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Aktuelle Neurologie 2004; 31(9): 449-460
DOI: 10.1055/s-2004-828377
Kognitive Neurologie
© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

„Das Hören von Gefühlen”: Funktionell-neuroanatomische Grundlagen der Verarbeitung affektiver Prosodie

„Hearing Emotions”: The Cerebral Correlates of the Processing of Affective ProsodyH.  Ackermann1 , I.  Hertrich1 , W.  Grodd1 , D.  Wildgruber1
  • 1Hertie Institut für Klinische Hirnforschung, Abteilung Allgemeine Neurologie (Direktor: Prof. Dr. Johannes Dichgans), Universität Tübingen
Die Untersuchungen unserer Arbeitsgruppe wurden unterstützt durch die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Schwerpunktprogramm „Sprachproduktion” und Sonderforschungsbereich 550 „Erkennen, Lokalisieren, Handeln: Neurokognitive Mechanismen und ihre Flexibilität”) und durch die Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften
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Publication History

Publication Date:
28 October 2004 (online)

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Zusammenfassung

Mit dem Begriff der Prosodie wird die Modulation von Tonhöhe, Lautstärke, Sprechrhythmus und Stimmqualität im Verlauf sprachlicher Äußerungen bezeichnet. Neben einer Vielzahl linguistischer, z. B. Wort- und Satzakzent, und pragmatischer Funktionen, z. B. die Spezifizierung von Sprechhandlungen, spiegeln prosodische Merkmale auch aktuelle Stimmung und Befindlichkeit (affektive Prosodie) eines Menschen wider und tragen in Verbindung mit Gestik und Mimik zum nonverbalen Ausdruck von Emotionen bei. Klinische Untersuchungen führten zu diskrepanten Modellen der zerebralen Organisation stimmlich-vokalen emotionalen Verhaltens, z. B. in Bezug auf die Hemisphärenlateralität dieser Leistungen. Funktionell-bildgebende Studien stellen einen weiterführenden Untersuchungsansatz dar. Die vorliegenden Arbeiten weisen auf zwei sukzessive Stufen der Wahrnehmung affektiver Prosodie hin: a) eine vorwiegend rechtshemisphärische Enkodierung von Intonationskonturen, ein akustisches Korrelat affektiver Prosodie, im Bereich posteriorer Anteile des Gyrus temporalis superior und b) eine im Wesentlichen an orbitofrontale Strukturen beidseits geknüpfte Evaluation von Art und Ausprägung der durch affektiv-prosodische Merkmale des Sprachsignals vermittelten Emotionen. Der Befund einer vorwiegend rechtshemisphärisch-temporalen hämodynamischen Aktivierung im Rahmen der Verarbeitung von Intonationskonturen verbaler Äußerungen bestätigt und erweitert das Konzept einer effizienteren Verarbeitung tonaler Information (Extraktion von Tonhöhenbewegungen, Kurzzeitspeicherung und motorische Implementierung von Melodien) im Bereich der nicht-sprachdominanten Hirnhälfte. Weiter abzuklären bleiben die Hemisphärenlateralitätseffekte in Verbindung mit der Enkodierung von Silben- bzw. Sprechrhythmus als eines weiteren akustischen Korrelats affektiver Prosodie.

Abstract

Besides a sequence of words, spoken utterances are characterized by prosodic (suprasegmental) qualities such as a distinct intonation contour („speech melody”), loudness variations, and a rhythmic structure. In addition to a variety of linguistic and pragmatic functions, these features may reflect a speaker's mood and, thus, contribute, concomitant with facial and gestural movements, to the nonverbal expression of emotions (affective prosody). Clinical studies yielded discrepant data on the cerebral correlates of the processing of affective prosody. Functional imaging provides a more recent approach to the analysis of brain-behaviour relationships. The available investigations indicate two successive stages of the perceptual encoding of affective prosody: (a) predominant right-hemisphere processing of intonation contours within posterior parts of the superior temporal gyrus, (b) evaluation of the conveyed emotion at the level of bilateral orbitofrontal cortex. These findings corroborate and extend the model of a more proficient analysis and short-term storage of tonal information within the right cerebral hemisphere.

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Prof. Dr. Hermann Ackermann,M. A. 

Neurologische Klinik Universität Tübingen

Hoppe-Seyler-Straße 3

72076 Tübingen

Email: hermann.ackermann@uni-tuebingen.de

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