The role of the auditory brainstem in processing linguistically-relevant pitch patterns. Krishnan, A. & Gandour, J. T. Brain and Language, May, 2009.
Paper doi abstract bibtex Historically, the brainstem has been neglected as a part of the brain involved in language processing. We review recent evidence of language-dependent effects in pitch processing based on comparisons of native vs. nonnative speakers of a tonal language from electrophysiological recordings in the auditory brainstem. We argue that there is enhancing of linguistically-relevant pitch dimensions or features well before the auditory signal reaches the cerebral cortex. We propose that long-term experience with a tone language sharpens the tuning characteristics of neurons along the pitch axis with enhanced sensitivity to linguistically-relevant, rapidly changing sections of pitch contours. Though not specific to a speech context, experience-dependent brainstem mechanisms for pitch representation are clearly sensitive to particular aspects of pitch contours that native speakers of a tone language have been exposed to. Such experience-dependent effects on lower-level sensory processing are compatible with more integrated, hierarchically organized pathways to language and the brain.
@article{krishnan_role_2009,
title = {The role of the auditory brainstem in processing linguistically-relevant pitch patterns},
volume = {In Press, Corrected Proof},
issn = {0093-934X},
url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6WC0-4W2M6N5-1/2/7f9877125ad283b8ff5b5d991e1d7d7f},
doi = {10.1016/j.bandl.2009.03.005},
abstract = {Historically, the brainstem has been neglected as a part of the brain involved in language processing. We review recent evidence of language-dependent effects in pitch processing based on comparisons of native vs. nonnative speakers of a tonal language from electrophysiological recordings in the auditory brainstem. We argue that there is enhancing of linguistically-relevant pitch dimensions or features well before the auditory signal reaches the cerebral cortex. We propose that long-term experience with a tone language sharpens the tuning characteristics of neurons along the pitch axis with enhanced sensitivity to linguistically-relevant, rapidly changing sections of pitch contours. Though not specific to a speech context, experience-dependent brainstem mechanisms for pitch representation are clearly sensitive to particular aspects of pitch contours that native speakers of a tone language have been exposed to. Such experience-dependent effects on lower-level sensory processing are compatible with more integrated, hierarchically organized pathways to language and the brain.},
urldate = {2009-05-07},
journal = {Brain and Language},
author = {Krishnan, Ananthanarayan and Gandour, Jackson T.},
month = may,
year = {2009},
}
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