Auditory Cortex Participates in Speech Production.

Abstract:
Early models of the neurology of language hypothesized the involvement of auditory cortex in speech production. Specifically, the same auditory networks involved in speech perception were thought to be activated during speech production. Modern evidence has demonstrated involvement of left posterior cortices in speech production, but has not implicated the same auditory regions thought to be involved in speech perception. Fifteen subjects participated in a functional MRI study of sub-vocal speech production using an object naming task. The overall pattern of activation was consistent with previous studies of object naming, including foci in inferior frontal and ventral occipital-temporal cortices. We also observed activation in auditory cortex in the left posterior supratemporal plane, suggesting that this region is involved not only in speech perception, as has been reported previously, but also in speech production.