Title: Speech Sounds Alter Facial Skin Sensation 1 2

Speech sounds alter facial skin sensation.

Interactions between auditory and somatosensory information are relevant to the neural processing of speech since speech processes and certainly speech production involves both auditory information and inputs that arise from the muscles and tissues of the vocal tract. We previously demonstrated that somatosensory inputs associated with facial skin deformation alter the perceptual processing of ...

Takayuki Ito and David J . Ostry Speech sounds alter facial skin sensation

Left lateralized enhancement of orofacial somatosensory processing due to speech sounds.

PURPOSE Somatosensory information associated with speech articulatory movements affects the perception of speech sounds and vice versa, suggesting an intimate linkage between speech production and perception systems. However, it is unclear which cortical processes are involved in the interaction between speech sounds and orofacial somatosensory inputs. The authors examined whether speech sounds...

Somatosensory function in speech perception.

Somatosensory signals from the facial skin and muscles of the vocal tract provide a rich source of sensory input in speech production. We show here that the somatosensory system is also involved in the perception of speech. We use a robotic device to create patterns of facial skin deformation that would normally accompany speech production. We find that when we stretch the facial skin while peo...

“Affetto”: towards a design of robots who can physically interact with people, which biases the perception of affinity (beyond “uncanny”)*

This article presents the upper-torso design issue of Affeto who can physically interact with humans, which biases the perception of affinity beyond the uncanny valley effect. First, we review the effect and hypothesize that the experience of physical interaction with Affetto decreases the effect. Then, the reality of physical existence is argued with existing platforms. Next, the design concep...