Speaking rhythmically can shape hearing

ASSANEO, M. FLORENCIA; RIMMELE, JOHANNA M.; SANZ PERL, YONATAN; POEPPEL, DAVID

Nature Human Behaviour

Nature Research

Año: 2021 vol. 5 p. 71 - 82

Evidence suggests that temporal predictions arising from the motor system can enhance auditory perception. However, in speech perception, we lack evidence of perception being modulated by production. Here we show a behavioural protocol that captures the existence of such auditory?motor interactions. Participants performed a syllable discrimination task immediately after producing periodic syllable sequences. Two speech rates were explored: a ?natural? (individually preferred) and a fixed ?non-natural? (2 Hz) rate. Using a decoding approach, we show that perceptual performance is modulated by the stimulus phase determined by a participant?s own motor rhythm. Remarkably, for ?natural? and ?non-natural? rates, this finding is restricted to a subgroup of the population with quantifiable auditory?motor coupling. The observed pattern is compatible with a neural model assuming a bidirectional interaction of auditory and speech motor cortices. Crucially, the model matches the experimental results only if it incorporates individual differences in the strength of the auditory?motor connection.