Listening to the Human Voice Alters Sensorimotor Brain Rhythms |
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| Authors: | Yohana Lévêque Daniele Sch?n |
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| Institution: | 1. Laboratoire Parole et Langage, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and Aix-Marseille Université, Aix-en-Provence, France.; 2. Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives de la Méditerranée, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France .; Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital, United States of America, |
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| Abstract: | While neuronal desynchronization in the mu (≈10Hz) and beta (≈20Hz) frequency bands has long been known to be an EEG index of sensorimotor activity, this method has rarely been employed to study auditory perception. In the present study, we measured mu and beta event-related desynchronisation (ERD) while participants were asked to listen to vocal and triangle-wave melodies and to sing them back. Results showed that mu and beta ERD began earlier and were stronger when listening to vocal compared to non-vocal melodies. Interestingly, this humanness effect was stronger for less accurate singers. These results show that voice perception favors an early involvement of motor representations. |
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