Topographic Representation of Periodicity Information: The 2nd Neural Axis of the Auditory System

Langner, Gerald

doi:10.1007/0-387-23181-1_3

Cited by 9 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…To explain the brainstem mechanism underlying FFR pitch extraction and how language experience may alter this mechanism (Fig. 5), we adopt the temporal correlation analysis model described by Langner (Langner, 1992, 2004). Coincidence detection neurons in the IC perform a correlation analysis on the delayed and un-delayed temporal information from the cochlear nucleus to extract pitch relevant periodicities that are spatially mapped onto a periodicity pitch axis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The effects of tone language experience on pitch processing in the brainstem

Krishnan

Gandour

Bidelman

2010

Journal of Neurolinguistics

131

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Neural encoding of pitch in the auditory brainstem is shaped by long-term experience with language. The aim herein was to determine to what extent this experience-dependent effect is specific to a particular language. Analysis of variance of brainstem responses to Mandarin and Thai tones revealed that regardless of language identity, pitch-tracking accuracy of whole tones was higher in the two tone language groups (Chinese, Thai) compared to the non-tone language group (English), and that pitch strength of 40-ms tonal sections was generally more robust in tone relative to non-tone languages. Discriminant analysis of tonal sections, as defined by variation in direction and degree of slope, showed that moderate rising pitch was the most important variable for classifying English, Chinese, and Thai participants into their respective groups. We conclude that language-dependent enhancement of pitch representation transfers to other languages with similar phonological systems. From a neurobiological perspective, these findings suggest that neural mechanisms local to the brainstem are tuned for processing pitch dimensions that are perceptually salient depending upon the melodic patterns of a language.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…DSN, dorsal cochlear nucleus; VCN, ventral cochlear nucleus; ICC, inferior colliculus. (Langner, 2004, adapted with kind permission of Springer Science and Business Media).…”

Section: Figuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of tone language experience on pitch processing in the brainstem

Krishnan

Gandour

Bidelman

2010

Journal of Neurolinguistics

131

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“…We have proposed that coincidence detection neurons in the inferior colliculus perform a correlation analysis (Langner, 1992, 2004) to extract pitch-relevant periodicities on the delayed and un-delayed temporal information arriving from the cochlear nucleus. This pitch information is then spatially mapped onto a periodicity pitch axis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Language-dependent pitch encoding advantage in the brainstem is not limited to acceleration rates that occur in natural speech

Krishnan¹,

Gandour²,

Smalt³

et al. 2010

Brain and Language

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Experience-dependent enhancement of neural encoding of pitch in the auditory brainstem has been observed for only specific portions of native pitch contours exhibiting high rates of pitch acceleration, irrespective of speech or nonspeech contexts. This experiment allows us to determine whether this language-dependent advantage transfers to acceleration rates that extend beyond the pitch range of natural speech. Brainstem frequency following responses (FFRs) were recorded from Chinese and English participants in response to four, 250-ms dynamic click-train stimuli with different rates of pitch acceleration. The maximum pitch acceleration rates in a given stimulus ranged from low (0.3 Hz/ms; Mandarin Tone 2) to high (2.7 Hz/ms; 2 octaves). Pitch strength measurements were computed from the FFRs using autocorrelation algorithms with an analysis window centered at the point of maximum pitch acceleration in each stimulus. Between-group comparisons of pitch strength revealed that Chinese exhibit more robust pitch representation than English across all four acceleration rates. Regardless of language group, pitch strength was greater in response to acceleration rates within or proximal to natural speech relative to those beyond its range. Though both groups showed decreasing pitch strength with increasing acceleration rates, pitch representations of the Chinese group were more resistant to degradation. FFR spectral data were complementary across acceleration rates. These findings demonstrate that perceptually salient pitch cues associated with lexical tone influence brainstem pitch extraction not only in the speech domain, but also in auditory signals that clearly fall outside the range of dynamic pitch that a native listener is exposed to.

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“…We have previously proposed that this language-dependent enhancement of pitch representation reflects an enhanced tuning to inter-spike intervals that correspond especially to rapidly-changing dynamic segments of the pitch trajectory (see Krishnan and Gandour, 2009, for review). This enhancement is likely mediated by temporal correlation analysis performed by coincidence detection neurons along the pitch axis (Langner, 1992; Langner, 2004), whose tuning characteristics are differentially sharpened as a function of experience. This sharpening is likely mediated by local excitatory and inhibitory interactions that are known to play an important role in signal selection at the level of the brainstem (Ananthanarayan and Gerken, 1983; Ananthanarayan and Gerken, 1987).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brainstem pitch representation in native speakers of Mandarin is less susceptible to degradation of stimulus temporal regularity

2010

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It has been demonstrated that neural encoding of pitch in the auditory brainstem is shaped by longterm experience with language. To date, however, all stimuli have exhibited a high degree of pitch saliency. The experimental design herein permits us to determine whether experience-dependent pitch representation in the brainstem is less susceptible to progressive degradation of the temporal regularity of iterated rippled noise (IRN). Brainstem responses were recorded from Chinese and English participants in response to IRN homologues of Mandarin Tone 2 (T2 IRN ). Six different iterations steps were utilized to systematically vary the degree of temporal regularity in the fine structure of the IRN stimuli in order to produce a pitch salience continuum ranging from low to high. Pitch-tracking accuracy and pitch strength were computed from the brainstem responses using autocorrelation algorithms. Analysis of variance of brainstem responses to T2 IRN revealed that pitchtracking accuracy is higher in the native tone language group (Chinese) relative to the non-tone language group (English) except for the three lowest steps along the continuum, and moreover, that pitch strength is greater in the Chinese group even in severely degraded stimuli for two of the six 40-ms sections of T2 IRN that exhibit rapid changes in pitch. For these same two sections, exponential time constants for the stimulus continuum revealed that pitch strength emerges 2-3 times faster in the tone language than in the non-tone language group as a function of increasing pitch salience. These findings altogether suggest that experience-dependent brainstem mechanisms for pitch are especially sensitive to those dimensions of tonal contours that provide cues of high perceptual saliency in degraded as well as normal listening conditions.

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Topographic Representation of Periodicity Information: The 2nd Neural Axis of the Auditory System

Cited by 9 publications

References 25 publications

The effects of tone language experience on pitch processing in the brainstem

The effects of tone language experience on pitch processing in the brainstem

Language-dependent pitch encoding advantage in the brainstem is not limited to acceleration rates that occur in natural speech

Brainstem pitch representation in native speakers of Mandarin is less susceptible to degradation of stimulus temporal regularity

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