Pre-lexical abstraction of speech in the auditory cortex

Jonas Obleser*, Frank Eisner

*Corresponding author for this work
99 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Speech perception requires the decoding of complex acoustic patterns. According to most cognitive models of spoken word recognition, this complexity is dealt with before lexical access via a process of abstraction from the acoustic signal to pre-lexical categories. It is currently unclear how these categories are implemented in the auditory cortex. Recent advances in animal neurophysiology and human functional imaging have made it possible to investigate the processing of speech in terms of probabilistic cortical maps rather than simple cognitive subtraction, which will enable us to relate neurometric data more directly to behavioural studies. We suggest that integration of insights from cognitive science, neurophysiology and functional imaging is necessary for furthering our understanding of pre-lexical abstraction in the cortex.

Original languageEnglish
JournalTrends in Cognitive Sciences
Volume13
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)14-19
Number of pages6
ISSN1364-6613
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01.2009

Research Areas and Centers

  • Academic Focus: Center for Brain, Behavior and Metabolism (CBBM)

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