Training-induced brain activation and functional connectivity differentiate multi-talker and single-talker speech training.

ABSTRACT: In second language acquisition studies, the high talker variability training approach has been frequently used to train participants to learn new speech patterns. However, the neuroplasticity induced by training is poorly understood. In the present study, native English speakers were trained on non-native pitch patterns (linguistic tones from Mandarin Chinese) in multi-talker (N = 16) or single-talker (N = 16) training conditions. We focused on two aspects of multi-talker training, voice processing and lexical phonology accessing, and used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure the brain activation and functional connectivity (FC) of two regions of interest in a tone identification task conducted before and after training, namely the anterior part of the right superior tem

SUBMITTER: Deng Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5953817 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature