The role of accent imitation in sensorimotor integration during processing of intelligible speech
The role of accent imitation in sensorimotor integration during processing of intelligible speech
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DOI：
10.3389/fnhum.2013.00634
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发表时间：
2013-10-04
影响因子：
2.9
通讯作者：
Bekkering, Harold
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Adank, Patti;Rueschemeyer, Shirley-Ann;Bekkering, Harold
最近关于听者如何在语音信号变化的情况下保持感知不变性的理论将模仿机制分配给了突出的角色。值得注意的是，这些模拟说明运动机制支持对模糊或噪声信号的感知。事实上，研究发现，模仿模棱两可的信号，如口音语音，有助于有效的语音理解。在这里，我们探讨了通过增加语音感知和产生区域的激活，语音模仿有利于感知的可能性。在一项功能磁共振成像实验中，参与者给用不熟悉的荷兰口音说的句子的可理解性打分。接下来，一组参与者用自己的口音重复句子，而另一组则模仿口音。最后，两组在测试后对重音句子的可理解性进行评分。神经影像学结果显示，训练类型与测试前后在左侧额下回、辅助运动区和左侧颞上沟有交互作用。虽然也需要考虑其他解释，如任务投入和疲劳，但结果表明，模仿可能通过支持感觉运动整合来帮助有效的语言理解。
Recent theories on how listeners maintain perceptual invariance despite variation in the speech signal allocate a prominent role to imitation mechanisms. Notably, these simulation accounts propose that motor mechanisms support perception of ambiguous or noisy signals. Indeed, imitation of ambiguous signals, e.g., accented speech, has been found to aid effective speech comprehension. Here, we explored the possibility that imitation in speech benefits perception by increasing activation in speech perception and production areas. Participants rated the intelligibility of sentences spoken in an unfamiliar accent of Dutch in a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging experiment. Next, participants in one group repeated the sentences in their own accent, while a second group vocally imitated the accent. Finally, both groups rated the intelligibility of accented sentences in a post-test. The neuroimaging results showed an interaction between type of training and pre- and post-test sessions in left Inferior Frontal Gyrus, Supplementary Motor Area, and left Superior Temporal Sulcus. Although alternative explanations such as task engagement and fatigue need to be considered as well, the results suggest that imitation may aid effective speech comprehension by supporting sensorimotor integration.