Zhang Yilun, Sarmukadam Kimaya, Nejati Vahid, Behroozmand Roozbeh
Speech Neuroscience Lab, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing, Callier Center for Communication Disorders, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, 2811 N. Floyd Rd, Richardson, TX, 75080, United States.
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, 915 Greene Street, Columbia, SC, 29208, United States.
Neuropsychologia. 2025 Sep 9;216:109202. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2025.109202. Epub 2025 Jun 10.
Speech production relies on precise integrations between vocal and auditory feedback mechanisms for fluent verbal communication. This study investigated how explicit attentional instructions influence speech auditory feedback control. A total of forty-three participants performed speech vowel vocalizations while receiving brief (200 ms) and randomized pitch shifts at ±100 cents magnitude in their auditory feedback during concurrent electroencephalography (EEG) recordings. Twenty-one participants were randomly assigned to an attentional-instruction group and were instructed to focus their attention on detecting pitch-shift stimuli via pressing a button whereas no such instructions were provided for the remaining twenty-two participants in the no-instruction group. Behavioral data revealed a significantly smaller peak magnitude of vocal compensation responses to auditory feedback alterations in the attentional-instruction compared with no-instruction group, suggesting an attentional modulation of the speech motor control mechanisms. Time-frequency analyses of EEG data showed a significantly stronger desynchronization of the high-beta band (20-30 Hz) neural activities for the attentional-instruction group, indicating enhanced audio-vocal integration when participants attentively monitored their speech feedback. In addition, we found that the accuracy of button-press responses for detecting pitch shifts positively correlated with the alpha and beta band power (8-30 Hz) while compensation magnitude positively correlated only with the gamma band power (30-80 Hz). These findings provide new insights into the effects of attentional instruction on the neural and behavioral correlates of speech motor control, emphasizing its application as a viable tool for targeted treatment of speech disorders in clinical populations.
言语产生依赖于语音和听觉反馈机制之间的精确整合，以实现流畅的言语交流。本研究调查了明确的注意力指令如何影响言语听觉反馈控制。在同步脑电图（EEG）记录期间，共有43名参与者进行语音元音发声，同时在他们的听觉反馈中接收幅度为±100音分的短暂（200毫秒）且随机的音高变化。21名参与者被随机分配到注意力指令组，并被指示通过按下按钮将注意力集中在检测音高变化刺激上，而在无指令组中的其余22名参与者则没有收到此类指令。行为数据显示，与无指令组相比，注意力指令组对听觉反馈变化的发声补偿反应的峰值幅度显著更小，这表明言语运动控制机制存在注意力调节。EEG数据的时频分析显示，注意力指令组的高β波段（20 - 30赫兹）神经活动去同步化显著更强，这表明当参与者专注地监测他们的语音反馈时，音频 - 语音整合得到增强。此外，我们发现检测音高变化的按键反应准确性与α和β波段功率（8 - 30赫兹）呈正相关，而补偿幅度仅与γ波段功率（30 - 80赫兹）呈正相关。这些发现为注意力指令对言语运动控制的神经和行为相关性的影响提供了新的见解，强调了其作为临床人群言语障碍靶向治疗的可行工具的应用。
