R01DC019354

Cortical dynamics underlying interactive language use - Project Summary/Abstract.

This project will investigate the neural mechanisms underlying utterance planning in the service of spoken interactions. We hypothesize that planning-related activity within specific cortical sites enables the rapid vocal exchanges necessary for fluent human conversation.

To test this hypothesis, we will identify planning regions using electrocorticography (ECoG), a technique with sufficient temporal and spatial precision to localize neural responses in subjects engaged in both controlled interactions and unstructured conversation.

In preliminary data, we found that activity within the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG; containing Broca's region) is often tied to utterance planning. We will characterize ECoG responses by isolating both the linguistic processing and phonological output buffer (i.e., working memory) components of these responses.

We will then determine the importance of planning-related activity by examining behavioral effects that result from complementary reversible cortical perturbations.

In Aim 1, we will use ECoG to test our hypothesis that specific cortical sites are involved in speech-selective motor planning in both controlled interactions (i.e., a question-answer paradigm) as well as natural, ethologically-relevant conversation.

In Aim 2, we will dissect utterance planning into its component parts using two different approaches: (1) a 'command-response' paradigm with increasing relevance to speech (as opposed to other motor acts) to determine the degree to which these responses can be characterized as linguistic processing and (2) a variable delay picture naming task to isolate the phonological output buffering component of the observed planning activity.

In Aim 3, we will assess the necessity of planning-related activity for vocal interactions by measuring the behavioral deficits that occur following transient perturbations of planning regions. Direct cortical stimulation will be used to disrupt planning activity with high temporal precision. Mild focal brain surface cooling will be used as a complementary method of modulating the temporal dynamics of planning activity.

From our studies, we will investigate the cortical network enabling vocal interactions to better understand the neural mechanisms underlying turn-taking with the broader goal of informing future therapeutic interventions designed to address the clinical conditions affecting human social language use.

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 10016 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 347% from $710,347 to $3,173,437.