Neurobiological Basis of Speech: A Case for the Preeminence of Temporal Processing

Tallal, Paula; Miller, Stuart S.; Fitch, R. Holly

doi:10.1080/03033910.1995.10558057

Cited by 261 publications

(351 citation statements)

References 45 publications

(2 reference statements)

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“…This deficit might be related to difficulties processing rapid acoustic signals and suggests that a similar deficit could impair the processing of speech and nonspeech signals containing rapidly changing acoustic features (Tallal and Piercy, 1974;Tallal et al, 1993). The present study tends to support this assertion by indicating a shared neural substrate that is critically involved in processing temporal information in both speech and nonspeech signals.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 63%

Overlapping neural regions for processing rapid temporal cues in speech and nonspeech signals☆

Joanisse

Gati

2003

NeuroImage

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Speech perception involves recovering the phonetic form of speech from a dynamic auditory signal containing both time-varying and steady-state cues. We examined the roles of inferior frontal and superior temporal cortex in processing these aspects of auditory speech and nonspeech signals. Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to record activation in superior temporal gyrus (STG) and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) while participants discriminated pairs of either speech syllables or nonspeech tones. Speech stimuli differed in either the consonant or the vowel portion of the syllable, whereas the nonspeech signals consisted of sinewave tones differing along either a dynamic or a spectral dimension. Analyses failed to identify regions of activation that clearly contrasted the speech and nonspeech conditions. However, we did identify regions in the posterior portion of left and right STG and left IFG yielding greater activation for both speech and nonspeech conditions that involved rapid temporal discrimination, compared to speech and nonspeech conditions involving spectral discrimination. The results suggest that, when semantic and lexical factors are adequately ruled out, there is significant overlap in the brain regions involved in processing the rapid temporal characteristics of both speech and nonspeech signals.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 63%

Overlapping neural regions for processing rapid temporal cues in speech and nonspeech signals☆

Joanisse

Gati

2003

NeuroImage

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“…One of the most commonly documented deficits in the SLI literature is a difficulty in the perceptual processing of a sequence of stimuli presented in rapid succession, or of stimuli of brief duration (for reviews, see Leonard, 1998;Tallal et al, 1993). These problems have been observed in a variety of auditory tasks, including in speech discrimination (Leonard et al, 1992b;Tallal and Piercy, 1974;Uwer et al, 2002) and word learning (Weismer and Hesketh, 1996).…”

Section: Studies Of Non-language Domains In Slimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some investigators attribute the language impairments in SLI to the dysfunction of phonological working memory (Gathercole and Baddeley, 1990;Montgomery, 1995b), or to an "information processing deficit affecting phonology" (Joanisse and Seidenberg, 1998). Others have argued that the impairments in SLI can be explained by a perceptual or temporal processing impairment, particularly of briefly presented stimuli or rapidly presented sequences of items (Merzenich et al, 1993;Tallal et al, 1993;Piercy, 1973b, 1974). On the one hand, these hypotheses can explain certain specific deficits observed in SLI, such as difficulties on tasks involving working memory, phonological processing, or the perception of rapidly presented stimuli.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Specific Language Impairment is not Specific to Language: the Procedural Deficit Hypothesis

Ullman

Pierpont

2005

Cortex

694

784

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Specific Language Impairment (SLI) has been explained by two broad classes of hypotheses, which posit either a deficit specific to grammar, or a non-linguistic processing impairment. Here we advance an alternative perspective. According to the Procedural Deficit Hypothesis (PDH), SLI can be largely explained by the abnormal development of brain structures that constitute the procedural memory system. This system, which is composed of a network of inter-connected structures rooted in frontal/basal-ganglia circuits, subserves the learning and execution of motor and cognitive skills.Crucially, recent evidence also implicates this system in important aspects of grammar. The PDH posits that a significant proportion of individuals with SLI suffer from abnormalities of this brain network, leading to impairments of the linguistic and non-linguistic functions that depend on it. In contrast, functions such as lexical and declarative memory, which depend on other brain structures, are expected to remain largely spared. Evidence from an in-depth retrospective examination of the literature is presented. It is argued that the data support the predictions of the PDH, and particularly implicate Broca's area within frontal cortex, and the caudate nucleus within the basal ganglia. Finally, broader implications are discussed, and predictions for future research are presented. It is argued that the PDH forms the basis of a novel and potentially productive perspective on SLI. INTRODUCTIONSpecific Language Impairment (SLI) is generally defined as a developmental disorder of language in the absence of frank neurological damage, hearing deficits, severe environmental deprivation, or mental retardation (for diagnostic definitions and prevalence of SLI, see Bishop, 1992;Leonard, 1998;Tomblin et al., 1997). Other terms have also been used to label such children, including developmental dysphasia, language impairment, language learning disability, developmental language disorder, delayed speech and deviant language (Leonard, 1998;Ahmed et al., 2001). Several factors have complicated attempts to provide a unified theory of SLI, or even of subgroups of SLI. First, despite the standard use of exclusionary criteria to diagnose SLI, the disorder is clearly not limited to language.Rather the linguistic impairments co-occur with a number of non-linguistic deficits, including impairments of motor skills and working memory, and with other disorders, such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (Hill, 2001;Leonard, 1998;Tirosh and Cohen, 1998). Second, even though SLI must be a consequence of some sort of neural dysfunction, the neural correlates of the disorder have been largely ignored. This potentially valuable information could provide important constraints on explanatory accounts of the disorder. Third, SLI is a classification that is quite heterogeneous (Leonard, 1998;Stromswold, 2000). Surveys document variation within and across subgroups in the particular aspects of language that are affected and in the types of co-occurring no...

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“…RTP impairment has been proposed to underlie language impairment and dyslexia (Tallal et al, 1993;Tallal, 1980). This hypothesis is controversial, with several authors arguing for deficits in the perception and processing of speech-specific sounds and not a deficit that generalizes to non-speech auditory processing in patients with reading and learning disabilities (Studdert-Kennedy & Mody, 1995;Watson & Miller, 1993;Mody et al, 1997).…”

Section: Rapid Temporal Processingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrophysiological signatures: Magnetoencephalographic studies of the neural correlates of language impairment in autism spectrum disorders

Roberts

Schmidt

Egeth

et al. 2008

International Journal of Psychophysiology

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While magnetoencephalography (MEG) is of increasing utility in the assessment of pediatric patients with seizure disorders, this indication reflects only a part of the clinical potential of the technology. Beyond epilepsy, a broad range of developmental psychiatric disorders require the combined offerings of spatial and temporal resolution, along with direct sensitivity to neural electrical activity, that are offered by MEG. This article reviews the application of MEG in the study of auditory processing as an aspect of language impairment in children. Potential application is elaborated in the clinical case of autism spectrum disorders, a devastating disorder with prevalence of 1 in 150, poorly served by alternative imaging modalities. MEG offers both spatial and temporal insights, tentatively described as "electrophysiological signatures". Results demonstrate the sensitivity of MEG for detection of abnormalities of auditory processing in ASD and their clinical correlates. These findings offer promise for the comprehensive assessment of developmental neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism, but also suggest avenues for the development of MEG technology to adequately meet the needs of such populations, as well as providing conduits to basic sciences including neurobiology and genetics.

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Neurobiological Basis of Speech: A Case for the Preeminence of Temporal Processing

Cited by 261 publications

References 45 publications

Overlapping neural regions for processing rapid temporal cues in speech and nonspeech signals☆

Overlapping neural regions for processing rapid temporal cues in speech and nonspeech signals☆

Specific Language Impairment is not Specific to Language: the Procedural Deficit Hypothesis

Electrophysiological signatures: Magnetoencephalographic studies of the neural correlates of language impairment in autism spectrum disorders

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