Seminar cancelled due to weather. Rescheduled date TBA

----

Takayuki Ito, PhD;  Haskins Laboratories

Orofacial somatosensory function in speech processing

Abstract: In orofacial somatosensory system, the cutaneous inputs may contribute to speech processing because several orofacial muscles lack muscle spindles and tendons. It is important to know how orofacial cutaneous inputs function in speech motor control and perception of the speech sounds. We here considered two topics: (1) somatosensory afferents associated with facial skin deformation in speech motor control and learning, and (2) interaction between orofacial somatosensory afferents and the perception of speech sounds. In series of the studies, we applied mechanical perturbations to the facial skin. By observing the response to the perturbation in speech production and perception, we found a significant role of orofacial cutaneous inputs in speech production and perception. The result also suggests speech perception and production are intimately linked and accordingly may share common neural mechanisms

Seminar Information

Seminars are generally held on Fridays at 10:30 AM in Room 203 of 44 Cummington Street. (Exceptions in time or location will be noted for any talks that are different).