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Inaugural Article

Infants’ brain responses to speech suggest Analysis by Synthesis

Patricia K. Kuhl, Rey R. Ramírez, Alexis Bosseler, Jo-Fu Lotus Lin, and Toshiaki Imada
PNAS August 5, 2014 111 (31) 11238-11245; first published July 14, 2014; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1410963111
Patricia K. Kuhl
Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
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  • For correspondence: pkkuhl@u.washington.edu
Rey R. Ramírez
Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
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Alexis Bosseler
Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
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Jo-Fu Lotus Lin
Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
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Toshiaki Imada
Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
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  1. Contributed by Patricia K. Kuhl, June 16, 2014 (sent for review January 30, 2014)

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Significance

Infants discriminate speech sounds universally until 8 mo of age, then native discrimination improves and nonnative discrimination declines. Using magnetoencephalography, we investigate the contribution of auditory and motor brain systems to this developmental transition. We show that 7-mo-old infants activate auditory and motor brain areas similarly for native and nonnative sounds; by 11–12 mo, greater activation in auditory brain areas occurs for native sounds, whereas greater activation in motor brain areas occurs for nonnative sounds, matching the adult pattern. We posit that hearing speech invokes an Analysis by Synthesis process: auditory analysis of speech is coupled with synthesis that predicts the motor plans necessary to produce it. Both brain systems contribute to the developmental transition in infant speech perception.

Abstract

Historic theories of speech perception (Motor Theory and Analysis by Synthesis) invoked listeners’ knowledge of speech production to explain speech perception. Neuroimaging data show that adult listeners activate motor brain areas during speech perception. In two experiments using magnetoencephalography (MEG), we investigated motor brain activation, as well as auditory brain activation, during discrimination of native and nonnative syllables in infants at two ages that straddle the developmental transition from language-universal to language-specific speech perception. Adults are also tested in Exp. 1. MEG data revealed that 7-mo-old infants activate auditory (superior temporal) as well as motor brain areas (Broca’s area, cerebellum) in response to speech, and equivalently for native and nonnative syllables. However, in 11- and 12-mo-old infants, native speech activates auditory brain areas to a greater degree than nonnative, whereas nonnative speech activates motor brain areas to a greater degree than native speech. This double dissociation in 11- to 12-mo-old infants matches the pattern of results obtained in adult listeners. Our infant data are consistent with Analysis by Synthesis: auditory analysis of speech is coupled with synthesis of the motor plans necessary to produce the speech signal. The findings have implications for: (i) perception-action theories of speech perception, (ii) the impact of “motherese” on early language learning, and (iii) the “social-gating” hypothesis and humans’ development of social understanding.

  • brain imaging
  • phonetic perception

Footnotes

  • ↵1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: pkkuhl{at}u.washington.edu.
  • This contribution is part of the special series of Inaugural Articles by members of the National Academy of Sciences elected in 2010.

  • Author contributions: P.K.K. designed research; A.B., J.-F.L.L., and T.I. performed research; R.R.R. and T.I. analyzed data; and P.K.K. wrote the paper.

  • The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Freely available online through the PNAS open access option.

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Infants' brain activity in response to speech
Patricia K. Kuhl, Rey R. Ramírez, Alexis Bosseler, Jo-Fu Lotus Lin, Toshiaki Imada
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Aug 2014, 111 (31) 11238-11245; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1410963111

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Infants' brain activity in response to speech
Patricia K. Kuhl, Rey R. Ramírez, Alexis Bosseler, Jo-Fu Lotus Lin, Toshiaki Imada
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Aug 2014, 111 (31) 11238-11245; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1410963111
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: 111 (31)
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Article Classifications

  • Social Sciences
  • Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
  • Biological Sciences
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  • Article
    • Abstract
    • The Role of Action in Speech Perception
    • Cortical Speech Motor Areas Activated During Speech Perception: Adult Evidence
    • The Present Study: Posing the Question in Infants
    • Experiment 1
    • Discussion of Exp. 1
    • Experiment 2
    • Discussion of Exp. 2
    • General Discussion
    • Acknowledgments
    • Footnotes
    • References
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