TY - JOUR
T1 - A near-infrared spectroscopy study on cortical hemodynamic responses to normal and whispered speech in 3- to 7-year-old children
AU - Remijn, Gerard B.
AU - Kikuchi, Mitsuru
AU - Yoshimura, Yuko
AU - Shitamichi, Kiyomi
AU - Ueno, Sanae
AU - Tsubokawa, Tsunehisa
AU - Kojima, Haruyuki
AU - Higashida, Haruhiro
AU - Minabe, Yoshio
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by Grant 22591276 from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (awarded to Gerard B. Remijn and Mitsuru Kikuchi) and the Hokuriku Innovation Cluster for Health Science (Program for Fostering Regional Innovation from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
PY - 2017/2
Y1 - 2017/2
N2 - Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess cortical hemodynamic response patterns in 3- to 7-year-old children listening to two speech modes: normally vocalized and whispered speech. Understanding whispered speech requires processing of the relatively weak, noisy signal, as well as the cognitive ability to understand the speaker’s reason for whispering. Method: Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was used to assess changes in cortical oxygenated hemoglobin from 16 typically developing children. Results: A profound difference in oxygenated hemoglobin levels between the speech modes was found over left ventral sensorimotor cortex. In particular, over areas that represent speech articulatory body parts and motion, such as the larynx, lips, and jaw, oxygenated hemoglobin was higher for whisper than for normal speech. The weaker stimulus, in terms of sound energy, thus induced the more profound hemodynamic response. This, moreover, occurred over areas involved in speech articulation, even though the children did not overtly articulate speech during measurements. Conclusion: Because whisper is a special form of communication not often used in daily life, we suggest that the hemodynamic response difference over left ventral sensorimotor cortex resulted from inner (covert) practice or imagination of the different articulatory actions necessary to produce whisper as opposed to normal speech.
AB - Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess cortical hemodynamic response patterns in 3- to 7-year-old children listening to two speech modes: normally vocalized and whispered speech. Understanding whispered speech requires processing of the relatively weak, noisy signal, as well as the cognitive ability to understand the speaker’s reason for whispering. Method: Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was used to assess changes in cortical oxygenated hemoglobin from 16 typically developing children. Results: A profound difference in oxygenated hemoglobin levels between the speech modes was found over left ventral sensorimotor cortex. In particular, over areas that represent speech articulatory body parts and motion, such as the larynx, lips, and jaw, oxygenated hemoglobin was higher for whisper than for normal speech. The weaker stimulus, in terms of sound energy, thus induced the more profound hemodynamic response. This, moreover, occurred over areas involved in speech articulation, even though the children did not overtly articulate speech during measurements. Conclusion: Because whisper is a special form of communication not often used in daily life, we suggest that the hemodynamic response difference over left ventral sensorimotor cortex resulted from inner (covert) practice or imagination of the different articulatory actions necessary to produce whisper as opposed to normal speech.
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U2 - 10.1044/2016_JSLHR-H-15-0435
DO - 10.1044/2016_JSLHR-H-15-0435
M3 - Article
C2 - 28114676
AN - SCOPUS:85013468529
VL - 60
SP - 465
EP - 470
JO - Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders
JF - Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders
SN - 1092-4388
IS - 2
ER -