Event-related potential correlates of online monitoring of auditory feedback during vocalization

• Published in: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 2009-04, Vol.125 (4_Supplement), p.2719-2719
• Main Authors: Hawco, Colin S., Jones, Jeffery A., Ferretti, Todd R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0001-4966; 1520-8524
• DOI: 10.1121/1.4784436

When speakers hear the fundamental frequency (F0) of their voice altered, they shift their F0 in the direction opposite to the perturbation. The neural mechanisms underlying this response are poorly understood. In the present study, event-related potentials (ERPs) were used to examine the neural mechanisms used to detect alterations in auditory feedback during an ongoing utterance. Participants vocalized for 3 s, and heard their auditory feedback shifted by 0, 25, 50, 100, or 200 cents for 100 ms midutterance. In two sessions, participants either vocalized at their habitual pitch, or matched a target pitch. A mismatch negativity (MMN) was observed, with the amplitude positively related to the size of the perturbations. No differences were found between sessions. The F0 compensation response was found to be smaller for 200 cent shifts than 100 cent shifts, and a positivity was observed in the ERPs for a 200 cent shift. This result suggests that a 200 cent shift may be perceived as externally (rather than internally) generated. Thepresence of an MMN, and no earlier (N100) response suggests that the underlying sensory process used to identify and compensate for errors in midutterance may differ from feedback monitoring at utterance onset.