down processes in affective appraisal and, finally, the experience of ongoing emotional states is also discussed.


2021 ◽  
pp. 251660852098429
Author(s):  
Dorcas B. C. Gandhi ◽  
Ivy Anne Sebastian ◽  
Komal Bhanot

Sensory dysfunction is one of the common impairments that occurs post stroke. With sensory changes in all modalities, it also affects the quality of life and incites suicidal thoughts. The article attempts to review and describe the current evidence of various approaches of assessment and rehabilitation for post-stroke sensory dysfunction. After extensive electronic database search across Medline, Embase, EBSCO, and Cochrane library, it generated 2433 results. After screening according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, we included 11 studies. We categorized data based on type of sensory deficits and prevalence, role of sensory system on motor behavior, type of intervention, sensory modality targeted, and dosage of intervention and outcome measures used for rehabilitation. Results found the strong evidence of involvement of primary and secondary motor areas involved in processing and responding to somatosensation, respectively. We divided rehabilitation approaches into sensory stimulation approach and sensory retraining approach focused on using external stimuli and relearning, respectively. However, with varied aims and targeted sensory involvement, the study applicability is affected. Thus, this emerges the need of extensive research in future for evidence-based practice of assessments and rehabilitation on post-stroke sensory rehabilitation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacques Pesnot Lerousseau ◽  
Gabriel Arnold ◽  
Malika Auvray

AbstractSensory substitution devices aim at restoring visual functions by converting visual information into auditory or tactile stimuli. Although these devices show promise in the range of behavioral abilities they allow, the processes underlying their use remain underspecified. In particular, while an initial debate focused on the visual versus auditory or tactile nature of sensory substitution, since over a decade, the idea that it reflects a mixture of both has emerged. In order to investigate behaviorally the extent to which visual and auditory processes are involved, participants completed a Stroop-like crossmodal interference paradigm before and after being trained with a conversion device which translates visual images into sounds. In addition, participants' auditory abilities and their phenomenologies were measured. Our study revealed that, after training, when asked to identify sounds, processes shared with vision were involved, as participants’ performance in sound identification was influenced by the simultaneously presented visual distractors. In addition, participants’ performance during training and their associated phenomenology depended on their auditory abilities, revealing that processing finds its roots in the input sensory modality. Our results pave the way for improving the design and learning of these devices by taking into account inter-individual differences in auditory and visual perceptual strategies.


2020 ◽  
pp. 108705472096456
Author(s):  
Yue Yang ◽  
Gang Peng ◽  
Hongwu Zeng ◽  
Diangang Fang ◽  
Linlin Zhang ◽  
...  

Objective: The present study aimed to examine the effects of SNAP25 on the integration ability of intrinsic brain functions in children with ADHD, and whether the integration ability was associated with working memory (WM). Methods: A sliding time window method was used to calculate the spatial and temporal concordance among five rs-fMRI regional indices in 55 children with ADHD and 20 healthy controls. Results: The SNAP25 exhibited significant interaction effects with ADHD diagnosis on the voxel-wise concordance in the right posterior central gyrus, fusiform gyrus and lingual gyrus. Specifically, for children with ADHD, G-carriers showed increased voxel-wise concordance in comparison to TT homozygotes in the right precentral gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, postcentral gyrus, and middle frontal gyrus. The voxel-wise concordance was also found to be related to WM. Conclusion: Our findings provided a new insight into the neural mechanisms of the brain function of ADHD children.


2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1923) ◽  
pp. 20192765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tabashir Chowdhury ◽  
Ryan M. Calhoun ◽  
Katrina Bruch ◽  
Amanda J. Moehring

Female mate rejection acts as a major selective force within species, and can serve as a reproductive barrier between species. In spite of its critical role in fitness and reproduction, surprisingly little is known about the genetic or neural basis of variation in female mate choice. Here, we identify fruitless as a gene affecting female receptivity within Drosophila melanogaster , as well as female Drosophila simulans rejection of male D. melanogaster . Of the multiple transcripts this gene produces, by far the most widely studied is the sex-specifically spliced transcript involved in the sex determination pathway. However, we find that female rejection behaviour is affected by a non-sex-specifically spliced fruitless transcript. This is the first implication of fruitless in female behaviour, and the first behavioural role identified for a fruitless non-sex-specifically spliced transcript. We found that this locus does not influence preferences via a single sensory modality, examining courtship song, antennal pheromone perception, or perception of substrate vibrations, and we conclude that fruitless influences mate choice via the integration of multiple signals or through another sensory modality.


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