Abstract
The idea that speech processing relies on unique, encapsulated, domain-specific
mechanisms has been around for some time. Another well-known idea,
often espoused as being in opposition to the first proposal, is that
processing of speech sounds entails general-purpose neural mechanisms
sensitive to the acoustic features that are present in speech. Here,
we suggest that these dichotomous views need not be mutually exclusive.
Specifically, there is now extensive evidence that spectral and temporal
acoustical properties predict the relative specialization of right
and left auditory cortices, and that this is a parsimonious way to
account not only for the processing of speech sounds, but also for
non-speech sounds such as musical tones. We also point out that there
is equally compelling evidence that neural responses elicited by
speech sounds can differ depending on more abstract, linguistically
relevant properties of a stimulus (such as whether it forms part
of one's language or not). Tonal languages provide a particularly
valuable window to understand the interplay between these processes.
The key to reconciling these phenomena probably lies in understanding
the interactions between afferent pathways that carry stimulus information,
with top-down processing mechanisms that modulate these processes.
Although we are still far from the point of having a complete picture,
we argue that moving forward will require us to abandon the dichotomy
argument in favour of a more integrated approach.
- humans,models,neurological,pitch
- perception,pitch
- perception,speech
- perception:
- physiology,language,modularity,neuro,perception,pitch,speech
- physiology,speech
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