Silent speechreading in the absence of scanner noise: an event-related fMRI study

TY - JOUR

T1 - Silent speechreading in the absence of scanner noise: an event-related fMRI study

AU - MacSweeney, M

AU - Amaro, E

AU - Calvert, G A

AU - Campbell, R

AU - David, A S

AU - McGuire, P

AU - Williams, S C R

AU - Woll, B

AU - Brammer, M J

PY - 2000

Y1 - 2000

N2 - In a previous study we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to demonstrate activation in auditory cortex during silent speechreading. Since image acquisition during fMRI generates acoustic noise, this pattern of activation could have reflected an interaction between background scanner noise and the visual lip-read stimuli. In this study we employed an event-related fMRI design which allowed us to measure activation during speechreading in the absence of acoustic scanner noise. In the experimental condition, hearing subjects were required to speechread random numbers from a silent speaker. In the control condition subjects watched a static image of the same speaker with mouth closed and were required to subvocally count an intermittent visual cue. A single volume of images was collected to coincide with the estimated peak of the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response to these stimuli across multiple baseline and experimental trials. Silent speechreading led to greater activation in lateral temporal cortex relative to the control condition. This indicates that activation of auditory areas during silent speechreading is not a function of acoustic scanner noise and confirms that silent speechreading engages similar regions of auditory cortex as listening to speech. NeuroReport 11:1729-1733 (C) 2000 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

AB - In a previous study we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to demonstrate activation in auditory cortex during silent speechreading. Since image acquisition during fMRI generates acoustic noise, this pattern of activation could have reflected an interaction between background scanner noise and the visual lip-read stimuli. In this study we employed an event-related fMRI design which allowed us to measure activation during speechreading in the absence of acoustic scanner noise. In the experimental condition, hearing subjects were required to speechread random numbers from a silent speaker. In the control condition subjects watched a static image of the same speaker with mouth closed and were required to subvocally count an intermittent visual cue. A single volume of images was collected to coincide with the estimated peak of the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response to these stimuli across multiple baseline and experimental trials. Silent speechreading led to greater activation in lateral temporal cortex relative to the control condition. This indicates that activation of auditory areas during silent speechreading is not a function of acoustic scanner noise and confirms that silent speechreading engages similar regions of auditory cortex as listening to speech. NeuroReport 11:1729-1733 (C) 2000 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

M3 - Article

VL - 11

SP - 1729

EP - 1733

JO - Neuroreport

JF - Neuroreport

IS - 8

ER -