Listen to yourself: The medial prefrontal cortex modulates auditory alpha power during speech preparation

Müller-Voggel N, Leske S, Hartmann T, Szebenyi S, Weisz N (2015)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2015

Journal

Cerebral Cortex Oxford University Press

Book Volume: 25

Pages Range: 4029-4037

Journal Issue: 11

DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhu117

Abstract

How do we process stimuli that stem from the external world and stimuli that are self-generated? In the case of voice perception it has been shown that evoked activity elicited by self-generated sounds is suppressed compared with the same sounds played-back externally. We here wanted to reveal whether neural excitability of the auditory cortex-putatively reflected in local alpha band power-is modulated already prior to speech onset, and which brain regions may mediate such a top-down preparatory response. In the left auditory cortex we show that the typical alpha suppression found when participants prepare to listen disappears when participants expect a selfspoken sound. This suggests an inhibitory adjustment of auditory cortical activity already before sound onset. As a second main finding we demonstrate that the medial prefrontal cortex, a region known for selfreferential processes, mediates these condition-specific alpha power modulations. This provides crucial insights into how higher-order regions prepare the auditory cortex for the processing of self-generated sounds. Furthermore, the mechanism outlined could provide further explanations to self-referential phenomena, such as "tickling yourself". Finally, it has implications for the so-far unsolved question of how auditory alpha power is mediated by higher-order regions in a more general sense.

Authors with CRIS profile

Nadia Müller-Voggel Department of Neurosurgery

Involved external institutions

Universität Konstanz DE Germany (DE) Università degli Studi di Trento IT Italy (IT)

How to cite

APA:

Müller-Voggel, N., Leske, S., Hartmann, T., Szebenyi, S., & Weisz, N. (2015). Listen to yourself: The medial prefrontal cortex modulates auditory alpha power during speech preparation. Cerebral Cortex, 25(11), 4029-4037. https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhu117

MLA:

Müller-Voggel, Nadia, et al. "Listen to yourself: The medial prefrontal cortex modulates auditory alpha power during speech preparation." Cerebral Cortex 25.11 (2015): 4029-4037.

BibTeX: Download