A parietal–temporal sensory–motor integration area for the human vocal tract: Evidence from an fMRI study of skilled musicians

Abstract

Several sensory-motor integration regions have been identified in parietal cortex, which appear to be organized around motor-effectors (e.g., eyes, hands). We investigated whether a sensory-motor integration area might exist for the human vocal tract. Speech requires extensive sensory-motor integration, as does other abilities such as vocal musical skills. Recent work found a posterior region, area Spt, has both sensory (auditory) and motor response properties (for both speech and tonal stimuli). Brain activity of skilled pianists was measured with fMRI while they listened to a novel melody and either covertly hummed the melody (vocal tract effectors) or covert played the melody on a piano (manual effectors). Activity in area Spt was significantly higher for the covert hum versus covert play condition. A region in the anterior IPS (aIPS) showed the reverse pattern, suggesting its involvement in sensory-manual transformations. This finding suggests that area Spt is a sensorymotor integration area for vocal tract gestures for, at least, speech and music.

A comparison of sensory-motor activity during speech in first and second languages

“…A number of functional neuroimaging studies have reported activity within left temporoparietal cortex during the covert production of both speech and nonspeech vocalizations (Hickok et al 2009;Hickok and Poeppel 2000;Pa and Hickok 2008). The location of this region, named Spt, was within the planum temporale and the adjacent parietal operculum (Pa and Hickok 2008).…”

“…The location of this region, named Spt, was within the planum temporale and the adjacent parietal operculum (Pa and Hickok 2008). Clearly, the studies by Hickok and colleagues did not study direct interactions between feedforward and feedback vocalization pathways.…”

Lesion analysis of language production deficits in aphasia

“…The posterior part of left PT (referred as Spt: Sylvian fissure at the parieto-temporal junction), extending into the SMG, is thought to be a heteromodal sensory area with auditory, visual, and somatosensory inputs (Booth et al, 2006;Hickok, Okada, & Serences, 2009;Pa & Hickok, 2008; see also Griffiths & Warren, 2002). It is thought that the Spt is cytoarchitectonically similar to other sensorymotor regions (such as those in the posterior parietal lobe).…”

Differences in Neural Current Sources of Science Gifted and Normal Children in Creative Reasoning

“…3, 4). In case of frontoparietal circuit, it is a circuit being activated at the time of controlling thinking for visual observation object (Binkofski et al, 1999) and in case of parietotemporal circuit, it is a circuit relevant to association of somesthesis and movement (exercise) (Pa & Hickok, 2008) and it is known to be a circuit being activated mainly at the time of observing object, not human being (Clower et al, 2001;Dum & Strick, 2003). Recently, a result of study reporting that the more complication of a task is increased at the time of performing a task, cerebral activation of fronto-parietal network is being more highly represented in a group of high IQ than that of low IQ (Perfetti et al, 2009) result has something in common with a study (Gray et al, 2003) reporting that at the time of performing a task that requires fluid intelligence of high level, functional network connection is highly represented in overall brain activation site.…”