Poster D38

How is prosodic processing lateralized in the brain?

Jurriaan Witteman¹, Niels Schiller¹, Vincent Van Heuven¹;¹Leiden University

How suprasegmental (prosodic) information is processed in the brain is still a matter of debate. A central question within this discussion is to which extent prosodic processing is lateralized in the brain. There are three non-mutually exclusive hypotheses regarding lateralization of prosodic processing: (1) Acoustic lateralization hypotheses state that lateralization of prosodic processing is dependent on the acoustic nature of prosodic information (2) The functional lateralization hypothesis posits that it is the emotional versus linguistic function of prosodic material that drives lateralization (3) The attraction hypothesis extents the functional hypothesis by adding that the size of the prosodic unit is of importance To test the differential explanatory power of these three hypotheses, it is crucial that they are compared in one study. Therefore, in the present study two dichotic listening experiments were designed that systematically varied the function of prosodic material while keeping acoustics constant for different prosodic unit sizes. Through this design the three hypotheses of prosodic lateralization could be tested in one study. Results showed greater right hemispheric involvement for bigger prosodic units, in partial support of the attraction hypothesis. No evidence was found for acoustic or functional lateralization of prosodic processing. It is concluded that the idea of continuous close cooperation between the two hemispheres in the processing of prosodic information is supported. This is in keeping with the emerging picture from the recent literature, which suggests bi-hemispheric involvement in prosodic processing.

Keywords: Primary = PERCEPTION & ACTION: Audition; Secondary = LANGUAGE: Other

 
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