Attenuated processing of task‐irrelevant speech and other auditory stimuli: fMRI evidence from arithmetic tasks




Ylinen, Artturi; Hannula‐Sormunen, Minna; McMullen, Jake; Lehtinen, Erno; Wikman, Patrik; Alho, Kimmo

PublisherJohn Wiley & Sons

2024

European Journal of Neuroscience

European Journal of Neuroscience

Eur J Neurosci

60

12

7124

7147

0953-816X

1460-9568

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.16616(external)

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ejn.16616(external)

https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/471209789(external)



When performing cognitive tasks in noisy conditions, the brain needs to maintain task performance while additionally controlling the processing of task-irrelevant and potentially distracting auditory stimuli. Previous research indicates that a fundamental mechanism by which this control is achieved is the attenuation of task-irrelevant processing, especially in conditions with high task demands. However, it remains unclear whether the processing of complex naturalistic sounds can be modulated as easily as that of simpler ones. To address this issue, the present fMRI study examined whether activity related to task-irrelevant meaningful speech is attenuated similarly as that related to meaningless control sounds (nonsense speech and noise-vocoded, unintelligible sounds). The sounds were presented concurrently with three numerical tasks varying in difficulty: an easy control task requiring no calculation, a 'routine' arithmetic calculation task and a more demanding 'creative' arithmetic task, where solutions are generated to reach a given answer. Consistent with their differing difficulty, the tasks activated fronto-parieto-temporal regions parametrically (creative > routine > control). In bilateral auditory regions, activity related to the speech stimuli decreased as task demands increased. Importantly, however, the attenuation was more pronounced for meaningful than nonsense speech, demonstrating that distractor type can strongly modulate the extent of the attenuation. This also suggests that semantic processing may be especially susceptible to attenuation under conditions with increased task demands. Finally, as this is the first study to utilize the 'creative' arithmetic task, we conducted exploratory analyses to examine its potential in assessing neural processes involved in mathematical problem-solving beyond routine arithmetic.


This study was funded by the Strategic Research Council of Finland (Project “Growing Mind”, grants no. 312529 and 336071 to KA, and 336068 to MHS). AY received funding from the Emil Aaltonen Foundation (grants no. 200244 and 220243) and the Doctoral programme Brain & Mind of the University of Helsinki, PW received funding from the Research Council of Finland (grant no.1348353), MHS received funding from the Research Council of Finland (grant no. 331772), and JM received funding from the Jacobs Foundation Research Fellowship.


Last updated on 2025-24-02 at 12:57