The Role of the Human Auditory Corticostriatal Network in Speech Learning.

ABSTRACT: We establish a mechanistic account of how the mature human brain functionally reorganizes to acquire and represent new speech sounds. Native speakers of English learned to categorize Mandarin lexical tone categories produced by multiple talkers using trial-by-trial feedback. We hypothesized that the corticostriatal system is a key intermediary in mediating temporal lobe plasticity and the acquisition of new speech categories in adulthood. We conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment in which participants underwent a sound-to-category mapping task. Diffusion tensor imaging data were collected, and probabilistic fiber tracking analysis was employed to assay the auditory corticostriatal pathways. Multivariate pattern analysis showed that talker-invariant novel tone category

SUBMITTER: Feng G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6931274 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature