Instantaneous neural processing of communicative functions conveyed by speech prosody.

ABSTRACT: During conversations, speech prosody provides important clues about the speaker's communicative intentions. In many languages, a rising vocal pitch at the end of a sentence typically expresses a question function, whereas a falling pitch suggests a statement. Here, the neurophysiological basis of intonation and speech act understanding were investigated with high-density electroencephalography (EEG) to determine whether prosodic features are reflected at the neurophysiological level. Already approximately 100 ms after the sentence-final word differing in prosody, questions, and statements expressed with the same sentences led to different neurophysiological activity recorded in the event-related potential. Interestingly, low-pass filtered sentences and acoustically matched nonvocal musical

SUBMITTER: Tomasello R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9626830 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature