\documentclass[10pt]{article}

\usepackage{fullpage}
\usepackage{setspace}
\usepackage{parskip}
\usepackage{titlesec}
\usepackage[section]{placeins}
\usepackage{xcolor}
\usepackage{breakcites}
\usepackage{lineno}
\usepackage{hyphenat}





\PassOptionsToPackage{hyphens}{url}
\usepackage[colorlinks = true,
            linkcolor = blue,
            urlcolor  = blue,
            citecolor = blue,
            anchorcolor = blue]{hyperref}
\usepackage{etoolbox}
\makeatletter
\patchcmd\@combinedblfloats{\box\@outputbox}{\unvbox\@outputbox}{}{%
  \errmessage{\noexpand\@combinedblfloats could not be patched}%
}%
\makeatother


\usepackage[round]{natbib}
\let\cite\citep




\renewenvironment{abstract}
  {{\bfseries\noindent{\abstractname}\par\nobreak}\footnotesize}
  {\bigskip}

\titlespacing{\section}{0pt}{*3}{*1}
\titlespacing{\subsection}{0pt}{*2}{*0.5}
\titlespacing{\subsubsection}{0pt}{*1.5}{0pt}


\usepackage{authblk}


\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage[space]{grffile}
\usepackage{latexsym}
\usepackage{textcomp}
\usepackage{longtable}
\usepackage{tabulary}
\usepackage{booktabs,array,multirow}
\usepackage{amsfonts,amsmath,amssymb}
\providecommand\citet{\cite}
\providecommand\citep{\cite}
\providecommand\citealt{\cite}
% You can conditionalize code for latexml or normal latex using this.
\newif\iflatexml\latexmlfalse
\providecommand{\tightlist}{\setlength{\itemsep}{0pt}\setlength{\parskip}{0pt}}%

\AtBeginDocument{\DeclareGraphicsExtensions{.pdf,.PDF,.eps,.EPS,.png,.PNG,.tif,.TIF,.jpg,.JPG,.jpeg,.JPEG}}

\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage[english]{babel}










\begin{document}

\title{Can the brain distinguish between inner speech and the sounds we produce
when we speak out loud?}



\author[1]{Digests Admin}%
\affil[1]{Digests}%


\vspace{-1em}



  
  \date{May 20, 2024}


\begingroup
\let\center\flushleft
\let\endcenter\endflushleft
\maketitle
\endgroup





\selectlanguage{english}
\begin{abstract}
This is a Digest of~\emph{Neurophysiological evidence of efference
copies to inner speech~\cite{Whitford_2017}}%
\end{abstract}%



\sloppy


As you read this text, the chances are you can hear your own inner voice
narrating the words. You may hear your inner voice again when silently
considering what to have for lunch, or imagining how a phone
conversation this afternoon will play out. Estimates suggest that we
spend at least a quarter of our lives listening to our own inner speech.
But to what extent does the brain distinguish between inner speech and
the sounds we produce when we speak out loud?

\par\null

Listening to a recording of your own voice activates the brain more than
hearing yourself speak out loud. This is because when the brain sends
instructions to the lips, tongue, and vocal cords telling them to move,
it also makes a copy of these instructions. This is known as an
efference copy, and it enables regions of the brain that process sounds
to predict what they are about to hear. When the actual sounds match
those predicted --- as when you hear yourself speak out loud --- the
brain's sound-processing regions dampen down their responses.

\par\null\selectlanguage{english}
\begin{figure}[h!]
\begin{center}
\includegraphics[width=0.70\columnwidth]{figures/1-PNXWHv02k0kZ-f-nJAbuqg/1-PNXWHv02k0kZ-f-nJAbuqg}
\caption{{Processing inner speech. The person on the right vocalizes the phonemes
ba (blue) and bi (red), while the person on the left simultaneously
produces ba in inner speech. A specific part in the brain becomes less
active whenever the inner speech sound matches the external speech
sound. Image provided
by~\href{https://elifesciences.org/articles/28197}{Whitford et
al.}~(\href{https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/}{CC BY~4.0})
{\label{607979}}%
}}
\end{center}
\end{figure}

\par\null

But does the inner speech in our heads also generate an efference copy?
To find out, Whitford et al. tracked the brain activity of healthy
volunteers as they listened to speech sounds through headphones. While
listening to the sounds, the volunteers had to produce either the same
speech sound or a different speech sound inside their heads. A specific
type of brain activity decreased whenever the inner speech sound matched
the external speech sound. This decrease did not occur when the two
sounds were different. This suggests that the brain produces an
efference copy for inner speech similar to that for external speech.

\par\null

These findings could ultimately benefit people who suffer from psychotic
symptoms, for example as part of schizophrenia. Symptoms such as hearing
voices are thought to reflect problems with producing and interpreting
inner speech. The technique that Whitford et al. have developed will
enable us to test this long-held but hitherto untestable idea. The
results should increase our understanding of these symptoms and may
eventually lead to new treatments.

\par\null

This digest was originally published at eLife~\cite{1} and is
reproduced under a CC BY 4.0 license.

\selectlanguage{english}
\FloatBarrier
\bibliographystyle{plainnat}
\bibliography{bibliography/converted_to_latex.bib%
}

\end{document}

