Early Specialization for Voice and Emotion Processing in the Infant Brain
Early Specialization for Voice and Emotion Processing in the Infant Brain
复制标题
DOI：
10.1016/j.cub.2011.06.009
复制
发表时间：
2011-07-26
期刊：
影响因子：
9.2
通讯作者：
Murphy, Declan G. M.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Blasi, Anna;Mercure, Evelyne;Murphy, Declan G. M.
人类的声音在社会交流中起着重要的作用，成人的“社会脑”显示出专门处理声音及其情感内容的区域（颞上沟、下前额叶皮层、运动前皮质区、杏仁核和脑岛）[1-8]。然而，目前还不清楚这种专业化是何时发展起来的。功能性磁共振（fMRI）研究表明，婴儿的颞叶皮层无法区分语音与音乐或向后语音[9,10]，但先前的一项功能近红外光谱研究显示，7个月大的婴儿对人类声音的优先激活，位于颞叶皮层的后部，比成人的位置更靠后。然而，参与处理人类早期非言语发声的大脑网络仍然是未知的。为了解决这个问题，在目前的fMRI研究中，3到7个月大的婴儿被呈现成人非言语发声（情绪中性、情绪积极和情绪消极）和非言语环境声音。婴儿在颞叶皮层前部表现出明显不同的激活，与成人相似。此外，悲伤的声音调节了处理情感刺激的大脑区域的活动，如眶额叶皮层和脑岛[7,8]。这些结果表明，处理人类声音和负面情绪的功能专业化非常早。
Human voices play a fundamental role in social communication, and areas of the adult "social brain" show specialization for processing voices and their emotional content (superior temporal sulcus, inferior prefrontal cortex, premotor cortical regions, amygdala, and insula) [1-8]. However, it is unclear when this specialization develops. Functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) studies suggest that the infant temporal cortex does not differentiate speech from music or backward speech [9, 10], but a prior study with functional near-infrared spectroscopy revealed preferential activation for human voices in 7-month-olds, in a more posterior location of the temporal cortex than in adults [11]. However, the brain networks involved in processing nonspeech human vocalizations in early development are still unknown. To address this issue, in the present fMRI study, 3- to 7-month-olds were presented with adult nonspeech vocalizations (emotionally neutral, emotionally positive, and emotionally negative) and nonvocal environmental sounds. Infants displayed significant differential activation in the anterior portion of the temporal cortex, similarly to adults [1]. Moreover, sad vocalizations modulated the activity of brain regions involved in processing affective stimuli such as the orbitofrontal cortex [12] and insula [7, 8]. These results suggest remarkably early functional specialization for processing human voice and negative emotions.