Vocal pitch regulation depends on the baseline voice F0 feedback: An ERP study for investigating the role of auditory feedback for voice pitch error correction.

Abstract

Voice production and control require neural interactions between the vocal motor and auditory mechanisms. The comparison between the incoming auditory feedback and the predicted sensory input (efference copies) from a self-produced vocalization allows the detection of feedback mismatches for voice error detection and correction. However, the sensitivity of the audio-vocal system for feedback mismatch detection seems to depend on the extent of feedback deviation from the predicted vocal output. The present study investigated this effect by examining event-related potentials (ERPs) in response to a +100-cent voice feedback pitch perturbation stimulus while the extent of pre-stimulus (baseline) feedback pitch deviation was randomly manipulated at 0, 50, 100, 200, and 400 cents. Results showed that the neural responses to +100-cent pitch-shift stimuli grew systematically larger as the extent of pre-stimulus baseline pitch deviation became smaller. This finding suggests that the extent of disparity between the predicted and incoming sensory feedback of self-produced voice can affect the neural tuning processes that adjust the sensitivity of the audio-vocal mechanisms for voice pitch error detection and correction. Lower sensitivity to larger feedback mismatches may imply robustness against the disruptive effect of highly deviant or externally generated sounds during vocal production and control.