Learning Speech Production and Perception through Sensorimotor Interactions

Abstract

Action and perception are closely linked in many behaviors necessitating a close coordination between sensory and motor neural processes so as to achieve a well-integrated smoothly evolving task performance. To investigate the detailed nature of these sensorimotor interactions, and their role in learning and executing the skilled motor task of speaking, we analyzed ECoG recordings of responses in the high-γ band (70–150 Hz) in human subjects while they listened to, spoke, or silently articulated speech. We found elaborate spectrotemporally modulated neural activity projecting in both “forward” (motor-to-sensory) and “inverse” directions between the higher-auditory and motor cortical regions engaged during speaking. Furthermore, mathematical simulations demonstrate a key role for the forward projection in “learning” to control the vocal tract, beyond its commonly postulated predictive role during execution. These results therefore offer a broader view of the functional role of the ubiquitous forward projection as an important ingredient in learning, rather than just control, of skilled sensorimotor tasks.