The Role of Rhythm in Speech and Language Rehabilitation: The SEP Hypothesis

For thousands of years, human beings have engaged in rhythmic activities such as drumming, dancing, and singing. Rhythm can be a powerful medium to stimulate communication and social interactions, due to the strong sensorimotor coupling. For example, the mere presence of an underlying beat or pulse...

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Published inFrontiers in human neuroscience Vol. 8; p. 777
Main Authors Fujii, Shinya, Wan, Catherine Y
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Switzerland Frontiers Research Foundation 13.10.2014
Frontiers Media S.A
Subjects
Acoustics
Aphasia
Autism
Communication
Drumming
Entrainment
Hypotheses
Language
Music
Neurological diseases
Neuroscience
NMR
Nuclear magnetic resonance
Rehabilitation
Rhythm
Rhythms
Sensorimotor system
Social interaction
Social interactions
Sound
Speech
Stroke
Studies
Synchronization
the SEP hypothesis
Vocalization behavior
rehabilitation
language
rhythm
speech
the SEP hypothesis
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Summary:For thousands of years, human beings have engaged in rhythmic activities such as drumming, dancing, and singing. Rhythm can be a powerful medium to stimulate communication and social interactions, due to the strong sensorimotor coupling. For example, the mere presence of an underlying beat or pulse can result in spontaneous motor responses such as hand clapping, foot stepping, and rhythmic vocalizations. Examining the relationship between rhythm and speech is fundamental not only to our understanding of the origins of human communication but also in the treatment of neurological disorders. In this paper, we explore whether rhythm has therapeutic potential for promoting recovery from speech and language dysfunctions. Although clinical studies are limited to date, existing experimental evidence demonstrates rich rhythmic organization in both music and language, as well as overlapping brain networks that are crucial in the design of rehabilitation approaches. Here, we propose the "SEP" hypothesis, which postulates that (1) "sound envelope processing" and (2) "synchronization and entrainment to pulse" may help stimulate brain networks that underlie human communication. Ultimately, we hope that the SEP hypothesis will provide a useful framework for facilitating rhythm-based research in various patient populations.
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Edited by: Eckart Altenmüller, University of Music and Drama Hannover, Germany
Reviewed by: Cyril R. Pernet, The University of Edinburgh, UK; Sonja A. E. Kotz, Max Planck Institute Leipzig, Germany
This article was submitted to the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
ISSN:1662-5161
1662-5161
DOI:10.3389/fnhum.2014.00777