Perceptual Asymmetries and Auditory Processing of Estonian Quantities
Similar to visual perception, auditory perception also has a clearly described “pop-out” effect, where an element with some extra feature is easier to detect among elements without an extra feature. This phenomenon is better known as auditory perceptual asymmetry. We investigated such asymmetry betw...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2021.612617/full |
| _version_ | 1818381551206924288 |
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| author | Liis Kask Liis Kask Nele Põldver Pärtel Lippus Kairi Kreegipuu |
| author_facet | Liis Kask Liis Kask Nele Põldver Pärtel Lippus Kairi Kreegipuu |
| author_sort | Liis Kask |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Similar to visual perception, auditory perception also has a clearly described “pop-out” effect, where an element with some extra feature is easier to detect among elements without an extra feature. This phenomenon is better known as auditory perceptual asymmetry. We investigated such asymmetry between shorter or longer duration, and level or falling of pitch of linguistic stimuli that carry a meaning in one language (Estonian), but not in another (Russian). For the mismatch negativity (MMN) experiment, we created four different types of stimuli by modifying the duration of the first vowel [ɑ] (170, 290 ms) and pitch contour (level vs. falling pitch) of the stimuli words (‘SATA,’ ‘SAKI’). The stimuli were synthesized from Estonian words (‘SATA,’ ‘SAKI’) and follow the Estonian language three-way quantity system, which incorporates tonal features (falling pitch contour) together with temporal patterns. This made the meaning of the word dependent on the combination of both features and allows us to compare the relative contribution of duration and pitch contour in discrimination of language stimuli in the brain via MMN generation. The participants of the experiment were 12 Russian native speakers with little or no experience in Estonian and living in Estonia short-term, and 12 Estonian native speakers (age 18–27 years). We found that participants’ perception of the linguistic stimuli differed not only according to the physical features but also according to their native language, confirming that the meaning of the word interferes with the early automatic processing of phonological features. The GAMM and ANOVA analysis of the reversed design results showed that the deviant with longer duration among shorter standards elicited a MMN response with greater amplitude than the short deviant among long standards, while changes in pitch contour (falling vs. level pitch) produced neither strong MMN nor asymmetry. Thus, we demonstrate the effect of language background on asymmetric perception of linguistic stimuli that aligns with those of previous studies (Jaramillo et al., 2000), and contributes to the growing body of knowledge supporting auditory perceptual asymmetry. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T02:36:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-62c4c09bb132445bb774fb9f663d37c7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5161 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T02:36:22Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-62c4c09bb132445bb774fb9f663d37c72022-12-21T23:20:07ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612021-04-011510.3389/fnhum.2021.612617612617Perceptual Asymmetries and Auditory Processing of Estonian QuantitiesLiis Kask0Liis Kask1Nele Põldver2Pärtel Lippus3Kairi Kreegipuu4Institute of Psychology, University of Tartu, Tartu, EstoniaDoctoral School of Behavioural, Social and Health Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, EstoniaInstitute of Psychology, University of Tartu, Tartu, EstoniaInstitute of Estonian and General Linguistics, University of Tartu, Tartu, EstoniaInstitute of Psychology, University of Tartu, Tartu, EstoniaSimilar to visual perception, auditory perception also has a clearly described “pop-out” effect, where an element with some extra feature is easier to detect among elements without an extra feature. This phenomenon is better known as auditory perceptual asymmetry. We investigated such asymmetry between shorter or longer duration, and level or falling of pitch of linguistic stimuli that carry a meaning in one language (Estonian), but not in another (Russian). For the mismatch negativity (MMN) experiment, we created four different types of stimuli by modifying the duration of the first vowel [ɑ] (170, 290 ms) and pitch contour (level vs. falling pitch) of the stimuli words (‘SATA,’ ‘SAKI’). The stimuli were synthesized from Estonian words (‘SATA,’ ‘SAKI’) and follow the Estonian language three-way quantity system, which incorporates tonal features (falling pitch contour) together with temporal patterns. This made the meaning of the word dependent on the combination of both features and allows us to compare the relative contribution of duration and pitch contour in discrimination of language stimuli in the brain via MMN generation. The participants of the experiment were 12 Russian native speakers with little or no experience in Estonian and living in Estonia short-term, and 12 Estonian native speakers (age 18–27 years). We found that participants’ perception of the linguistic stimuli differed not only according to the physical features but also according to their native language, confirming that the meaning of the word interferes with the early automatic processing of phonological features. The GAMM and ANOVA analysis of the reversed design results showed that the deviant with longer duration among shorter standards elicited a MMN response with greater amplitude than the short deviant among long standards, while changes in pitch contour (falling vs. level pitch) produced neither strong MMN nor asymmetry. Thus, we demonstrate the effect of language background on asymmetric perception of linguistic stimuli that aligns with those of previous studies (Jaramillo et al., 2000), and contributes to the growing body of knowledge supporting auditory perceptual asymmetry.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2021.612617/fullauditory perceptual asymmetrymismatch negativityspeech perceptionduration changepitch changequantity stimuli |
| spellingShingle | Liis Kask Liis Kask Nele Põldver Pärtel Lippus Kairi Kreegipuu Perceptual Asymmetries and Auditory Processing of Estonian Quantities Frontiers in Human Neuroscience auditory perceptual asymmetry mismatch negativity speech perception duration change pitch change quantity stimuli |
| title | Perceptual Asymmetries and Auditory Processing of Estonian Quantities |
| title_full | Perceptual Asymmetries and Auditory Processing of Estonian Quantities |
| title_fullStr | Perceptual Asymmetries and Auditory Processing of Estonian Quantities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Perceptual Asymmetries and Auditory Processing of Estonian Quantities |
| title_short | Perceptual Asymmetries and Auditory Processing of Estonian Quantities |
| title_sort | perceptual asymmetries and auditory processing of estonian quantities |
| topic | auditory perceptual asymmetry mismatch negativity speech perception duration change pitch change quantity stimuli |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2021.612617/full |
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