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Functional organization of human sensorimotor cortex for speech articulation

Author

Listed:
  • Kristofer E. Bouchard

    (University of California, San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, California 94143, USA
    Center for Integrative Neuroscience, 675 Nelson Rising Lane, University of California)

  • Nima Mesgarani

    (University of California, San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, California 94143, USA
    Center for Integrative Neuroscience, 675 Nelson Rising Lane, University of California)

  • Keith Johnson

    (University of California, Berkeley, 1203 Dwinelle Hall, Berkeley, California 94720, USA)

  • Edward F. Chang

    (University of California, San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, California 94143, USA
    Center for Integrative Neuroscience, 675 Nelson Rising Lane, University of California
    UCSF Epilepsy Center, University of California, San Francisco, 400 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, California 94143, USA)

Abstract

Speaking is one of the most complex actions that we perform, but nearly all of us learn to do it effortlessly. Production of fluent speech requires the precise, coordinated movement of multiple articulators (for example, the lips, jaw, tongue and larynx) over rapid time scales. Here we used high-resolution, multi-electrode cortical recordings during the production of consonant-vowel syllables to determine the organization of speech sensorimotor cortex in humans. We found speech-articulator representations that are arranged somatotopically on ventral pre- and post-central gyri, and that partially overlap at individual electrodes. These representations were coordinated temporally as sequences during syllable production. Spatial patterns of cortical activity showed an emergent, population-level representation, which was organized by phonetic features. Over tens of milliseconds, the spatial patterns transitioned between distinct representations for different consonants and vowels. These results reveal the dynamic organization of speech sensorimotor cortex during the generation of multi-articulator movements that underlies our ability to speak.

Suggested Citation

  • Kristofer E. Bouchard & Nima Mesgarani & Keith Johnson & Edward F. Chang, 2013. "Functional organization of human sensorimotor cortex for speech articulation," Nature, Nature, vol. 495(7441), pages 327-332, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:495:y:2013:i:7441:d:10.1038_nature11911
    DOI: 10.1038/nature11911
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    Cited by:

    1. Stanisz, Tomasz & Drożdż, Stanisław & Kwapień, Jarosław, 2023. "Universal versus system-specific features of punctuation usage patterns in major Western languages," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    2. Sijia Xu & Jie-Xiang Yu & Hongshuang Guo & Shu Tian & You Long & Jing Yang & Lei Zhang, 2023. "Force-induced ion generation in zwitterionic hydrogels for a sensitive silent-speech sensor," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    3. Michael Kai Petersen, 2015. "Latent Semantics of Action Verbs Reflect Phonetic Parameters of Intensity and Emotional Content," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(4), pages 1-14, April.
    4. Lingyun Zhao & Xiaoqin Wang, 2023. "Frontal cortex activity during the production of diverse social communication calls in marmoset monkeys," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-17, December.
    5. Suseendrakumar Duraivel & Shervin Rahimpour & Chia-Han Chiang & Michael Trumpis & Charles Wang & Katrina Barth & Stephen C. Harward & Shivanand P. Lad & Allan H. Friedman & Derek G. Southwell & Saurab, 2023. "High-resolution neural recordings improve the accuracy of speech decoding," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-16, December.
    6. Sean L. Metzger & Jessie R. Liu & David A. Moses & Maximilian E. Dougherty & Margaret P. Seaton & Kaylo T. Littlejohn & Josh Chartier & Gopala K. Anumanchipalli & Adelyn Tu-Chan & Karunesh Ganguly & E, 2022. "Generalizable spelling using a speech neuroprosthesis in an individual with severe limb and vocal paralysis," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-15, December.
    7. Benjamin R Cowley & Matthew A Smith & Adam Kohn & Byron M Yu, 2016. "Stimulus-Driven Population Activity Patterns in Macaque Primary Visual Cortex," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(12), pages 1-31, December.
    8. Anna Mai & Stephanie Riès & Sharona Ben-Haim & Jerry J. Shih & Timothy Q. Gentner, 2024. "Acoustic and language-specific sources for phonemic abstraction from speech," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-19, December.
    9. Ryan C Williamson & Benjamin R Cowley & Ashok Litwin-Kumar & Brent Doiron & Adam Kohn & Matthew A Smith & Byron M Yu, 2016. "Scaling Properties of Dimensionality Reduction for Neural Populations and Network Models," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(12), pages 1-27, December.
    10. Junfeng Lu & Yuanning Li & Zehao Zhao & Yan Liu & Yanming Zhu & Ying Mao & Jinsong Wu & Edward F. Chang, 2023. "Neural control of lexical tone production in human laryngeal motor cortex," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.

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