Sensory and motor adaptation following auditory perturbation of /s/ production.
Douglas Shiller, Marc Sato, Vincent Gracco & Shari Baum SCSD, McGill University
Abstract
Studies of speech adaptation to altered auditory feedback have revealed that motor plans underlying vowel production are flexible, and that subjects will readily alter their motor output in order to achieve auditory perceptual targets. In the present study, we have extended this work by spectrally shifting the acoustic signal for the sibilant /s/ during the production of short /s/-initial words. Evidence of motor adaptation was observed following a brief, intensive period of practice under altered auditory conditions, indicating a role for auditory feedback in sibilant production. In addition to changes in speech motor output, subjects showed changes to their auditory speech-sound representations following the manipulation, suggesting that adaptation was not limited to the motor domain.
