A central question in auditory research is how we perceive and produce human speech and language. Understanding these mechanisms is critical to improving the diagnosis and treatment of patients suffering from speech and communication disorders such as stuttering, dysarthria, and aphasia. In animal models, species-specific vocalization is important for their social behavior. Understanding how animals perceive and produce vocalization is important for their social communication and has implications for human speech processing. 

Specifically, perception of human speech and animal vocalization includes perceiving not only linguistic information, but also non-linguistic information such as speaker identity and emotional state. Production of human speech and animal vocalization, includes vocal control, vocal feedback, and vocal communication.

This collection aims to highlight relevant techniques and approaches for studying vocal perception and production using human and animal models. In humans, these methods include but are not limited to behavior assessments, magnetic resonance imaging, functional near-infrared spectroscopy, electroencephalogram, magnetoencephalography, positron emission tomography, intracranial electroencephalography, and electric brain stimulation. In animal models, these methods include, but are not limited to behavior assessments, magnetic resonance imaging, anatomical tracing, histology, electrophysiology, optical imaging, two-photon imaging, optogenetics, and brain perturbation, such as reversible inactivation, electric stimulation, and punctate chemical lesions.