The left hemispheric advantage in speech perception is reflected in faster neurophysiological processing. On the basis of postmortem data, it has been suggested that asymmetries in the organization of the intrinsic microcircuitry of the posterior temporal lobe may produce this leftward timing advantage. However, whether this hypothetical structure-function relationship exists in vivo has never been empirically validated. To test this assumption, we used in vivo neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging to quantify microcircuitry in terms of axon and dendrite complexity of the left and right planum temporale in 98 individuals. We found that a higher density of dendrites and axons in the temporal speech area is associated with faster neurophysiological processing of auditory speech, as reflected by electroencephalography. Our results imply that a higher density and higher number of synaptic contacts in the left posterior temporal lobe increase temporal precision and decrease latency of neurophysiological processes in this brain region.

中文翻译：

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颞平面的神经突结构预测听觉语音的神经生理学处理。

语音感知中的左半球优势体现在更快的神经生理处理中。根据验尸数据，已提出后颞叶固有微电路组织中的不对称性可能会产生这种向左计时的优势。但是，这种假设的结构-功能关系在体内是否存在尚未得到经验证实。为了验证这一假设，我们使用了体内神经突取向分散和密度成像技术，对98位个体的左右平面颞叶的轴突和树突复杂性进行了量化。我们发现，脑电图反映，颞语音区域中较高的树突和轴突密度与听觉语音的更快的神经生理处理有关。