Lucie Ménard

Multisensory integration refers to the brain's ability to assimilate signals from multiple modalities and is instrumental in the development of speech skills. It is now ackowledged that the auditory and proprioceptive systems are involved in the processes of speech production in adults, and that sensory cues are supplemented by visual information. However, not much is known about the developmental course of multisensory perception and its impact on speech production. Current studies suggest that children are not able to process multisensory information as adults do. In this talk, we present experiments carried out with 55 Quebec French speakers (30 adults and 25 preschool children). Through a study of real-time auditory feedback perturbation and a series of two bimodal perception tests (audiovisual and audioproprioceptive), we examine the interplay of auditory, proprioceptive and visual information in the development of speech control. We show that sensorimotor representations and multisensory integration processes are are still maturing in individuals aged 5-6 years. We discuss how sensory systems complement each other, thus facilitating the transfer between perception and production mechanisms.