Neurobiological interpretation of a quantitative target approximation model for speech actions

Authors: Bernd J. Kröger, Peter Birkholz, Jim Kannampuzha, Cornelia Eckers, Emily Kaufmann, Christiane Neuschaefer-Rube

Abstract:

No quantitative specifications are known for neurobiologically motivated motor plans of speech actions (i.e. syllables, words, or utterances). This paper is motivated by the notion that quantitative parameters – as they can be estimated using a three-parameter model of movement trajectory approximation – are valuable candidates for specifying each movement action within the motor plan of an entire speech action. This paper will also argue that each movement action is comprised of a preparation phase, a target approximation phase, a target phase, and a release phase. Index Terms: speech action; motor plan; movement action; vocal tract action; movement trajectory; target approximation