CNS Speech Lab
Research Projects

The DIVA Model
Model Demos
Neural Correlates

Sound Categorization
Audio-Visual Speech

Neuroimaging Overview
Neuroimaging Results

Neural Prosthetics



Department of
Cognitive & Neural Systems

Results from SpeechLab Brain Imaging Studies

An fMRI Study of the Overt Production of Simple Speech Sounds

In this study we used fMRI to explore the network of brain regions involved in the overt production of simple syllables and bisyllable nonsense utterances.

Ghosh S.S., Guenther F.H. and Tourville, J.A. (2008). An fMRI study of the overt production of simple speech sounds. Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research, 51:1183-1202.

Neural mechanisms underlying auditory feedback control

The neural substrates underlying auditory feedback control of speech were investigated using a combination of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and computational modeling.

Tourville, J.A., Reilly, K.J., and Guenther, F.H. (2008). Neural mechanisms underlying auditory feedback control of speech. NeuroImage,39(3):1429-1443.

Cortical networks underlying audio-visual speech perception in normally hearing and hearing impaired individuals

Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to investigate the brain activity underlying audio-visual speech perception in normally hearing and congenitally deaf individuals.

Yoo, J. (2006). FMRI Studies of Effects of Hearing Status on Audio-visual Speech Perception. PhD dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

An fMRI investigation of syllable sequence production

We examined brain activations related to the preparation and production of non-lexical syllable sequences of varying complexity.

Bohland, J.W. and Guenther, F.H. (2006). An fMRI investigation of syllable sequence production. NeuroImage, 32(2): 821-841.

Representation of sound categories in peri-sylvian cortex

This perceptual study investigated the representations of prototypical and non-prototypical vowel sounds as well as the effects of categorization and discrimination training using novel stimuli.

Guenther, F.H., Nieto-Castanon, A., Ghosh, S.S., and Tourville, J.A. (2004). Representation of sound categories in auditory cortical maps. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 47, pp. 46-57.

Neural Mechanisms Underlying Somatosensory Compensation

Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to investigate the effects of jaw perturbation on cortical activity during speech production.

Tourville, JA, Guenther, FH, Ghosh, SS, Reilly, KJ, Bohland, JW, and Nieto-Castanon, A (2005). Effects of acoustic and articulatory perturbation on cortical activity during speech production. NeuroImage (Proceedings of the 11th Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping, Toronto), 26(S1), p. S49.

Brain Activity During Discrimination and Identification of Speech Sounds

This perceptual study investigated the brain activity involved in performing an identification task and a discrimination task using speech sounds in the continuum from /ra/ to /la/.

Imaging was performed on the Siemens 3T Trio scanner at the Massachusetts General Hospital NMR Center in 2004.