Speech Perception
What brain region first processes incoming sound in the CORTEX?
Primary auditory cortex (Heschl's gyrus)
Which area is responsible for speech production?
Broca's area
Which hemisphere is language-dominant for most people?
Left!
What are the 3 parts of a syllable?
Onset, nucleus, and coda
What structure is especially sensitive to phoneme-level acoustic patterns?
Superior Temporal Gyrus
Which area is responsible for speech comprehension?
Wernicke's area
Which part of the syllable carries the most acoustic energy and is always a vowel?
Nucleus
Superior Temporal Sulcus
Damage here would cause non-fluent, effortful speech, but in tact meaning.
Broca's aphasia
A patient hears speech but cannot understand the meaning - which pathway is likely damaged?
The ventral steam
Why are humans able to produce a wider range of speech sounds than chimpanzees?
They have a descended larynx + flexible vocal tract + better motor control