# High-resolution functional imaging of speech-induced sensory modulation

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2024 · $491,943

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT
The overall goal of this project is to test and refine a neurobiological systems model of speech-induced sensory
modulation (SISM). Previous studies used magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG)
to reveal that auditory cortical responses evoked when speaking are reduced compared to passive listening, a
phenomenon known as speaking-induced suppression (SIS). This effect has been proposed to reflect the action
of learned forward models that predict sensory consequences of speech movements. While EEG/MEG studies
of SIS have provided important insights, these methods have limited anatomical precision. For this reason, the
auditory regions modulated by forward model predictions in speech, and the circuits that mediate them, remain
relatively poorly understood. To close this knowledge gap, this project uses 7T fMRI to measure brainwide activity
at exquisite resolution while participants complete a series of related auditory-motor tasks across multiple
sessions. Guided by contemporary models of speech production, we hypothesize that three functional circuits
link frontal speech planning areas with superior temporal auditory areas via cortical and trans-cerebellar
pathways, providing sensory predictions at different levels of representation. In Aim 1, one EEG and three fMRI
experiments will be used to map the sensory cortical areas modulated by self-generated speech. These studies
will define subject-specific regions-of-interest (ROIs) that differentially respond to overt speech vs. passive
listening to oneself or another speaker producing the same syllables or sentences. Multivariate encoding models
test hypotheses about the speech features represented in these ROIs. In the same speakers, we will determine
the extent and specificity of modulations in these ROIs during movement planning, prior to motor output. Aim 2
tests how these ROIs participate in error monitoring. Two fMRI experiments are designed to test hypotheses
about responses to auditory errors that are either (1) “low-level” acoustic-phonetic errors induced by unexpected
shifts in auditory feedback, or (2) “high-level” sound substitution errors elicited during a phonological error priming
task. Because Aim 2 is carried out in the same speakers as Aim 1, within-subject comparisons will enable high-
resolution individual-specific models and interpretations across observed effects. In Aim 3, we will determine the
role of the cerebellum (CB) in implementing learned forward models that drive SISM. Individuals with cerebellar
lesions and controls will be recruited to test the hypothesis that the CB is critical in learning predictive models for
speech. In these participants, and those tested in Aims 1 and 2, 7T fMRI will measure neural activity changes
during a speech motor adaptation task and a non-vocal auditory-motor learning task. Individuals with lesions in
Lobule VI are predicted to show reduced learning, reduced SISM, and reduced associations be...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10931583
- **Project number:** 5R01DC020963-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Jason W Bohland
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $491,943
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-18 → 2028-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10931583

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10931583, High-resolution functional imaging of speech-induced sensory modulation (5R01DC020963-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10931583. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*