Abstract
The effects of auditory feedback on vowel formant frequencies were investigated in the speech produced by three early-implanted (received cochlear implants before the age of 3 years) and three late-implanted children (after 5 years). The syllables /heed/, /hid/, /had/, /whod/, /hood/, and /hod/ were produced in a carrier sentence 12 times, each in both implant processor ON (auditory feedback present) and OFF (feedback absent) conditions. Comparisons of the vowel formant frequencies in processor ON versus OFF conditions revealed primarily second formant frequency (F2) shifts for a majority of the vowels, while showing minimal changes in the first formant frequencies (F1). In addition, a majority of the F2 shifts was towards the middle of the vowel space, suggesting centralization of vowels in the absence of auditory feedback. Further, most of the formant frequency changes were present in the vowels produced by late- compared to early-implanted children. These findings suggest that the late-implanted children may rely on auditory feedback to a greater extent than early-implanted children for speech production. Implications of the short-term effects of auditory feedback on speech production will be discussed in reference to the feedback and feed-forward models for speech production. [Work supported by NIH/NIDCD R03DC007052-01.]
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