Neural encoding of voice pitch and formant structure at birth as revealed by frequency-following responses
Abstract Detailed neural encoding of voice pitch and formant structure plays a crucial role in speech perception, and is of key importance for an appropriate acquisition of the phonetic repertoire in infants since birth. However, the extent to what newborns are capable of extracting pitch and forman...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-85799-x |
| _version_ | 1818840956112207872 |
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| author | Sonia Arenillas-Alcón Jordi Costa-Faidella Teresa Ribas-Prats María Dolores Gómez-Roig Carles Escera |
| author_facet | Sonia Arenillas-Alcón Jordi Costa-Faidella Teresa Ribas-Prats María Dolores Gómez-Roig Carles Escera |
| author_sort | Sonia Arenillas-Alcón |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Detailed neural encoding of voice pitch and formant structure plays a crucial role in speech perception, and is of key importance for an appropriate acquisition of the phonetic repertoire in infants since birth. However, the extent to what newborns are capable of extracting pitch and formant structure information from the temporal envelope and the temporal fine structure of speech sounds, respectively, remains unclear. Here, we recorded the frequency-following response (FFR) elicited by a novel two-vowel, rising-pitch-ending stimulus to simultaneously characterize voice pitch and formant structure encoding accuracy in a sample of neonates and adults. Data revealed that newborns tracked changes in voice pitch reliably and no differently than adults, but exhibited weaker signatures of formant structure encoding, particularly at higher formant frequency ranges. Thus, our results indicate a well-developed encoding of voice pitch at birth, while formant structure representation is maturing in a frequency-dependent manner. Furthermore, we demonstrate the feasibility to assess voice pitch and formant structure encoding within clinical evaluation times in a hospital setting, and suggest the possibility to use this novel stimulus as a tool for longitudinal developmental studies of the auditory system. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T04:18:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1c2df45d9ce34e87ac51c27fe57d9e6d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T04:18:25Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-1c2df45d9ce34e87ac51c27fe57d9e6d2022-12-21T20:36:13ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222021-03-0111111610.1038/s41598-021-85799-xNeural encoding of voice pitch and formant structure at birth as revealed by frequency-following responsesSonia Arenillas-Alcón0Jordi Costa-Faidella1Teresa Ribas-Prats2María Dolores Gómez-Roig3Carles Escera4Brainlab-Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of BarcelonaBrainlab-Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of BarcelonaBrainlab-Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of BarcelonaInstitut de Recerca Sant Joan de DéuBrainlab-Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of BarcelonaAbstract Detailed neural encoding of voice pitch and formant structure plays a crucial role in speech perception, and is of key importance for an appropriate acquisition of the phonetic repertoire in infants since birth. However, the extent to what newborns are capable of extracting pitch and formant structure information from the temporal envelope and the temporal fine structure of speech sounds, respectively, remains unclear. Here, we recorded the frequency-following response (FFR) elicited by a novel two-vowel, rising-pitch-ending stimulus to simultaneously characterize voice pitch and formant structure encoding accuracy in a sample of neonates and adults. Data revealed that newborns tracked changes in voice pitch reliably and no differently than adults, but exhibited weaker signatures of formant structure encoding, particularly at higher formant frequency ranges. Thus, our results indicate a well-developed encoding of voice pitch at birth, while formant structure representation is maturing in a frequency-dependent manner. Furthermore, we demonstrate the feasibility to assess voice pitch and formant structure encoding within clinical evaluation times in a hospital setting, and suggest the possibility to use this novel stimulus as a tool for longitudinal developmental studies of the auditory system.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-85799-x |
| spellingShingle | Sonia Arenillas-Alcón Jordi Costa-Faidella Teresa Ribas-Prats María Dolores Gómez-Roig Carles Escera Neural encoding of voice pitch and formant structure at birth as revealed by frequency-following responses Scientific Reports |
| title | Neural encoding of voice pitch and formant structure at birth as revealed by frequency-following responses |
| title_full | Neural encoding of voice pitch and formant structure at birth as revealed by frequency-following responses |
| title_fullStr | Neural encoding of voice pitch and formant structure at birth as revealed by frequency-following responses |
| title_full_unstemmed | Neural encoding of voice pitch and formant structure at birth as revealed by frequency-following responses |
| title_short | Neural encoding of voice pitch and formant structure at birth as revealed by frequency-following responses |
| title_sort | neural encoding of voice pitch and formant structure at birth as revealed by frequency following responses |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-85799-x |
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