Research: neural mechanisms controlling the voice and the larynx
Chuck Larson and his lab study the neural mechanisms controlling the voice and the larynx. They have found that when people hear their own voice through earphones, and when the voice pitch through the earphones is unexpectedly changed upwards or downwards, people automatically adjust the pitch of their voice. This phenomenon indicates that there is a close coupling between the auditory system’s monitoring of voice and the motor system for adjusting the laryngeal system for voice output. Our recent research has focused on the brain mechanisms underlying the interaction between auditory feedback and voice control. We use EEG and fMRI techniques along with connectivity modeling to identify the timing and interactions between the various brain locations involved in these processes.