Architecture and Plasticity of Speech Production Pathways in the Human Brain

Speaking requires the brain to transform auditory goals into precisely coordinated movements through interactions among sensory, motor, and parietal regions (Guenther 2006; Hickok et al. 2011). However, how these pathways develop during speech learning remains poorly understood. This project investigates how the adult brain learns to perceive and produce unfamiliar speech sounds by training native English speakers on a phonetic contrast from Hindi or Bangla that does not occur in English. Participants complete perceptual and production training alongside behavioral testing and three electroencephalography (EEG) sessions. By tracking changes in brain activity before and after each stage of training, the study aims to determine how auditory and motor representations interact and adapt as new speech patterns are learned. The findings may advance our understanding of speech learning and inform future research on speech production disorders such as stuttering and apraxia of speech.

If you are interested in learning more about the project or contributing in other ways, please reach out to orpella.lab@georgetown.edu.