Article published in:
Biolinguistic Investigations on the Language FacultyEdited by Anna Maria Di Sciullo
[Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 235] 2016
► pp. 79–100
Electroencephalographic evidence of vowels computation and representation in human auditory cortex
Mirko Grimaldi | Centro di Ricerca Interdisciplinare sul Linguaggio (CRIL) x University of Salento, Lecce, ItalyDepartment of Human Movement, Social and Health Sciences, University of Rome “Foro Italico”, Rome, ItalyIRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome Italy
Anna Dora Manca | Centro di Ricerca Interdisciplinare sul Linguaggio (CRIL) x University of Salento, Lecce, ItalyDepartment of Human Movement, Social and Health Sciences, University of Rome “Foro Italico”, Rome, ItalyIRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome Italy
Francesco Sigona | Centro di Ricerca Interdisciplinare sul Linguaggio (CRIL) x University of Salento, Lecce, ItalyDepartment of Human Movement, Social and Health Sciences, University of Rome “Foro Italico”, Rome, ItalyIRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome Italy
By exploiting the N1 component of the auditory event related potentials we aimed to measure and localize the processing involving the spectro-temporal and the abstract featural representation. We investigated the electroencephalography patterns of 11 Salento Italian speakers discriminating their native five stressed vowels [i, ε, a, ɔ, u]. Findings showed two distinct N1 sub-components: the N1a peaking at 125–135 ms, localized in the bilateral primary auditory cortex (BA41), and the N1b peaking at 145–155 ms, localized in the superior temporal gyrus (BA22) with a strong leftward lateralization. Crucially, while high vowels elicited higher amplitudes than non-high vowels both in the N1a and N1b, back vowels generated later responses than non-back vowels in the N1b only. Overall, these findings suggest a hierarchical processing where from the N1a to the N1b the acoustic analysis shift progressively toward the computation and representation of phonological features.
Published online: 24 November 2016
https://doi.org/10.1075/la.235.04gri
https://doi.org/10.1075/la.235.04gri
References
References
Biermann, S. & Heil, P.
Böcker, K.B.E, Brunia, C.H.M. & van den Berg-Lenssen, M.M.C.
Boersma, P. & Weenink, D.
Calabrese, A.
Chang, E.F., Rieger, J.W, Johnson, K., Berger, M.S., Barbaro, N.M., Knight, R.T.
Diesch, E., Eulitz, C., Hampson, S. & Ross, B.
Diesch, E. & Luce, T.
Eulitz, C., Diesch, E., Pantev, C., Hampson, S. & Elbert, T.
Eulitz, C., Eulitz, H. & Elbert, T.
Eulitz, C., Obleser, J. & Lahiri, A.
Ferrero, F.E., Magno-Caldognetto, E., Vagges, K. & Lavagnoli, C.
Gage, N., Poeppel, D., Roberts, T.P.L. & Hickok, G.
Gage, N., Roberts, T.P.L & Hickok, G.
Grimaldi, M.
2009 Acoustic correlates of phonological microvariations. The case of unsuspected highly diversified metaphonetic processes in a small area of Southern Salento (Apulia). In Romance Languages and Linguistic Theory 2006. Selected papers from ‘Going Romance’, Amsterdam 7-9 December 2006 [Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 303], D. Torck & W.L. Wetzels (eds), 89-109. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 

Halle, M.
Hickok, G. & Poeppel, D.
Inui, K., Okamoto, H., Miki, K., Gunji, A. & Kakigi, R.
Kaas, J.H. & Hackett, T.A.
Kodera, K., Hink, R.F., Yamada, O. & Suzuki, J.-I.
Manca, A.D.
Di Russo, F., Sigona, F. & Grimaldi, M. Submitted. Electrical brain responses mirror tonochrony, phonemotopic and hierarchical organization of auditory cortex.
Manca A.D., Di Russo F. & Grimaldi M.
In press. Orderly organization of vowels in the auditory brain: The neuronal correlates of the Italian vowels. In
Proceedings of the XI Convegno Nazionale Associazione Italiana Scienze della Voce, AISV
. Il farsi e il disfarsi del linguaggio. Bologna.
Malmivuo, J., Suihko, V. & Eskola, H.
Mäkelä, A.M., Alku, P. & Tiitinen, H.
May, P.J.C. & Tiitinen, H.
Mcdonald, J.J., Teder-Sälejärvi, W.A., Di Russo, F. & Hillyard, S.A.
Näätänen, R. & Picton, T.
Näätänen, R.
Obleser, J., Elbert, T., Lahiri, A. & Eulitz, C.
Obleser, J., Lahiri, A. & Eulitz, C.
Obleser, J., Scott, S.K. & Eulitz, C.
Obleser, J. & Eisner, F.
Ohl, F.W. & Scheich, H.
1997 Orderly cortical representation of vowels based on formant interaction. Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences
U.S.A
. 94: 9440-9444.
Pantev, C., Bertrand, O., Eulitz, C., Verkindt, C., Hampson, S., Schuierer, G. & Elbert, T.
Picton, T.W., Woods, D.L. & Proulx, G.B.
Poeppel, D., Phillips, C., Yellin, E., Rowley, H.A., Roberts, T.P.L & Marantz, A.
Poeppel, D., Idsardi, W.J. & van Wassenhove, V.
Rauschecker, J.P. & Scott, S.K.
Roberts, T.P.L. & Poeppel, D.
Roberts, T.P.L., Ferrari, P. & Poeppel, D.
Roberts, T.P.L., Ferrari, P., Stufflebeam, S.M. & Poeppel, D.
Roberts, T.P.L., Flagg, E.J. & Gage, N.M.
Romani, G.L., Williamson, S.J. & Kaufman, L.
Saenz, M. & Langers, D.R.M.
Scharinger, M., Idsardi, W.J. & Poe, S.
Scott, S.K. & Johnsrude, I.S.
Scott, S.K. & McGettigan, C.
Shestakova, A., Brattico, E., Soloviev, A., Klucharev, V. & Huotilainen, M.
Stevens, K.N.
Talavage, T.M., Sereno, M.I., Melcher, J.R., Ledden, P.J., Rosen, B.R. & Dale, A.M.
Teder-Sälejärvi, W.A., McDonald, J.J., Di Russo, F. & Hillyard, S.A.
Teder-Sälejärvi, W., Di Russo, F., McDonald, J.J. & Hillyard, S.A.
Vihla, M. & Eulitz, C.
Virtanen, J., Ahveninen, J., Ilmoniemi, R.J., Näätänen, R. & Pekkonen, E.
Wolpaw, J.R. & Kiffin Penry, J.
Wood, C.C. & Wolpaw, J.R.
Woods, D.L.
Cited by
Cited by 1 other publications
Whitten, Allison, Alexandra P. Key, Antje S. Mefferd & James W. Bodfish
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 02 march 2021. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.