Human auditory processing is tuned for continuous speech, not isolated discrete sounds

Evidence

Although these methodologies have provided important scientific insights, they have many limitations. For example, fMRI does not allow for the study of the fast temporal dynamics typical of continuous speech, and ECoG studies are limited to patients suffering from severe cases of epilepsy. Electroand magnetoencephalography (EEG/MEG), as macroscopic non-invasive technologies, have the potential for further progress on this topic. Traditionally, the low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) has hampered the experiments conducted with these instruments, limiting the study of speech processing to repeated presentations of simple short sounds, which elicit neural responses known as event related potentials (ERPs). Although studies based on ERPs have provided important insights on this topic, the human auditory processing mechanisms are tuned to process continuous speech and respond differently to discrete sounds (Bonte et al. 2006 ). — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 4372

Traditionally, the low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) has hampered the experiments conducted with these instruments, limiting the study of speech processing to repeated presentations of simple short sounds, which elicit neural responses known as event related potentials (ERPs). Although studies based on ERPs have provided important insights on this topic, the human auditory processing mechanisms are tuned to process continuous speech and respond differently to discrete sounds (Bonte et al. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 4371

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the envelope-tracking literature (Lalor and Foxe, Ding and Simon) and to the broader theme that the brain prefers naturalistic continuous stimuli over repeated discrete tokens.
• QUESTION: In what specific ways do neural responses to continuous speech differ from ERP responses to discrete tones? Worth chasing details on the evolutionary/functional tuning argument.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 4372; Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 4371