A Neural Model Of Speech Production And Its Application To Studies Of The Role Of Auditory Feedback In Speech

Abstract

Abstract The overall objective of our research is to model the brain activity and the motor, biomechanical and sensory processes involved in speech production. Our approach is to use a combination of computational models and to develop and test them with brain imaging, psychophysical, physiological, anatomical and acoustic data. In particular, we have developed a neural network model of speech motor skill acquisition and speech production, called the DIVA model, that explains a wide range of data on contextual variability, motor equivalence, coarticulation and speaking rate effects (Guenther 1994, 1995a, b; Guenther and Micci Barreca 1997; Guenther et al. 1998; Perkell et al. 2000). This model is schematized in Fig. 2.1. In this chapter we provide a description of the model and its neural correlates, and we present results of studies on an important aspect of the model: the role of auditory feedback in the planning of speech movements.