scholarly journals Functional Connectivity Associated with Acoustic Stability During Vowel Production: Implications for Vocal-Motor Control

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J. Sidtis
2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiguo Jiang ◽  
Xiao-Feng Wang ◽  
Guang H. Yue

The present study examined functional connectivity (FC) between functional MRI (fMRI) signals of the primary motor cortex (M1) and each of the three subcortical neural structures, cerebellum (CB), basal ganglia (BG), and thalamus (TL), during muscle fatigue using the quantile regression technique. Understanding activation relation between the subcortical structures and the M1 during prolonged motor performance should help delineate how central motor control network modulates acute perturbations at peripheral sensorimotor system such as muscle fatigue. Ten healthy subjects participated in the study and completed a 20-minute intermittent handgrip motor task at 50% of their maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) level. Quantile regression analyses were carried out to compare the FC between the contralateral (left) M1 and CB, BG, and TL in the minimal (beginning 100 s) versus significant (ending 100 s) fatigue stages. Widespread, statistically significant increases in FC were found in bilateral BG, CB, and TL with the left M1 during significant versus minimal fatigue stages. Our results imply that these subcortical nuclei are critical components in the motor control network and actively involved in modulating voluntary muscle fatigue, possibly, by working together with the M1 to strengthen the descending central command to prolong the motor performance.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carly Demopoulos ◽  
Hardik Kothare ◽  
Danielle Mizuiri ◽  
Jennifer Henderson-Sabes ◽  
Brieana Fregeau ◽  
...  

AbstractSpeech and motor deficits are highly prevalent (>70%) in individuals with the 600 kb BP4-BP5 16p11.2 deletion; however, the mechanisms that drive these deficits are unclear, limiting our ability to target interventions and advance treatment. This study examined fundamental aspects of speech motor control in participants with the 16p11.2 deletion. To assess capacity for control of voice, we examined how accurately and quickly subjects changed the pitch of their voice within a trial to correct for a transient perturbation of the pitch of their auditory feedback. When compared to sibling controls, 16p11.2 deletion carriers show an over-exaggerated pitch compensation response to unpredictable mid-vocalization pitch perturbations. We also examined sensorimotor adaptation of speech by assessing how subjects learned to adapt their sustained productions of formants (speech spectral peak frequencies important for vowel identity), in response to consistent changes in their auditory feedback during vowel production. Deletion carriers show reduced sensorimotor adaptation to sustained vowel identity changes in auditory feedback. These results together suggest that 16p11.2 deletion carriers have fundamental impairments in the basic mechanisms of speech motor control and these impairments may partially explain the deficits in speech and language in these individuals.


2001 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 306-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torrey M. J. Loucks ◽  
Luc F. De Nil

The role of proprioception in speech and oral motor control was investigated by applying tendon vibration to the masseter during vowel production and nonspeech oral movements. Measures were made of peak jaw-opening amplitude, jaw-opening velocity, and movement time in both vibration and nonvibration conditions. Generally, the tendon vibration caused a consistent and marked reduction in the amplitude and velocity of jaw-opening movements for each subject in both tasks. Movement time remained consistent across the vibration conditions for both tasks. These results indicate that masseter tendon vibration causes significant changes in jaw kinematics during simple speech gestures and nonspeech movements. These findings are consistent with the documented effects of tendon vibration on limb movements. The study demonstrates that tendon vibration is a potent tool for investigating proprioception in speech and oral motor control.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantina Kilteni ◽  
H. Henrik Ehrsson

AbstractSince the early 1970s, numerous behavioral studies have shown that self-generated touch feels less intense than the same touch applied externally. Computational motor control theories have suggested that cerebellar internal models predict the somatosensory consequences of our movements and that these predictions attenuate the perception of the actual touch. Despite this influential theoretical framework, little is known about the neural basis of this predictive attenuation. This is due to the limited number of neuroimaging studies, the presence of conflicting results about the role and the location of cerebellar activity, and the lack of behavioral measures accompanying the neural findings. Here, we combined psychophysics with functional magnetic resonance imaging to detect the neural processes underlying somatosensory attenuation in male and female healthy human participants. Activity in bilateral secondary somatosensory areas was attenuated when the touch was presented during a self-generated movement (self-generated touch) than in the absence of movement (external touch). An additional attenuation effect was observed in the cerebellum that is ipsilateral to the passive limb receiving the touch. Importantly, we further found that the degree of functional connectivity between the ipsilateral cerebellum and the contralateral primary and bilateral secondary somatosensory areas was linearly and positively related to the degree of behaviorally assessed attenuation; that is, the more participants perceptually attenuated their self-generated touches, the stronger this corticocerebellar coupling. Collectively, these results suggest that the ipsilateral cerebellum is fundamental in predicting self-generated touch and that this structure implements somatosensory attenuation via its functional connectivity with somatosensory areas.Significance statementWhen we touch our hand with the other, the resulting sensation feels less intense than when another person or a machine touches our hand with the same intensity. Early computational motor control theories have proposed that the cerebellum predicts and cancels the sensory consequences of our movements; however, the neural correlates of this cancelation remain unknown. By means of functional magnetic resonance imaging, we show that the more participants attenuate the perception of their self-generated touch, the stronger the functional connectivity between the cerebellum and the somatosensory cortical areas. This provides conclusive evidence about the role of the cerebellum in predicting the sensory feedback of our movements and in attenuating the associated percepts via its connections to early somatosensory areas.


2020 ◽  
Vol 225 (8) ◽  
pp. 2533-2551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrietta Howells ◽  
Luciano Simone ◽  
Elena Borra ◽  
Luca Fornia ◽  
Gabriella Cerri ◽  
...  

Abstract Cortico-cortical networks involved in motor control have been well defined in the macaque using a range of invasive techniques. The advent of neuroimaging has enabled non-invasive study of these large-scale functionally specialized networks in the human brain; however, assessing its accuracy in reproducing genuine anatomy is more challenging. We set out to assess the similarities and differences between connections of macaque motor control networks defined using axonal tracing and those reproduced using structural and functional connectivity techniques. We processed a cohort of macaques scanned in vivo that were made available by the open access PRIME-DE resource, to evaluate connectivity using diffusion imaging tractography and resting state functional connectivity (rs-FC). Sectors of the lateral grasping and exploratory oculomotor networks were defined anatomically on structural images, and connections were reproduced using different structural and functional approaches (probabilistic and deterministic whole-brain and seed-based tractography; group template and native space functional connectivity analysis). The results showed that parieto-frontal connections were best reproduced using both structural and functional connectivity techniques. Tractography showed lower sensitivity but better specificity in reproducing connections identified by tracer data. Functional connectivity analysis performed in native space had higher sensitivity but lower specificity and was better at identifying connections between intrasulcal ROIs than group-level analysis. Connections of AIP were most consistently reproduced, although those connected with prefrontal sectors were not identified. We finally compared diffusion MR modelling with histology based on an injection in AIP and speculate on anatomical bases for the observed false negatives. Our results highlight the utility of precise ex vivo techniques to support the accuracy of neuroimaging in reproducing connections, which is relevant also for human studies.


Author(s):  
Lucie Ménard ◽  
Louis-Jean Boë

AbstractThe impact of anatomical transformations on the acquisition of sounds by infants remains poorly understood. Using theVariable Linear Articulator? Model, we simulate vowel production in the course of non-uniform vocal tract growth. Production abilities related to vocal tract growth are described by simulating French vowels, generated by assuming that sensori-motor control abilities are identical in newborns and adults. Despite small vocal tract size, an infant is able to produce all the vowels of its first language. The recurrence of certain units in the babbling inventory is attributable to motor control immaturity and cognitive abilities. Simulation of articulatory fibers provides a more accurate view of the relation between articulatory strategies and acoustic targets. The results highlight differences relative to labial and lingual articulators.


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