Inner Speech Moderates the Relationship Between Autism Spectrum Traits and Emotion Regulation

The sound of thought: Form matters-The prosody of inner speech

This paper offers a new perspective on inner speech based on the theoretical framework of embodiment, focusing on the embodiment of structure rather than content. We argue that inner speech is used to simulate the acoustic aspects of overt speech including prosody. Prosody refers to the rhythm, intonation, and stress of spoken language, which is closely related to structural aspects of phrases, sentences, and larger language contexts such as discourse and narrative. We propose that inner speech gives form and structure to thought, and that this form is a necessary component of mental life. Thus, our paper opens with a review of the varieties of inner speech, followed by evidence concerning the form of inner speech, and finally, we discuss the functionality of inner speech. We consider cognitive and socio-emotional functions in which inner speech is involved and posit that inner speech serves as a simulation that maintains form and that this form serves different aspects of thought - attention, memory, emotion and self- regulation, social conceptualization, and narrative of self. In concluding, we address future research asking how inner speech contributes to making mental processes accessible to conscious thought, and whether accessibility to consciousness is related to form and structure.

Revealing the spatiotemporal brain dynamics of covert speech compared with overt speech: A simultaneous EEG-fMRI study

Covert speech (CS) refers to speaking internally to oneself without producing any sound or movement. CS is involved in multiple cognitive functions and disorders. Reconstructing CS content by brain-computer interface (BCI) is also an emerging technique. However, it is still controversial whether CS is a truncated neural process of overt speech (OS) or involves independent patterns. Here, we performed a word-speaking experiment with simultaneous EEG-fMRI. It involved 32 participants, who generated words both overtly and covertly. By integrating spatial constraints from fMRI into EEG source localization, we precisely estimated the spatiotemporal dynamics of neural activity. During CS, EEG source activity was localized in three regions: the left precentral gyrus, the left supplementary motor area, and the left putamen. Although OS involved more brain regions with stronger activations, CS was characterized by an earlier event-locked activation in the left putamen (peak at 262 ms versus 1170 ms). The left putamen was also identified as the only hub node within the functional connectivity (FC) networks of both OS and CS, while showing weaker FC strength towards speech-related regions in the dominant hemisphere during CS. Path analysis revealed significant multivariate associations, indicating an indirect association between the earlier activation in the left putamen and CS, which was mediated by reduced FC towards speech-related regions. These findings revealed the specific spatiotemporal dynamics of CS, offering insights into CS mechanisms that are potentially relevant for future treatment of self-regulation deficits, speech disorders, and development of BCI speech applications.

Inner speech as language process and cognitive tool

Many people report a form of internal language known as inner speech (IS). This review examines recent growth of research interest in the phenomenon, which has broadly supported a theoretical model in which IS is a functional language process that can confer benefits for cognition in a range of domains. A key insight to have emerged in recent years is that IS is an embodied experience characterized by varied subjective qualities, which can be usefully modeled in artificial systems and whose neural signals have the potential to be decoded through advancing brain-computer interface technologies. Challenges for future research include understanding individual differences in IS and mapping form to function across IS subtypes.

The psychometric properties of the Varieties of Inner Speech Questionnaire-Revised in Hebrew

Introduction

The Varieties of Inner Speech Questionnaire-Revised (VISQ-R) is a self-report questionnaire designed to measure characteristics of inner speech. In the current study, we adapted and validated a Hebrew version of VISQ-R. Our first hypothesis was that Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) of the Hebrew VISQ-R would confirm the five subscales replicating the factor structure of the original questionnaire. In addition, building on previous findings that inner speech is involved in tasks that require the executive functions we examined the relationship between VISQ-R and self-reported executive functions questionnaire (BRIEF-A). We hypothesized that correlations between subscales of the Hebrew VISQ-R would reveal covariance between BRIEF-A and some but not all inner speech subscales.

Methods

406 participants completed the Hebrew VISQ-R and 280 of them also completed the BRIEF-A.

Results

As hypothesized, CFA confirmed the factor structure revealing the same 5 subscales reported in the original English version, with acceptable internal reliability. Partial support was found for the hypothesized correlations between VISQ-R and BRIEF-A, with covariance of executive functions with some subscales of inner speech (Evaluative, Other-People and Dialogic), and distinct variance with others (Condensed and Positive).

Discussion

These results indicate that the Hebrew version of the VISQ-R has good psychometric properties and that it can be used in future research. The implications concerning the contribution of inner speech for people with difficulties in executive functions are discussed.