A recent study led by Steven Eliades MD, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences, and in the Departments of Neurobiology and Biomedical Engineering at Duke University School of Medicine, was published in the Journal of Neuroscience on July 11, 2025.
The article, titled “Vocal error monitoring in the primate auditory cortex”, explores how the brain detects and corrects vocal errors in real time. Using non-human primates, the research team introduced pitch shifts during vocalizations to simulate auditory feedback errors. They found that neurons in the auditory cortex responded more strongly to altered feedback, and the magnitude of this response predicted how the animals adjusted their vocal output.
These findings suggest that the auditory cortex plays a direct role in monitoring and correcting speech, not just in processing sound. This research offers new insights into the neural mechanisms behind speech regulation and learning, with potential implications for understanding speech disorders and developing therapeutic interventions.
Dr. Eliades’ work continues to advance our understanding of the complex relationship between hearing and vocal control.