The effect of altered auditory feedback on control of vocal production in budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus)

AbstractIn recent years, the effect of cognitive abilities on the achievements of cochlear implant (CI) users has been evaluated. Some studies have suggested that gaps between CI users and normal-hearing (NH) peers in cognitive tasks are modality specific, and occur only in auditory tasks.The present study focused on the effect of learning modality (auditory, visual) and auditory feedback on word memory in young adults who were prelingually deafened and received CIs before the age of 5 yr, and their NH peers.A production effect (PE) paradigm was used, in which participants learned familiar study words by vocal production (saying aloud) or by no-production (silent reading or listening). Words were presented (1) in the visual modality (written) and (2) in the auditory modality (heard). CI users performed the visual condition twice—once with the implant ON and once with it OFF. All conditions were followed by free recall tests.Twelve young adults, long-term CI users, implanted between ages 1.7 and 4.5 yr, and who showed ≥50% in monosyllabic consonant-vowel-consonant open-set test with their implants were enrolled. A group of 14 age-matched NH young adults served as the comparison group.For each condition, we calculated the proportion of study words recalled. Mixed-measures analysis of variances were carried out with group (NH, CI) as a between-subjects variable, and learning condition (aloud or silent reading) as a within-subject variable. Following this, paired sample t tests were used to evaluate the PE size (differences between aloud and silent words) and overall recall ratios (aloud and silent words combined) in each of the learning conditions.With visual word presentation, young adults with CIs (regardless of implant status CI-ON or CI-OFF), showed comparable memory performance (and a similar PE) to NH peers. However, with auditory presentation, young adults with CIs showed poorer memory for nonproduced words (hence a larger PE) relative to their NH peers.The results support the construct that young adults with CIs will benefit more from learning via the visual modality (reading), rather than the auditory modality (listening). Importantly, vocal production can largely improve auditory word memory, especially for the CI group.

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Event-related potential correlates of auditory feedback control of vocal production in experienced singers

Neuroreport ◽

10.1097/wnr.0000000000001410 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 31 (4) ◽

pp. 325-331

Author(s):

Xiuqin Wu ◽

Baofeng Zhang ◽

Lirao Wei ◽

Hanjun Liu ◽

Peng Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Feedback Control ◽

Auditory Feedback ◽

Event Related Potential ◽

Vocal Production ◽

Auditory Feedback Control

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Top–Down Inhibitory Mechanisms Underlying Auditory–Motor Integration for Voice Control: Evidence by TMS

Cerebral Cortex ◽

10.1093/cercor/bhaa054 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (8) ◽

pp. 4515-4527 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Dongxu Liu ◽

Guangyan Dai ◽

Churong Liu ◽

Zhiqiang Guo ◽

Zhiqin Xu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Auditory Feedback ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Event Related Potential ◽

Control Mechanisms ◽

Top Down ◽

Vocal Production ◽

Left Dlpfc ◽

Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽

Pitch Regulation ◽

Condition C

Abstract The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has been implicated in auditory–motor integration for accurate control of vocal production, but its precise role in this feedback-based process remains largely unknown. To this end, the present event-related potential study applied a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) protocol, continuous theta-burst stimulation (c-TBS), to disrupt cortical activity in the left DLPFC as young adults vocalized vowel sounds while hearing their voice unexpectedly shifted upwards in pitch. The results showed that, as compared to the sham condition, c-TBS over left DLPFC led to significantly larger vocal compensations for pitch perturbations that were accompanied by significantly smaller cortical P2 responses. Source localization analyses revealed that this brain activity pattern was the result of reduced activation in the left superior frontal gyrus and right inferior parietal lobule (supramarginal gyrus). These findings demonstrate c-TBS-induced modulatory effects of DLPFC on the neurobehavioral processing of vocal pitch regulation, suggesting that disrupting prefrontal function may impair top–down inhibitory control mechanisms that prevent speech production from being excessively influenced by auditory feedback, resulting in enhanced vocal compensations for feedback perturbations. This is the first study that provides direct evidence for a causal role of the left DLPFC in auditory feedback control of vocal production.

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Control of vocal production in budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus): selective reinforcement, call differentiation, and stimulus control

Behavioural Processes ◽

10.1016/s0376-6357(97)00041-7 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 41 (2) ◽

pp. 117-132 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Kazuchika Manabe ◽

Robert J. Dooling

Keyword(s):

Stimulus Control ◽

Melopsittacus Undulatus ◽

Vocal Production

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Speaking with an alien voice: Flexible sense of agency during vocal production

10.31234/osf.io/au9tp ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Matthias K. Franken ◽

Robert Hartsuiker ◽

Petter Johansson ◽

Lars Hall ◽

Andreas Lind

Keyword(s):

Auditory Feedback ◽

Sensory Feedback ◽

The Other ◽

Sense Of Agency ◽

Comparison Process ◽

Vocal Production ◽

Internal Representations ◽

Normal Voice ◽

Comparator Model ◽

Joint Contribution

Speakers monitor auditory feedback during speech production in order to correct for speech errors. The comparator model proposes that this process is supported by comparing sensory feedback to internal predictions of the sensory consequences of articulation. Additionally, this comparison process is proposed to support the sense of agency over vocal output. The current study tests this hypothesis by asking whether mismatching auditory feedback leads to a decrease in the sense of agency as measured by speakers’ responses to pitch-shifted feedback. Participants vocalized while auditory feedback was unexpectedly and briefly pitch-shifted. In addition, in one block, the entire vocalization’s pitch was baseline-shifted (‘alien voice’), while it was not in the other block (‘normal voice’). Participants compensated for the pitch shifts even in the alien voice condition, suggesting that agency was flexible. This is problematic for the classic comparator model, where a mismatching feedback would lead to a loss of agency. Alternative models are discussed in light of these findings, including an adapted comparator model and the inferential account, which suggests that agency is inferred from the joint contribution of several multisensory sources of evidence. Together, these findings suggest that internal representations of one’s own voice are more flexible than often assumed.

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Arousal elevation drives the development of oscillatory vocal output

10.1101/2021.12.13.472498 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yisi S Zhang ◽

John L Alvarez ◽

Asif A Ghazanfar

Keyword(s):

Auditory Feedback ◽

Feedback Loops ◽

Vocal Development ◽

Social Feedback ◽

Vocal Production ◽

Periodic Oscillations ◽

Temporal Regularity ◽

Motor Behaviors ◽

Marmoset Monkey ◽

Plausible Mechanism

Adult behaviors, such as vocal production, often exhibit temporal regularity. In contrast, their immature forms are more irregular. We ask whether the coupling of motor behaviors with arousal changes give rise to temporal regularity and drive the transition from variable to regular motor output over the course of development. We used marmoset monkey vocal production to explore this putative influence of arousal on the nonlinear changes in their developing vocal output patterns. Based on a detailed analysis of vocal and arousal dynamics in marmosets, we put forth a general model incorporating arousal and auditory-feedback loops for spontaneous vocal production. Using this model, we show that a stable oscillation can emerge as the baseline arousal increases, predicting the transition from stochastic to periodic oscillations occurring in marmoset vocal development. We further provide a solution for how this model can explain vocal development as the joint consequence of energetic growth and social feedback. Together, our model offers a plausible mechanism for the development of arousal-mediated adaptive behavior.

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