Mapping Speech Sound to Mental Representation : Neurophonological Evidence from Event-Related Brain Potentials

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Vom Laut zur Mentalen Repräsentation,Neurophonologische Evidenz von Ereignis-Korrelierten Hirn Potentialen
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Abstract
To date it is unclear how the brain deals with the enormous variation in speech and how words are recognized with such varying input. It also remains unknown what exactly is stored in the mental lexicon and how detailed phonological information must be represented to ensure fast and adequate speech comprehension and processing. Different kinds of psycholinguistic models have been proposed in dealing with such variation and how speech sounds are stored in the mental lexicon. This dissertation aims to resolve this question by using electrophysiological methods in the investigation of the neuronal representation of phonological information.
Chapter 1 gives an introduction to four different models of speech perception and representation. The account, which is tested in this research the Featurally Underspecified Lexicon Model (FUL; Lahiri & Reetz, 2002, 2010) assumes abstract and underspecified representations of phonological features. When dealing with variation, all models except for the FUL model assume full specification of lexical form that relies on experience or context. The Mismatch Negativity, an automatic change detection response in the brain, has been shown to be a powerful tool in this line of research as it enables the investigation of the representation of specific phonological features by contrasting speech sounds. Five MMN experiments were set up to test predictions of the FUL model in contrast to other models that differ in the degree to which phonological feature information (i.e. place and manner of articulation) is specified or underspecified. Only models assuming underspecified phonological features such as FUL predict an asymmetry of MMNs within the reversal of sound contrasts, presented as standard and deviant. For instance, sounds that are underspecified regarding a certain feature, cannot build up a representation when presented as standard. Consequently they do not conflict with the incoming deviant sound, which is reflected in reduced MMN amplitudes. In the reversed case, when a sound is assumed to be specified for a specific feature, it will be pre-activated by the standard. Therefore a conflict occurs with other incoming deviant sounds, which will elicit larger MMN responses. Models proposing full storage of all phonological information would predict equal MMNs within the reversal of sound contrasts.
Chapter 2 presents the general methods used in all of the altogether six experiments. Adult subjects were presented with speech sounds embedded into words, nonwords, and syllables that were contrasted, each serving as standard and deviant in an MMN design.
In Chapter 3 the studies with their results are presented and discussed. More specifically, the MMN Experiments 1-5 tested the FUL model s assumptions of the different place and manner features. The last three MMN experiments (3-5) were aimed at generalizing the underspecification account to other feature dimensions such as manner of articulation. Experiment 6 was a behavioral discrimination study to control for acoustic and attentional effects of all the consonantal sound contrasts used in Experiments 3-5. Breaking new ground by looking at different feature dimensions in this dissertation such as place and manner of articulation with different speech sounds, provides further support for the notion that mental representations of phonological features are not a one-to-one relation between the acoustic speech signal and their mental representations. Rather phonological information may be more abstract compared to theories suggesting full storage of all phonological details. These reported MMN asymmetries between conditions for the same acoustic contrasts in Chapter 3 clearly suggest that the brain refers to underspecified phonological representations as a basic principle in the functional organization of the mental lexicon during speech perception.
Chapter 4 gives a general discussion of all results, discussing them in the light of different psycholinguistic models and further influencing factors such as acoustics and frequency effects.
Summary in another language
Wie das Gehirn mit der großen Varianz in der Sprache umgeht und wie Wörter aus dem variantenreichen Sprachsignal erkannt und verstanden werden, ist bisher ungeklärt. Es ist auch unklar, was genau im mentalen Lexikon abgespeichert ist und wie detailliert phonologische Informationen repräsentiert sein muss, um eine schnelle und angemessene Sprachverarbeitung und Sprachperzeption zu gewährleisten. Verschiedene psycholinguistische Modelle wurden entwickelt, die mit diesen sprachlichen Variationen umgehen und die zu erkären versuchen wie sprachliche Laute im mentalen Lexikon abgespeichert sein könnten. Diese Dissertation hat zum Ziel, der Frage nach der neuronalen Repräsentation phonologischer Information mit Hilfe von elektrophysiologischen Methoden nachzugehen.
Kapitel 1 stellt vier verschiedene Modelle der Sprachperzeption und -repräsentation vor. Das Model das in dieser wissenschaftlichen Arbeit getestet wird das Featurally Underspecified Lexicon Model (FUL; Lahiri & Reetz, 2002, 2010) nimmt abstrakte und unterspezifizierte Repräsentationen von phonologischen Merkmalen an. Beim Umgang mit Sprachvariation nehmen alle Modelle außer FUL eine volle Spezifikation lexikalischer Formen an, die auf Erfahrung oder kontextueller Information basieren. Die Mismatch Negativity, eine automatische Hirnreaktion, die akustische Veränderungen detektiert, hat sich für diese Art von wissenschaftlicher Forschung als effektive Methode gezeigt. Sie ermöglicht die Erforschung von Repräsentationen bestimmter phonologischer Merkmale, indem Sprachlaute kontrastiert werden. Fünf MMN-Experimente wurden durchgeführt, um Annahmen von FUL im Vergleich zu anderen Lexikon Modellen zu testen, die sich darin unterscheiden, welche Art von phonologischer Merkmalsinformation (z.B. Artikulationsort und -art) spezifiziert oder unterspezifiziert ist. Nur Modelle, die unterspezifizierte phonologische Merkmale annehmen, erwarten MMN-Asymmetrien in der Umkehr von Lautkontrasten. So können zum Beispiel Laute, die hinsichtlich eines bestimmten Merkmals unterspezifiziert sind keine Repräsentation aufbauen, wenn sie als Standard präsentiert werden. Sie konfligieren dann nicht mit dem eingehenden devianten Laut, was sich in einer geringen MMN widerspiegeln sollte. In der umgekehrten Richtung, d.h. wenn ein Laut hinsichtlich eines bestimmten phonologischen Merkmals spezifiziert ist, sollte dieses Merkmal vom Standard voraktiviert werden. Damit entsteht ein Konflikt mit anderen eingehenden abweichenden Lauten. Dies sollte sich in einer erhöhten MMN widerspiegeln. Phonologische Modelle, die die volle Spezifikation phonologischer Repräsentationen annehmen, erwarten gleiche MMNs zwischen kontrastierenden Lauten, unabhängig davon welcher als Standard oder Deviant präsentiert wird.
Kapitel 2 stellt die allgemeinen Methoden vor, die in allen insgesamt sechs Experimenten durchgeführt wurden. Erwachsenen Versuchspersonen wurden Sprachlaute präsentiert, die in Wörter, Pseudowörter und Silben eingebettet waren. Sie wurden kontrastiert, d.h. sie dienten jeweils als Standard und als Deviant in einem MMN-Design.
In Kapitel 3 werden Studien und ihre Ergebnisse präsentiert und diskutiert. Die MMN Experimente 1-5 testeten die Annahmen des FUL-Modells bezüglich verschiedener Merkmale des Artikulationsortes und der ArtikulationsartDie letzten drei MMN Experimente (3-5) zielten darauf ab, die Annahmen der Unterspezifikation auf andere Merkmalsdimensionen wie auf Merkmale der Artikulationsart zu generalisieren. Experiment 6 war eine behaviorale Diskriminationsstudie, die akustische und aufmerksamkeitsbezogene Prozesse aller konsonantischen Lautkontraste, die in den Experimenten 3-5 untersucht wurden, kontrollieren sollte. Indem erstmalig verschiedene Merkmalsdimensionen in dieser Dissertation untersucht wurden, wie Merkmale des Artikulationsortes und der Artikulationsart mit unterschiedlichen Sprachlauten, ist weitere Evidenz für die Sichtweise geschaffen worden, dass mentale Repräsentationen phonologischer Merkmale keine eins-zu-eins Übersetzung zwischen dem akustischen Sprachsignal und der mentalen Repräsentation sind. Vielmehr scheint die phonologische Information mehr abstrakt repräsentiert zu sein als Theorien, die eine volle Speicherung aller phonologischen Details annehmen, postulieren. Die
berichteten MMN-Asymmetrien in Kapitel 3 zwischen Bedingungen mit gleichen akustischen Kontrasten weist darauf hin, dass das Gehirn unterspezifizierte phonologische Repräsentationen als grundlegendes Prinzip in der funktionalen Organisation des mentalen Lexikons während der Sprachwahrnehmung nutzt.
Kapitel 4 diskutiert alle Ergebnisse im Licht der verschiedenen psycholinguistischen Modelle unter Berücksichtigung weiterer beeinflussender Faktoren wie Effekte der Frequenz oder der akustischen Eigenschaften der Laute.
Subject (DDC)
150 Psychology
Keywords
Mismatch Negativity,EKP,Mismatch Negativity,ERP
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Cite This
ISO 690CORNELL, Sonia, 2010. Mapping Speech Sound to Mental Representation : Neurophonological Evidence from Event-Related Brain Potentials [Dissertation]. Konstanz: University of Konstanz
BibTex
@phdthesis{Cornell2010Mappi-11347,
  year={2010},
  title={Mapping Speech Sound to Mental Representation : Neurophonological Evidence from Event-Related Brain Potentials},
  author={Cornell, Sonia},
  address={Konstanz},
  school={Universität Konstanz}
}
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