Title: “Imaging the neural systems underlying human communication”

Speaker: Dr. Kevin Sitek, Ph.D.

Speech communication relies on coordinated processing across cortical and subcortical auditory pathways, yet much of our understanding of the human auditory system has been limited to the cortex due to challenges in imaging deep brain structures. Recent advances in non-invasive neuroimaging, including ultra-high field 7T MRI, make it possible to study the full human auditory network and its role in learning and speech-related behaviors. In this talk, I will present my contributions to human auditory neuroimaging, including publicly available anatomical and connectivity atlases of subcortical auditory structures. I will then discuss recent work using these tools to examine auditory–striatal connectivity and its role in sound category learning, a process central to speech perception and acquisition. I will show how the EEG frequency-following response provides insight into auditory–motor integration, with implications for speech production and feedback control. Finally, I'll lay out future collaborative directions for my research program. Overall, my work aims to characterize the human auditory system as a distributed network supporting speech and hearing, bridging basic neuroscience with clinically relevant questions in auditory perception and speech communication.

Attendees are encouraged to join in person in HSAB 2004. Seating is limited (first-come, first-served, ~50 seats), but the seminar will also be available via Zoom.