Neural correlates of verbal feedback processing: an fMRI study employing overt speech.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional experimental within-subject fMRI neuroimaging study
PubMed 17266104 · doi:10.1002/hbm.20315
What was done
Investigators used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with a blocked design to examine neural correlates of undistorted verbal feedback processing during speech. Participants performed five conditions: (1) overt picture-naming, (2) overt picture-naming with pink noise masking feedback, (3) covert picture-naming, (4) listening to playback of their own voices naming pictures, and (5) listening to pink noise.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical values, coordinates, or statistical test metrics. Qualitatively, verbal feedback processing engaged performance-monitoring and speech-motor regions, including the cingulate cortex (specifically anterior cingulate cortex), bilateral insula, supplementary motor area, bilateral motor areas, cerebellum, thalamus, and basal ganglia. In the superior temporal gyrus, activation was attenuated when speaking under normal feedback conditions.
Why it matters
The findings provide neuroimaging support for forward models of speech motor control, showing that speech monitoring engages general error-monitoring networks and attenuates auditory cortical responsiveness to self-generated voice.
Limits
The abstract does not report sample size, participant demographics, statistical thresholds, or quantitative effect sizes. Functional imaging cannot establish whether the observed activation patterns are causally required for speech monitoring.
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