Voice familiarity engages auditory cortex

Familiarity with a speaker's voice has been shown to enhance its auditory processing, implicating physiological effects at the level of the auditory cortex, although auditory cortical involvement has not previously been demonstrated. Eleven healthy right-handed male participants performed two tasks during blood oxygenation level-dependant functional MRI at 1.5 T. Both tasks used the same vocal stimuli. In task 1, they classified speakers as familiar or unfamiliar. In task 2, they judged stimuli as being in the right or left auditory field. Our analysis showed an area of auditory cortex on the lower bank of the superior temporal sulcus that was preferentially activated by familiar voices in both tasks. Familiar voices may elicit access to detailed sensory expectations, allowing enhanced auditory cortical processing.

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