R01DC018805

Characterizing the Temporal Processing of Speech in the Human Auditory Cortex - Project Summary

Time is the fundamental dimension of sound, and temporal integration is thus fundamental to speech perception. To recognize a complex structure such as a word in fluent speech, the brain must integrate across many different timescales spanning tens to hundreds of milliseconds. These timescales are considerably longer than the duration of responses at the auditory nerve. Therefore, the auditory cortex must integrate acoustic information over long and varied timescales to encode linguistic units.

On the other hand, the nature of the intermediate units of representation between sound and meaning remains debated. Focal brain injuries have shown selective impairment at all levels of linguistic processing (phonemic, phonotactic, and semantic), but current models of spoken word recognition disagree on the existence and type of these representational levels. The neural basis of temporal and linguistic processing remains speculative partly due to the limited spatiotemporal resolution of noninvasive human neuroimaging techniques, which is needed to study the encoding of fluent speech.

Our multi-PI proposal overcomes these challenges by assembling a team of researchers and clinicians with complementary expertise at NYU and Columbia University. We propose to record invasively from a large number of neurosurgical patients, which provides a rare and unique opportunity to collect direct cortical recordings across several auditory regions. We propose novel experimental paradigms and analysis methods to investigate where, when, and how acoustic features of speech are integrated over time to encode linguistic units.

Our experimental paradigms will determine the functional and anatomical organization of stimulus integration periods in primary and nonprimary auditory cortical regions and relate the temporal processing in these regions to the emergence of phonemic-, phonotactic-, and semantic-level representations. Finally, we will determine the nonlinear computational mechanisms that enable the auditory cortex to integrate fast features over long durations, which is essential in speech recognition.

Understanding the temporal processing of speech in primary and nonprimary auditory cortex is critical for developing complete models of speech perception in the human brain, which is essential to understanding how these processes break down in speech and communication disorders.

New York University

TO INVESTIGATE SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO INDIVIDUALS WITH DEAFNESS OR DISORDERS OF HUMAN COMMUNICATION IN THE AREAS OF HEARING, BALANCE, SMELL, TASTE, VOICE, SPEECH, AND LANGUAGE. THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS (NIDCD) SUPPORTS RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING, INCLUDING INVESTIGATION INTO THE ETIOLOGY, PATHOLOGY, DETECTION, TREATMENT, AND PREVENTION OF DISORDERS OF HEARING AND OTHER COMMUNICATION PROCESSES, PRIMARILY THROUGH THE SUPPORT OF BASIC AND APPLIED RESEARCH IN ANATOMY, AUDIOLOGY, BIOCHEMISTRY, BIOENGINEERING, EPIDEMIOLOGY, GENETICS, IMMUNOLOGY, MICROBIOLOGY, MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, THE NEUROSCIENCES, OTOLARYNGOLOGY, PSYCHOLOGY, PHARMACOLOGY, PHYSIOLOGY, PSYCHOPHYSICS, SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY, AND OTHER SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES. THE NIDCD SUPPORTS: (1) RESEARCH INTO THE EVALUATION OF TECHNIQUES AND DEVICES USED IN DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT, REHABILITATION, AND PREVENTION OF DISORDERS OF HEARING AND OTHER COMMUNICATION PROCESSES, (2) RESEARCH INTO PREVENTION AND EARLY DETECTION AND DIAGNOSIS OF HEARING LOSS AND SPEECH, VOICE, AND LANGUAGE DISORDERS AND RESEARCH INTO PREVENTING THE EFFECTS OF SUCH DISORDERS BY MEANS OF APPROPRIATE REFERRAL AND REHABILITATION, (3) RESEARCH INTO THE DETECTION, TREATMENT, AND PREVENTION OF DISORDERS OF HEARING AND OTHER COMMUNICATION PROCESSES IN THE ELDERLY POPULATION AND ITS REHABILITATION TO ENSURE CONTINUED EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS, AND (4) RESEARCH TO EXPAND KNOWLEDGE OF THE EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL AGENTS THAT INFLUENCE HEARING OR OTHER COMMUNICATION PROCESSES. SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM: TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TO ENCOURAGE SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM: TO STIMULATE AND FOSTER SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CARRIED OUT BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO FOSTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION.

93.173 - Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) [HHS - NIH]

New York, New York 100168203 United States

Single Zip Code

NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (PA-20-185)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 390% from $681,122 to $3,334,410.