Language-specific phoneme representations revealed by electric and magnetic brain responses (original) (raw)

Nature volume 385, pages 432–434 (1997)Cite this article

Abstract

There is considerable debate about whether the early processing of sounds depends on whether they form part of speech. Proponents of such speech specificity postulate the existence of language-dependent memory traces, which are activated in the processing of speech1–3 but not when equally complex, acoustic non-speech stimuli are processed. Here we report the existence of these traces in the human brain. We presented to Finnish subjects the Finnish phoneme prototype /e/ as the frequent stimulus, and other Finnish phoneme prototypes or a non-prototype (the Estonian prototype /õ/) as the infrequent stimulus. We found that the brain's automatic change-detection response, reflected electrically as the mismatch negativity (MMN)4–10, was enhanced when the infrequent, deviant stimulus was a prototype (the Finnish /ö/) relative to when it was a non-prototype (the Estonian /õ/). These phonemic traces, revealed by MMN, are language-specific, as /õ/ caused enhancement of MMN in Estonians. Whole-head magnetic recordings11,12 located the source of this native-language, phoneme-related response enhancement, and thus the language-specific memory traces, in the auditory cortex of the left hemisphere.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 51 print issues and online access

$199.00 per year

only $3.90 per issue

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Additional access options:

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Kuhl, P. K. Percept. Psychophys. 50, 93–107 (1991).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  2. Liberman, A. M., Harris, K. S., Hoffman, H. S. & Griffith, B. C. J. Exp. Psychol. 54, 358–368 (1957).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  3. Kuhl, P. K. J. Phonet. 21, 125–139 (1993).
    Google Scholar
  4. Näätänen, R., Gaillard, A. W. K. & Mäntysalo, S. Acta Psychol. 42, 313–329 (1978).
    Article Google Scholar
  5. Näätänen, R. Ear Hear. 16, 6–18 (1995).
    Article Google Scholar
  6. Näätänen, R. Attention and Brain Function (Lawrence Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, 1992).
    Google Scholar
  7. Tiitinen, H., May, P., Reinikainen, K. & Näätänen, R. Nature 372, 90–92 (1994).
    Article ADS CAS Google Scholar
  8. Aaltonen, O., Eerola, O., Hellström, Å., Unispaikka, E., & Lang, A. H. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. (in the press).
  9. Aulanko, R., Hari, R., Lounasmaa, O., Näätänen, R., & Sams, M. NeuroReport 2, 1356–1358 (1993).
    Article Google Scholar
  10. Kraus, N. et al. Science 273, 971–973 (1996).
    Article ADS CAS Google Scholar
  11. Hari, R. in Auditory Evoked Magnetic Fields and Electric Potentials. Advances in Audiology Vol. 6 (eds Grandori, F., Hoke, M. & Romani, G. L.) 222–282 (Karger, Basel, 1990).
    Google Scholar
  12. Hämäläinen, M., Hari, R., Ilmoniemi, R. J., Knuutila, J. & Lounasmaa, O. V. Rev. Mod. Phys. 65, 413–497 (1993).
    Article ADS Google Scholar
  13. Wiik, K. Ann. Univ. Turku. 94, 1–192 (1965).
    Google Scholar
  14. Iivonen, A. Phonetica 52, 221–224 (1995).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  15. Liiv, G. & Remmel, M. Sov. Fenno-Ugric Studies VI 1, 7–23 (1970).
    Google Scholar
  16. Näätänen, R., Ilmoniemi, R. J. & Alho, K. Trends Neurosci. 7, 389–395 (1994).
    Article Google Scholar
  17. Näätänen, R. & Alho, K. Electroenceph. Clin. Neurophysiol. (suppl.) 44, 179–185 (1995).
    Google Scholar
  18. Kuhl, P. K., Williams, K. A. & Lacerda, F. Science 255, 606–608 (1992).
    Article ADS CAS Google Scholar
  19. Giard, M. H. et al. J. Cogn. Neurosci. 7, 133–143 (1995).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  20. Alho, K. et al. Psychophysiology 33, 369–375 (1996).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  21. Levänen, S., Ahonen, A., Hari, R., McEvoy, L. & Sams, M. Cereb. Cortex 6, 288–296 (1996).
    Article Google Scholar
  22. Fant, G. The Acoustic Theory of Speech Production (Mouton, Hague, 1960).
    Google Scholar
  23. Alku, P. Speech Commun. 11, 109–118 (1992).
    Article Google Scholar
  24. Knuutila, J. E. T. et al. IEEE Trans. Magnet. 29, 3315–3320 (1992).
    Article ADS Google Scholar

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Helsinki, FIN-00014, Finland
    Risto Näätänen, Anne Lehtokoski, Marie Cheour, Minna Huotilainen, Janne Sinkkonen & Kimmo Alho
  2. Department of Phonetics, University of Helsinki, Finland
    Mietta Lennes, Antti Iivonen & Martti Vainio
  3. BioMag Laboratory, Medical Engineering Centre, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland
    Minna Huotilainen, Risto J. Ilmoniemi & Janne Sinkkonen
  4. Department of Applied Physics, Electronics and Information Technology, University of Turku, Finland
    Paavo Alku
  5. Acoustics Laboratory, Helsinki University of Technology, Finland
    Paavo Alku
  6. Department of Psychology, University of Tartu, Estonia
    Aavo Luuk & Jüri Allik

Authors

  1. Risto Näätänen
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  2. Anne Lehtokoski
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  3. Mietta Lennes
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  4. Marie Cheour
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  5. Minna Huotilainen
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  6. Antti Iivonen
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  7. Martti Vainio
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  8. Paavo Alku
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  9. Risto J. Ilmoniemi
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  10. Aavo Luuk
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  11. Jüri Allik
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  12. Janne Sinkkonen
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  13. Kimmo Alho
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Näätänen, R., Lehtokoski, A., Lennes, M. et al. Language-specific phoneme representations revealed by electric and magnetic brain responses.Nature 385, 432–434 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/385432a0

Download citation