Brain Wields Symphony-Like Control of Vocal Tract during Human Speech

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, have discovered the neurological origin of speech motor control and how the brain controls the lips, tongue and voice box as we speak. As noted in the journal Nature, the studies could lead to computer-brain interfaces that could treat speech disorders.

To understand the complex means through which speech articulation works, researchers recorded the electrical activity from the brains of three brain surgery patients. The information gathered helped to determine the organization of the “speech sensorimotor cortex”.  With the application of a new method called “state-space” analysis, researchers found a surprising sophistication in how the brain’s speech sensorimotor cortex functions. Click here to read the full article.