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Modulation of vocal pitch control through high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation of the left ventral motor cortex

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Abstract

Neural interactions between sensorimotor integration mechanisms play critical roles in voice motor control. We investigated how high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) of the left ventral motor cortex modulates neural mechanisms of sensorimotor integration during voice motor control. HD-tDCS was performed during speech vowel production in an altered auditory feedback (AAF) paradigm in response to upward and downward pitch-shift stimuli. In one experiment, two groups received either anodal or cathodal 2 milliamp (mA) HD-tDCS to the left ventral motor cortex while a third group received sham (placebo) stimulation. In a second experiment, two groups received either 1 mA or 2 mA cathodal HD-tDCS to the left ventral motor cortex. Results of the first experiment indicated that the magnitude of vocal compensation was significantly reduced following anodal and cathodal HD-tDCS only in responses to downward pitch-shift AAF stimuli, with stronger effects associated with cathodal HD-tDCS. However, no such effect was observed following sham stimulation. Results of the second experiment indicate that there is not a differential effect of modulation from 1 mA versus 2 mA. Further, these results replicate the directional finding of the first experiment for vocal compensation in response to downward pitch-shift only. These findings suggest that neurostimulation of the left ventral motor cortex modulates sensorimotor mechanisms underlying voice motor control. We speculate that this effect is associated with the increased contribution of feedforward motor mechanisms, leading to reduced compensatory speech responses to AAF.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dr. Julius Fridriksson for access to the MxN HD-tDCS stimulation device, and Janelle Rocktashel for assistance with experiment 2.

Funding

This research was supported by a Magellan scholarship award to K.B. and C.H., from the office of the Vice President for Research at the University of South Carolina (Grant number: 11560–15-38104).

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

RB and DDO designed the research, and KB, CH, and DF collected data for the experiments. RB, DdO, KJ, and DF analyzed the collected data. RB and DDO wrote the paper and all authors reviewed and approved the final draft.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dirk-Bart den Ouden.

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Conflicts of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Ethics approval

The study was approved by the institutional Review Board of the University of South Carolina (Experiment 1: Pro00040909; Experiment 2: Pro00059310) and performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.

Consent to participate

All subjects gave written consent to participate and were either monetarily compensated (Experiment 1) or received course credit (Experiments 1 and 2) for their participation.

Availability of data and materials

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, DdO, upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Communicated by Winston D. Byblow.

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Behroozmand, R., Johari, K., Bridwell, K. et al. Modulation of vocal pitch control through high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation of the left ventral motor cortex. Exp Brain Res 238, 1525–1535 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-020-05832-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-020-05832-9

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