Psych Central News
Imaging Shows How Brain Controls Accents in Speech
Using a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner, researchers asked participants, all non-professional impressionists, to repeatedly recite the opening lines of a familiar nursery rhyme either with their normal voice, by impersonating individuals, or by impersonating regional and foreign accents of English.
They found that when a voice is deliberately changed, it brings the left anterior insula and inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) of the brain into play.
The researchers also discovered that when comparing impersonations against accents, areas in the posterior superior temporal/inferior parietal cortex and in the right middle/anterior superior temporal sulcus showed greater responses.
“The voice is a powerful channel for the expression of our identity — it conveys information such as gender, age and place of birth, but crucially, it also expresses who we want to be,” said lead author Carolyn McGettigan, Ph.D., from the Department of Psychology at Royal Holloway University.
“Consider the difference between talking to a friend on the phone, talking to a police officer who’s cautioning you for parking violation, or speaking to a young infant. While the words we use might be different across these settings, another dramatic difference is the tone and style with which we deliver the words we say.
“We wanted to find out more about this process and how the brain controls it.”
While past work has found that listening to voices activates regions of the temporal lobe of the brain, no research had explored the brain regions involved in controlling vocal identity before this study.
“Our aim is to find out more about how the brain controls this very flexible communicative tool, which could potentially lead to new treatments for those looking to recover their own vocal identity following brain injury or a stroke, ” said McGettigan.
Source: Royal Holloway, University of London
Abstract of the human brain photo by shutterstock.
Estrogen Therapy Can Help Girls with Anorexia
The clinical findings were reported at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society.
“This is the first study to show that estrogen replacement ameliorates the tendency for anxiety in anorexia nervosa and may prevent increasing body dissatisfaction with weight gain,” said the study’s lead author, Madhusmita Misra, M.D., M.P.H.
“This is very important given that anorexia nervosa can be difficult to treat, and underlying anxiety, eating attitudes and concerns of body shape with increasing weight during treatment may reduce the success of treatment programs.”
Anorexia nervosa is a severe eating disorder that primarily affects teenage girls, although boys, as well as older and younger people, can also develop it.
Approximately 0.2-1 percent of teenage girls suffer from the disorder. The disorder is characterized by a distorted body image, which causes patients to view themselves as heavy, or fat, even when their body-mass index is well below the normal range.
As the disease progresses, patients become increasingly preoccupied with weight loss through restricting food and/or increasing activity with intense, frequent exercising. Some resort to purging behaviors to rid themselves of any food that they consume.
Complications include depression, increased risk of suicide and weakened bones, which increase the risk of fractures and osteoporosis.
Among girls, menstrual periods stop occurring as body weight and estrogen production drop. If left untreated, the disorder can cause death.
Unfortunately, anorexia can be quite difficult to treat, and relapse is common.
For the current study, investigators found that anxiety scores on a standardized questionnaire decreased as estrogen levels increased.
This relationship was unaffected by weight gain. Additionally, if weight gain did occur, estrogen replacement appeared to prevent a worsening of attitudes toward body image and food, as assessed using the Eating Disorders Inventory-II questionnaire.
“Identification of therapies that reduce the tendency to experience anxiety and reduce body dissatisfaction with weight gain may have a major impact in reducing relapse,” Misra said.
“These findings have the potential to impact therapy in anorexia nervosa with early implementation of estrogen replacement in girls who are estrogen-deficient.”
Participants included 72 teenage girls diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. At the start of the study, all were between 13 and 18 years old, and had a measured bone age of at least 15 years.
Investigators randomly assigned participants to receive estrogen or placebo for 18 months. Of the 72 initial participants, 38 received estrogen and 34 received placebo.
At the study’s start and end, participants completed questionnaires designed to assess anxiety, and attitudes toward eating and body image. Thirty-seven participants completed the study, with 20 receiving estrogen and 17 receiving placebo.
Source: Endocrine Society
Anorexic girl being weighed photo by shutterstock.
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