Withholding planned speech is reflected in synchronized beta-band oscillations

Withholding planned speech is reflected in synchronized beta-band oscillations

When engaged in a conversation, speakers sometimes have to withhold a planned response, for example, before it is their turn to speak. In the present study, using magnetoencephalography (MEG) outside of a conversational setting, we investigate the oscillatory brain mechanisms involved in the process of withholding a planned verbal response until it is time to speak. Our participants viewed a se...

Language–motor interference reflected in MEG beta oscillations

The involvement of the brain's motor system in action-related language processing can lead to overt interference with simultaneous action execution. The aim of the current study was to find evidence for this behavioural interference effect and to investigate its neurophysiological correlates using oscillatory MEG analysis. Subjects performed a semantic decision task on single action verbs, desc...

Beta-band oscillations--signalling the status quo?

In this review, we consider the potential functional role of beta-band oscillations, which at present is not yet well understood. We discuss evidence from recent studies on top-down mechanisms involved in cognitive processing, on the motor system and on the pathophysiology of movement disorders that suggest a unifying hypothesis: beta-band activity seems related to the maintenance of the curren...

in synchronized neuronal oscillations

Is Coarticulation in Speech Kinematics Centrally Planned ?

Coarticulation in speech production is a phenomenon in which the articulator movements for a given speech sound vary systematically with the surrounding sounds and their associated movements. Although these variations may appear to be centrally planned, without explicit models of the speech articulators, the kinematic patterns which are attributable to central control cannot be distinguished fr...