The Effects of Altered Auditory Feedback on Speech Production in Adults: A Comparison of Perturbation and Sensorimotor Adaptation Paradigms

Auditory feedback (AF) plays a crucial role in the acquisition and maintenance of fluent speech. AF allows speakers to monitor and correct for errors in their speech production and also plays an important role to create and maintain the sensorimotor relationships that support vocal motor control. To investigate the importance of AF for these functions, participants are typically exposed to brief, unexpected changes to their AF as part of a frequency altered feedback (FAF) perturbation paradigm, or persistent and predictable changes to their AF as part of a FAF adaptation paradigm. Although responses elicited from both the FAF perturbation and FAF adaptation paradigms have been used to assess the way speakers process and use AF for speech motor control, it is currently unclear whether these responses are regulated in the same manner. To investigate this research question we altered the fundamental frequency (F0) of speakers’ AF while they produced vocalizations in both a FAF perturbation and a FAF adaptation paradigm. Changes in the speakers’ F0 in response to the AF manipulations in each paradigm were measured. Correlational analyses were then conducted to assess whether speakers’ responses showed similar patterns across the two paradigms. There was no significant relationship observed between compensatory responses or vocal variability across paradigms. This means that AF may not be used in the same way for different situational demands