Sensory error drives fine motor adjustment
Abstract
Fine audiovocal control is a hallmark of human speech production and depends on precisely coordinated muscle activity guided by sensory feedback. Little is known about shared audiovocal mechanisms between humans and other mammals. We hypothesized that real-time audiovocal control in bat echolocation uses the same computational principles as human speech. To test the prediction of this hypothesis, we applied state feedback control (SFC) theory to the analysis of call frequency adjustments in the echolocating bat, Hipposideros armiger . This model organism exhibits well-developed audiovocal control to sense its surroundings via echolocation. Our experimental paradigm was analogous to one implemented in human subjects. We measured the bats’ vocal responses to spectrally altered echolocation calls. Individual bats exhibited highly distinct patterns of vocal compensation to these altered calls. Our findings mirror typical observations of speech control in humans listening to spectrally altered speech. Using mathematical modeling, we determined that the same computational principles of SFC apply to bat echolocation and human speech, confirming the prediction of our hypothesis.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jun 27, 2022
- Source ID
- 10.1073/pnas.2201275119
Entities
People
- Cynthia F. Moss
- Huanhuan Li
- Huimin Wang
- Jinhong Luo
- Xingxing Li
- Yuxuan Zhou
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Human Frontier Science Program
- Johns Hopkins University
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- National Science Foundation
- Office of Naval Research
- Wuhan University