The human voice areas: Spatial organization and inter-individual variability in temporal and extra-temporal cortices

• Published in: NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.) Fla.), 2015-10, Vol.119, p.164-174
• Main Authors: Pernet, Cyril R., McAleer, Phil, Latinus, Marianne, Gorgolewski, Krzysztof J., Charest, Ian, Bestelmeyer, Patricia E.G., Watson, Rebecca H., Fleming, David, Crabbe, Frances, Valdes-Sosa, Mitchell, Belin, Pascal
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acoustic Stimulation; Adult; Amygdala; Auditory cortex; Auditory Cortex - physiology; Brain Mapping; Cluster analysis; Cognitive Sciences; Colleges & universities; Confidence intervals; Dominance, Cerebral; Experiments; Female; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Humans; Individuality; Inferior prefrontal cortex; Life Sciences; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Neurobiology; Neurons and Cognition; Speech; Speech Perception - physiology; Superior temporal gyrus; Superior temporal sulcus; Voice; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1053-8119; 1095-9572
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.06.050

fMRI studies increasingly examine functions and properties of non-primary areas of human auditory cortex. However there is currently no standardized localization procedure to reliably identify specific areas across individuals such as the standard ‘localizers’ available in the visual domain. Here we present an fMRI ‘voice localizer’ scan allowing rapid and reliable localization of the voice-sensitive ‘temporal voice areas’ (TVA) of human auditory cortex. We describe results obtained using this standardized localizer scan in a large cohort of normal adult subjects. Most participants (94%) showed bilateral patches of significantly greater response to vocal than non-vocal sounds along the superior temporal sulcus/gyrus (STS/STG). Individual activation patterns, although reproducible, showed high inter-individual variability in precise anatomical location. Cluster analysis of individual peaks from the large cohort highlighted three bilateral clusters of voice-sensitivity, or “voice patches” along posterior (TVAp), mid (TVAm) and anterior (TVAa) STS/STG, respectively. A series of extra-temporal areas including bilateral inferior prefrontal cortex and amygdalae showed small, but reliable voice-sensitivity as part of a large-scale cerebral voice network. Stimuli for the voice localizer scan and probabilistic maps in MNI space are available for download. •Three “voice patches” along human superior temporal gyrus/sulcus.•Anatomical location reproducible within- but variable between-individuals.•Extended voice processing network includes amygdala and prefrontal cortex.•Stimulus material for “voice localizer” scan available for download.