Sensitivity of the gamma band auditory steady state response to linguistic features of a stimulus.
Recent work has found differences in lateralization of gamma band auditory steady state response power (?-aSSR) in temporo-parietal areas to speech vs. non-speech stim- uli, based on differences in “meaningfulness” (Deng & Srinivasan, 2009). To investigate sensitivity of ?-aSSR to linguistic features of a stimulus, EEG data was collected from six participants in response to 40Hz amplitude-modulated speech, jabberwocky, reversed speech and spectrally-rotated (“unintelligible”) speech. Significance tests were conducted for the four conditions, within and across-hemisphere. Additionally, correlational analysis of stimulus speech envelope and EEG output will be conducted. Initial results indicate overall right-lateralization, and additional left-hemisphere distinction by condition.