Specific temporal response to human voice in young children

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Specific temporal response to human voice in young children Ophélie Rogier1*, S. Roux1, C. Barthélémy2 and N. Bruneau1 1 INSERM U930, Université François-Rabelais de Tours, France 2 Hôpital Bretonneau, Service de Pédopsychiatrie, France Voice is one of the most important social stimuli. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies in adults have localized voice processing along the upper bank of the superior temporal sulcus (STS), particularly on the right side (review in Belin et al., Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2004). These cerebral regions, also called temporal voice areas (TVA), mature early since neonates clearly discriminate this particular auditory stimulus, as demonstrated using behavioural methods (DeCasper and Fifer, Science, 1980). The aim of the present study was to evidence electrophysiological correlates of voice processing in children. Twelve 6-7-year-old children participated in this study. Cortical auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) were recorded during passive listening to human vocal sounds (foreign words, laughs, sighs, coughs…) and environmental sounds (alarms, cars, musical instruments, streams…). Stimuli were derived from those used in Belin et al.’s studies, additionally segmented in 500-ms samples in order to accommodate AEP methodology. While cortical AEPs to both vocal and non-vocal stimuli displayed similar successive P1 and N250 waveforms at fronto-central sites (Fz, Cz), temporal responses showed clear differences according to stimulus, specially on the right side. A negative N1c wave culminating at around 160 ms was evoked by environmental sounds on both left and right temporal sites. Such N1c waves were not recorded in response to voice stimuli, which evoked a large positive deflection on the right side in the 100-250 ms latency range. Scalp current density mapping showed that a radially-oriented source underlay this positivity. We might hypothesize that this generator is localized in the superior temporal sulcus, previously demonstrated to be specifically activated by voice in fMRI studies. This temporal response to voice appears a reliable marker for further investigation of voice perception abilities in children with communication disorders. Conference: 10th International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience, Bodrum, Turkey, 1 Sep - 5 Sep, 2008. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Perceptual Processing and Recognition Citation: Rogier O, Roux S, Barthélémy C and Bruneau N (2008). Specific temporal response to human voice in young children. Conference Abstract: 10th International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience. doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.09.2009.01.322 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: 10 Dec 2008; Published Online: 10 Dec 2008. * Correspondence: Ophélie Rogier, INSERM U930, Université François-Rabelais de Tours, Tours, France, o.rogier@chu-tours.fr 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 Ophélie Rogier S. Roux C. Barthélémy N. Bruneau Google Ophélie Rogier S. Roux C. Barthélémy N. Bruneau Google Scholar Ophélie Rogier S. Roux C. Barthélémy N. Bruneau PubMed Ophélie Rogier S. Roux C. Barthélémy N. Bruneau Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.