A common neural mechanism for speech perception and movement initiation specialized for place of articulation

Abstract

It had been proposed that there was a single shared mechanism in the left hemisphere of the brain, called the general motor programmer, that was necessary for not only the perception of speech but the initiation of hand movement also. The present study is an attempt to find out what the general motor programmer is specifically specialized for and to decipher whether timing or place of articulation is the defining feature of this proposed mechanism. It was found that the shared aspect between speech perception and movement initiation, and thus the basis of the general motor programmer, appears to be place of articulation. The findings suggest a motor programming basis for the perception of speech, which has implications for brain damage as well as for general principles of brain functioning.

Keywords

• cognitive functioning
• speech perception
• hand movement
• place of articulation
• general motor programmer
• hand preference