Neural Processing of Congruent and Incongruent Audiovisual Speech in School-Age Children and Adults

Authors: Heikkilä, J., Tiippana, K., Loberg, O. and Leppänen, P.H.T.

Journal: Language Learning

Volume: 68

Pages: 58-79

eISSN: 1467-9922

ISSN: 0023-8333

DOI: 10.1111/lang.12266

Abstract:

Seeing articulatory gestures enhances speech perception. Perception of auditory speech can even be changed by incongruent visual gestures, which is known as the McGurk effect (e.g., dubbing a voice saying /mi/ onto a face articulating /ni/, observers often hear /ni/). In children, the McGurk effect is weaker than in adults, but no previous knowledge exists about the neural-level correlates of the McGurk effect in school-age children. Using brain event-related potentials, we investigated change detection responses to congruent and incongruent audiovisual speech in school-age children and adults. We used an oddball paradigm with a congruent audiovisual /mi/ as the standard stimulus and a congruent audiovisual /ni/ or McGurk A/mi/V/ni/ as the deviant stimulus. In adults, a similar change detection response was elicited by both deviant stimuli. In children, change detection responses differed between the congruent and the McGurk stimulus. This reflects a maturational difference in the influence of visual stimuli on auditory processing.

Source: Scopus