Influence Of Semantic Information Research Articles

Brain structural and functional differences associated to language learning abilities

Event Abstract Back to Event Brain structural and functional differences associated to language learning abilities Ruth De Diego-Balaguer1, 2* 1 ICREA, University of Barcelona, Department of Basic Psychology, Spain 2 IDIBELL, Spain Language-related areas are organized in dorsal and ventral segregated but highly interactive streams. Studying individual differences in functional and structural connectivity between those brain regions can clarify the function of each of these specific connections in learning difficulties and inter-individual variability. The dorsal stream has been related to articulation and production while the ventral stream to comprehension and semantic processing. To understand their role in the earliest stages of language learning, we have used artificial languages to study the acquisition of word forms from fluent speech without the influence of semantic information. The evidence presented indicates that the direct functional and structural connectivity between left frontal and temporal structures is relevant for audio-motor integration and critical for the acquisition of new word forms. Indeed, interference with this audio-motor component required to maintain the phonological form disrupts language learning. The ventral connection between left frontal and temporal areas appears to be a supporting pathway in the early acquisition process. Acknowledgements The work presented has been supported by Grants from the MINECO PSI2011-23624 and ERC StG 313841 TuningLang Keywords: word learning, audio-motor integration, Dorsal language pathway, Ventral language pathway, artificial language learning Conference: Microstructures of Learning: Novel methods and approaches for assessing structural and functional changes underlying knowledge acquisition in the brain, Lund, Sweden, 23 May - 23 May, 2014. Presentation Type: Oral presentation Topic: Neuroscience Citation: De Diego-Balaguer R (2015). Brain structural and functional differences associated to language learning abilities. Front. Neurosci. Conference Abstract: Microstructures of Learning: Novel methods and approaches for assessing structural and functional changes underlying knowledge acquisition in the brain. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnins.2015.88.00002 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: 04 Mar 2015; Published Online: 05 Mar 2015. * Correspondence: Prof. Ruth De Diego-Balaguer, ICREA, University of Barcelona, Department of Basic Psychology, Barcelona, Barcelona, 08035, Spain, ruth.dediego@ub.edu 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 Ruth De Diego-Balaguer Google Ruth De Diego-Balaguer Google Scholar Ruth De Diego-Balaguer PubMed Ruth De Diego-Balaguer 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.

The influence of semantic information on the acoustics of speech in noise

While there is a significant body of work on how people modify their speech patterns in the presence of noise, the role of semantic information on these acoustic modifications is not well understood. This study examined whether adult speakers of English differentially modify semantically salient versus nonsalient words within a sentence in the presence of noise. Participants were asked to produce a set of 20 sentences [from the Speech Perception in Noise List, Kalikow et al. (1977)], in each of five noise conditions; quiet, 60 and 90 dB SPL multispeaker conversation, and 60 and 90 dB SPL street noise. Five random repetitions per sentence were requested for each noise condition. The following acoustic cues were extracted for each word within an utterance: duration, average intensity, peak intensity, average fundamental frequency, and peak fundamental frequency. The ratios of these measures were then compared for semantically salient versus nonsalient words. While we expect to see an overall change in all of these prosodic cues for speech produced in noise (Lombard effect), semantically salient words may exhibit a greater ratio of change in some or all features.