MECHANISMS OF SPEECH MOTOR CONTROL

言语产生最显著的特征之一就是它的可变性。可以影响发音变异程度和程度的变量很多，从主动控制过程到神经信号中的噪声，以及由于语音产生机制的解剖学和生物力学的限制。我们在这项研究中的目的是能够分离这些变异的来源，并通过这样做来将言语产生中控制信号的特征与言语行为的其他决定因素分开。我们集中于语音运动控制中的一些基本问题：神经和生物力学因素在协调和协同发音中的相对作用，生物物理(非语言)变量对语音运动的影响，以及口面部发音的生物力学和神经控制的综合模型的发展。本申请中提出的工作重点是发展对语音产生的基本感觉运动过程和组织原则的理解。这项工作的一个基本目标是开发一种语音产生的神经控制模型。这是一项巨大的努力，需要在生理学、统计学、机器人学、计算机科学、语言学和运动控制领域具有重叠兴趣和互补专业知识的团体和个人做出贡献。此次续签意味着通过纳入新的合作者，扩大了先前申请的范围，所有这些合作者都在过去的赠款期间与我们合作。该小组代表了杰出的研究人员和高技能的年轻科学家的整合，他们有一个共同的重点-为理解言语产生提供一个理论和经验框架。这一努力是多学科的，通过为解释正常和紊乱的言语和语言过程提供生物学基础，有可能具有重要的临床意义。

One of the most striking characteristics of speech production is its variability. The list of variables that can influence the extent and degree of articulatory variation is extensive, ranging from active control processes to noise in neural signals and constraints due to the anatomy and biomechanics of the speech production mechanism. Our aim in this research is to be able to separate these sources of variation and in so doing to isolate the characteristics of control signals in speech production from other determinants of speech behaviors. We focus on a number of fundamental issues in speech motor control: the relative roles of neural and biomechanical factors in coordination and coarticulation, the effects of biophysical (non-linguistic) variables on speech movements, and the development of an integrated model of the biomechanics and neural control of the orofacial articulators. The work proposed in this application is focused on developing an understanding of the basic sensorimotor processes and organizing principles of speech production. A fundamental goal of this work is to develop a neural control model of speech production. This is a substantial effort requiring contributions from groups and individuals with overlapping interests and complementary expertise in the areas of physiology, statistics, robotics, computer science, linguistics, and motor control. This renewal represents an expansion of the scope of the previous application through the inclusion of new collaborators, all of whom have worked with us during this past grant period. The group represents an integration of prominent researchers and highly skilled younger scientists with a common focus --- providing a theoretical and empirical framework for understanding speech production. This effort is multidisciplinary and has the potential for significant clinical relevance by providing a biological foundation for interpreting normal and disordered speech and language processes.