Auditory cortex extraction of attended speech envelope in a multi-talker background

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Auditory cortex extraction of attended speech envelope in a multi-talker background Marc Vander Ghinst1*, Mathieu Bourguignon1, Marc Op De Beeck1, Vincent Wens1, Brice Marty1, Sergio Hassid2, Georges Choufani2, Veikko Jousmäki3, Riitta Hari3, Patrick Van Bogaert1, Serge Goldman1 and Xavier De Tiège1 1 Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium 2 Hopital Erasme - Clinique Universitaires de Bruxelles, ENT, Belgium 3 Aalto University School of Science, Finland Introduction and Aim: To understand a single speaker when other competing voices are present, the auditory system needs to handle multiple kinds of acoustic cues. Among those different acoustic cues, the temporal envelope has been identified as a contributor to speech in noise perception. The aim of this study was to evaluate, using a continuous listening paradigm, the impact of noise on the cortical representation of speech temporal envelope. Material and methods: Magnetoencephalographic (MEG) signals were recorded from 20 adult listeners. Subjects were asked to listen to 5 different recorded texts read in French. Different levels of noise (cocktail party type) were randomly added to four recordings with the following signal to noise ratio: +5, 0, -5 and -10 dB. The coherence between subjects' MEG signals and the heard sounds (speakers' voice+noise), speakers’ voice (speakers only) or noise only was computed at the sensor level to index the level of coupling in the different noise conditions. Coherent sources were identified using minimum norm estimation. Results: At sensor level, coherence was observed with speaker’s voice at around 0.5 Hz. Without noise, the most coherent brain regions with the speakers’ voice were located at the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), with a right-hemisphere predominance. Coherence levels at the pSTS were significantly higher with speakers’ voice than with the heard sounds (p<0.05, non-parametric permutation test). Coherence with the speakers’ voice decreased significantly with the noise level (p<0.01, two-way ANOVA). With increasing noise level, the coherence decreased more rapidly at the right pSTS, so that coherence was left-lateralized in presence of noise. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that neurons in non-primary auditory areas extract attended speech envelope from the acoustic background, up to a certain noise level. When noise progressively merged into speech, a left-lateralized phase-coupling is observed between pSTS neural activity and speakers’ voice. Keywords: Speech in noise, Magnetoencephalography (MEG), Speech Perception, auditory processing, Auditory Cortex Conference: Belgian Brain Council 2014 MODULATING THE BRAIN: FACTS, FICTION, FUTURE, Ghent, Belgium, 4 Oct - 4 Oct, 2014. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Basic Neuroscience Citation: Vander Ghinst M, Bourguignon M, Op De Beeck M, Wens V, Marty B, Hassid S, Choufani G, Jousmäki V, Hari R, Van Bogaert P, Goldman S and De Tiège X (2014). Auditory cortex extraction of attended speech envelope in a multi-talker background. Conference Abstract: Belgian Brain Council 2014 MODULATING THE BRAIN: FACTS, FICTION, FUTURE. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2014.214.00020 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 27 Jun 2014; Published Online: 30 Jun 2014. * Correspondence: Dr. Marc Vander Ghinst, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium, marcvdg@gmail.com Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Marc Vander Ghinst Mathieu Bourguignon Marc Op De Beeck Vincent Wens Brice Marty Sergio Hassid Georges Choufani Veikko Jousmäki Riitta Hari Patrick Van Bogaert Serge Goldman Xavier De Tiège Google Marc Vander Ghinst Mathieu Bourguignon Marc Op De Beeck Vincent Wens Brice Marty Sergio Hassid Georges Choufani Veikko Jousmäki Riitta Hari Patrick Van Bogaert Serge Goldman Xavier De Tiège Google Scholar Marc Vander Ghinst Mathieu Bourguignon Marc Op De Beeck Vincent Wens Brice Marty Sergio Hassid Georges Choufani Veikko Jousmäki Riitta Hari Patrick Van Bogaert Serge Goldman Xavier De Tiège PubMed Marc Vander Ghinst Mathieu Bourguignon Marc Op De Beeck Vincent Wens Brice Marty Sergio Hassid Georges Choufani Veikko Jousmäki Riitta Hari Patrick Van Bogaert Serge Goldman Xavier De Tiège Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. 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