Speech production is perhaps the most amazing human skill, involving an orchestration of over 100 muscles, the planning, prediction and monitoring of unfolding speech consequences. For most people, this task is learned naturally and is executed effortlessly. However, for those suffering from speech disorders, including stuttering, this task is effortful, often dysfluent and frustrating. Evidence arriving form Parkinsons’s disease research has brought several insights on the role of two major cortico-basal ganglia pathways for motor control more generally: the direct and the indirect pathway. More recently, a third pathway called the ‘hyperdirect pathway’ was found to play a significant role in motor inhibition and the preparation for motor initiation, including speech production. Here, we investigate the neural dynamics of the hyperdirect pathway on speech production using high-density EEG, TMS and computational models of brain decoding and encoding.
Research positions: 2
Acquire and process EEG data.
Apply computational models to link EEG signals to speech output.
Localize the brain sources of the EEG signals my modelling the link between brain anatomy and EEG recordings.
Learn how to use transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to stimuli brain function and it's link to EEG signal changes.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
