Auditory-Visual Perception of VCVs Produced by People with Down Syndrome: Preliminary Results

International audienceDown Syndrome (DS) is a genetic disease involving a number of anatomical, physiological and cognitive impairments. More particularly it affects speech production abilities. This results in reduced intelligibility which has however only been evaluated auditorily. Yet, many studies have demonstrated that adding vision to audition helps perception of speech produced by people without impairments especially when it is degraded as is the case in noise. The present study aims at examining whether the visual information improves intelligibility of people with DS. 24 participants without DS were presented with VCV sequences (vowel-consonant-vowel) produced by four adults (2 with DS and 2 without DS). These stimuli were presented in noise in three modalities: auditory, auditory-visual and visual. The results confirm a reduced auditory intelligibility of speakers with DS. They also show that, for the speakers involved in this study, visual intelligibility is equivalent to that of speakers without DS and compensates for the auditory intelligibility loss. An analysis of the perceptual errors shows that most of them involve confusions between consonants. These results put forward the crucial role of multimodality in the improvement of the intelligibility of people with DS

Perception audio-visuelle de séquences VCV produites par des personnes porteuses de Trisomie 21 : une étude préliminaire

International audienceThe speech of people with Down Syndrome (DS) is systematically altered resulting in an intelligibility loss. This was quantified only auditorily. The visual modality could actually improve intelligibility, as is the case for " ordinary " people. The present study compares the way 24 ordinary participants perceive VCV sequences (vowel-consonant-vowel) produced by four adults (2 with DS and 2 ordinary) and presented in noise in three modalities: auditory, auditory-visual and visual. The results confirm an intelligibility loss in the auditory modality for speakers with DS. However, for the two speakers involved in this study, visual intelligibility is equivalent to that of the ordinary speakers and compensates for the auditory intelligibility loss. These results put forward the importance of integrating multimodality to improve the intelligibility of people with DS.La parole des personnes avec trisomie 21 (T21) présente une altération systématique de l'intelligibilité qui n'a été quantifiée qu'auditivement. Or la modalité visuelle pourrait améliorer l'intelligibilité comme c'est le cas pour les personnes « ordinaires ». Cette étude compare la manière dont 24 participants ordinaires perçoivent des séquences VCV voyelle-consonne-voyelle) produites par quatre adultes (2 avec T21 et 2 ordinaires) et présentées dans le bruit en modalités auditive, visuelle et audiovisuelle. Les résultats confirment la perte d'intelligibilité en modalité auditive dans le cas de locuteurs porteurs de T21. Pour les deux locuteurs impliqués, l'intelligibilité visuelle est néanmoins équivalente à celle des deux locuteurs ordinaires et compensent le déficit d'intelligibilité auditive. Ces résultats suggèrent l'apport de la modalité visuelle vers une meilleure intelligibilité des personnes porteuses de T21

Phenotypic Landscape of Saccharomyces cerevisiae during Wine Fermentation: Evidence for Origin-Dependent Metabolic Traits

The species Saccharomyces cerevisiae includes natural strains, clinical isolates, and a large number of strains used in human activities. The aim of this work was to investigate how the adaptation to a broad range of ecological niches may have selectively shaped the yeast metabolic network to generate specific phenotypes. Using 72 S. cerevisiae strains collected from various sources, we provide, for the first time, a population-scale picture of the fermentative metabolic traits found in the S. cerevisiae species under wine making conditions. Considerable phenotypic variation was found suggesting that this yeast employs diverse metabolic strategies to face environmental constraints. Several groups of strains can be distinguished from the entire population on the basis of specific traits. Strains accustomed to growing in the presence of high sugar concentrations, such as wine yeasts and strains obtained from fruits, were able to achieve fermentation, whereas natural yeasts isolated from “poor-sugar” environments, such as oak trees or plants, were not. Commercial wine yeasts clearly appeared as a subset of vineyard isolates, and were mainly differentiated by their fermentative performances as well as their low acetate production. Overall, the emergence of the origin-dependent properties of the strains provides evidence for a phenotypic evolution driven by environmental constraints and/or human selection within S. cerevisiae

The Genetic Structure of Leishmania infantum Populations in Brazil and Its Possible Association with the Transmission Cycle of Visceral Leishmaniasis

Leishmania infantum is the etiologic agent of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in the Americas, Mediterranean basin and West and Central Asia. Although the geographic structure of L. infantum populations from the Old World have been described, few studies have addressed the population structure of this parasite in the Neotropical region. We employed 14 microsatellites to analyze the population structure of the L. infantum strains isolated from humans and dogs from most of the Brazilian states endemic for VL and from Paraguay. The results indicate a low genetic diversity, high inbreeding estimates and a depletion of heterozygotes, which together indicate a predominantly clonal breeding system, but signs of sexual events are also present. Three populations were identified from the clustering analysis, and they were well supported by F statistics inferences and partially corroborated by distance-based. POP1 (111 strains) was observed in all but one endemic area. POP2 (31 strains) is also well-dispersed, but it was the predominant population in Mato Grosso (MT). POP3 (31 strains) was less dispersed, and it was observed primarily in Mato Grosso do Sul (MS). Strains originated from an outbreak of canine VL in Southern Brazil were grouped in POP1 with those from Paraguay, which corroborates the hypothesis of dispersal from Northeastern Argentina and Paraguay. The distribution of VL in MS seems to follow the west-east construction of the Bolivia-Brazil pipeline from Corumbá municipality. This may have resulted in a strong association of POP3 and Lutzomyia cruzi, which is the main VL vector in Corumbá, and a dispersion of this population in this region that was shaped by human interference. This vector also occurs in MT and may influence the structure of POP2. This paper presents significant advances in the understanding of the population structure of L. infantum in Brazil and its association with eco-epidemiological aspects of VL

Multidifferential study of identified charged hadron distributions in ZZ-tagged jets in proton-proton collisions at s=\sqrt{s}=13 TeV

Jet fragmentation functions are measured for the first time in proton-proton collisions for charged pions, kaons, and protons within jets recoiling against a $Z$ boson. The charged-hadron distributions are studied longitudinally and transversely to the jet direction for jets with transverse momentum 20 $< p_{\textrm{T}} < 100$ GeV and in the pseudorapidity range $2.5 < \eta < 4$. The data sample was collected with the LHCb experiment at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.64 fb$^{-1}$. Triple differential distributions as a function of the hadron longitudinal momentum fraction, hadron transverse momentum, and jet transverse momentum are also measured for the first time. This helps constrain transverse-momentum-dependent fragmentation functions. Differences in the shapes and magnitudes of the measured distributions for the different hadron species provide insights into the hadronization process for jets predominantly initiated by light quarks.Comment: All figures and tables, along with machine-readable versions and any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-013.html (LHCb public pages

Study of the B−→Λc+Λˉc−K−B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-} decay

The decay $B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-}$ is studied in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ collected by the LHCb experiment. In the $\Lambda_{c}^+ K^{-}$ system, the $\Xi_{c}(2930)^{0}$ state observed at the BaBar and Belle experiments is resolved into two narrower states, $\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}$ and $\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}$, whose masses and widths are measured to be $$m(\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}) = 2924.5 \pm 0.4 \pm 1.1 \,\mathrm{MeV}, \\ m(\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}) = 2938.5 \pm 0.9 \pm 2.3 \,\mathrm{MeV}, \\ \Gamma(\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}) = \phantom{000}4.8 \pm 0.9 \pm 1.5 \,\mathrm{MeV},\\ \Gamma(\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}) = \phantom{00}11.0 \pm 1.9 \pm 7.5 \,\mathrm{MeV},$$ where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. The results are consistent with a previous LHCb measurement using a prompt $\Lambda_{c}^{+} K^{-}$ sample. Evidence of a new $\Xi_{c}(2880)^{0}$ state is found with a local significance of $3.8\,\sigma$, whose mass and width are measured to be $2881.8 \pm 3.1 \pm 8.5\,\mathrm{MeV}$ and $12.4 \pm 5.3 \pm 5.8 \,\mathrm{MeV}$, respectively. In addition, evidence of a new decay mode $\Xi_{c}(2790)^{0} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} K^{-}$ is found with a significance of $3.7\,\sigma$. The relative branching fraction of $B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-}$ with respect to the $B^{-} \to D^{+} D^{-} K^{-}$ decay is measured to be $2.36 \pm 0.11 \pm 0.22 \pm 0.25$, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic and the third originates from the branching fractions of charm hadron decays.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-028.html (LHCb public pages

Measurement of the ratios of branching fractions R(D∗)\mathcal{R}(D^{*}) and R(D0)\mathcal{R}(D^{0})

The ratios of branching fractions $\mathcal{R}(D^{*})\equiv\mathcal{B}(\bar{B}\to D^{*}\tau^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\tau})/\mathcal{B}(\bar{B}\to D^{*}\mu^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\mu})$ and $\mathcal{R}(D^{0})\equiv\mathcal{B}(B^{-}\to D^{0}\tau^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\tau})/\mathcal{B}(B^{-}\to D^{0}\mu^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\mu})$ are measured, assuming isospin symmetry, using a sample of proton-proton collision data corresponding to 3.0 fb${ }^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity recorded by the LHCb experiment during 2011 and 2012. The tau lepton is identified in the decay mode $\tau^{-}\to\mu^{-}\nu_{\tau}\bar{\nu}_{\mu}$. The measured values are $\mathcal{R}(D^{*})=0.281\pm0.018\pm0.024$ and $\mathcal{R}(D^{0})=0.441\pm0.060\pm0.066$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. The correlation between these measurements is $\rho=-0.43$. Results are consistent with the current average of these quantities and are at a combined 1.9 standard deviations from the predictions based on lepton flavor universality in the Standard Model.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-039.html (LHCb public pages

Physics research on the TCV tokamak facility: from conventional to alternative scenarios and beyond

The research program of the TCV tokamak ranges from conventional to advanced-tokamak scenarios and alternative divertor configurations, to exploratory plasmas driven by theoretical insight, exploiting the device’s unique shaping capabilities. Disruption avoidance by real-time locked mode prevention or unlocking with electron-cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) was thoroughly documented, using magnetic and radiation triggers. Runaway generation with high-Z noble-gas injection and runaway dissipation by subsequent Ne or Ar injection were studied for model validation. The new 1 MW neutral beam injector has expanded the parameter range, now encompassing ELMy H-modes in an ITER-like shape and nearly non-inductive H-mode discharges sustained by electron cyclotron and neutral beam current drive. In the H-mode, the pedestal pressure increases modestly with nitrogen seeding while fueling moves the density pedestal outwards, but the plasma stored energy is largely uncorrelated to either seeding or fueling. High fueling at high triangularity is key to accessing the attractive small edge-localized mode (type-II) regime. Turbulence is reduced in the core at negative triangularity, consistent with increased confinement and in accord with global gyrokinetic simulations. The geodesic acoustic mode, possibly coupled with avalanche events, has been linked with particle flow to the wall in diverted plasmas. Detachment, scrape-off layer transport, and turbulence were studied in L- and H-modes in both standard and alternative configurations (snowflake, super-X, and beyond). The detachment process is caused by power ‘starvation’ reducing the ionization source, with volume recombination playing only a minor role. Partial detachment in the H-mode is obtained with impurity seeding and has shown little dependence on flux expansion in standard single-null geometry. In the attached L-mode phase, increasing the outer connection length reduces the in–out heat-flow asymmetry. A doublet plasma, featuring an internal X-point, was achieved successfully, and a transport barrier was observed in the mantle just outside the internal separatrix. In the near future variable-configuration baffles and possibly divertor pumping will be introduced to investigate the effect of divertor closure on exhaust and performance, and 3.5 MW ECRH and 1 MW neutral beam injection heating will be added

Percevoir la parole quand elle est produite différemment : étude des mécanismes de familiarisation multimodale/multisensorielle entre locuteurs tout-venants et locuteurs présentant un trouble de l'articulation

Speech is the most widely used means of communication by humans. It allows people to express their needs, exchange thoughts with others and contributes to the construction of social identity. It is also a complex communication channel involving elaborate motor control in production and the ability to analyze sound sequences produced by a wide variety of speakers in perception. This complexity results in speech being often the most altered or difficult to acquire mode of communication for people whose sensorimotor systems are impaired. This is particularly the case for people with trisomy 21 (T21), a genetic syndrome inducing complex orofacial motor difficulties and alterations in the auditory and somatosensory spheres. While speaking is possible for most of these people, their intelligibility is always affected. Improving their oral communication is a clinical and social issue. The study of speech production by people with T21 and its perception by typical listeners is also of theoretical interest, particularly with regard to the fundamental issues of multimodal perception of speech and the involvement of the auditor's motor system in this perception.In this thesis, we reposition the intelligibility disorder of people with T21 in a framework that conceives speech as a cooperative act between speaker and listener. In contrast to the traditional focus on the speaker in applied research, we are interested in the listener's means to better perceive speech, based on two observations: (1) T21 speech is not very intelligible auditorily; (2) its intelligibility is better for familiar than unfamiliar interlocutors. These observations are linked to two important research results on speech perception. First, in a situation of face-to-face communication, in addition to auditory information, the listener also uses the visual information produced by the speaker. In particular, the latter makes it possible to better perceive speech when auditory information is altered. Secondly, familiarization with a specific type of speech leads to a better perception of it. This effect is increased by the imitation of the speech perceived, which would further activate the listener’s internal motor representations.This connection between the specific difficulties of people with T21 and research on speech perception leads to the following questions. Given the anatomical orofacial specificities of the speaker with T21 impacting his articulatory motor gestures, does the typical listener benefit from the presence of visual information? Can the involvement of the motor system in familiarizing oneself with this specific speech help to better perceive it? To answer these questions, we conducted two experimental studies. In the first one, we show that seeing the face of the speaker with T21 improves the intelligibility of his consonants in a way comparable to typical speakers, using a classical paradigm of audio-visual perception of speech in noise. Visual information therefore seems to be relatively preserved despite anatomical and physiological specificities. In a second study, we adapt a familiarization paradigm with and without imitation to assess whether imitation during the auditory perception of words produced by a speaker with T21 can help improve their perception. Our results suggest that this is the case. This work opens up clinical and theoretical perspectives: the study of the perception of speech produced by people with atypical vocal tract and control mechanisms makes it possible to evaluate the generality of the perception mechanisms put forward with typical speakers and to delimit their contours.La parole est le moyen de communication le plus utilisé par l’Homme. Elle permet d’exprimer ses besoins, d’échanger ses pensées avec autrui et contribue à la construction de l’identité sociale. C’est aussi un canal de communication complexe impliquant un contrôle moteur élaboré en production et la capacité à analyser des séquences sonores produites par une grande variété de locuteurs en perception. Cette complexité fait qu’elle est souvent le mode de communication le plus altéré ou difficile à acquérir pour des personnes dont les systèmes sensori-moteurs impliqués sont perturbés. C’est en particulier le cas des personnes avec trisomie 21 (T21), syndrome d’origine génétique induisant des difficultés motrices orofaciales complexes et des altérations des sphères auditives et somatosensorielles. Si parler est possible pour la plupart de ces personnes, leur intelligibilité est toujours touchée. Améliorer leur communication orale est un enjeu clinique et d’intérêt social. L’étude de la production de la parole par des personnes avec T21 et de sa perception par des auditeurs tout-venant présente aussi un intérêt théorique, en particulier relativement aux questions fondamentales de la perception multimodale de la parole et de l’implication du système moteur de l’auditeur dans sa perception.Dans cette thèse, nous repositionnons le trouble de l’intelligibilité des personnes avec T21 dans un cadre qui conçoit la parole comme un acte coopératif entre locuteur et auditeur. En contre-pied de l’attention traditionnellement portée sur le locuteur dans la recherche appliquée, nous nous intéressons aux recours de l’auditeur pour mieux percevoir la parole en partant de deux observations : (1) la parole T21 est peu intelligible auditivement ; (2) son intelligibilité est meilleure pour des interlocuteurs familiers que non familiers. Ces observations sont mises en relation avec deux résultats importants de la recherche sur la perception de la parole. Primo, en situation de communication face-à-face, en plus de l’information auditive, l’auditeur utilise aussi l’information visuelle produite par le locuteur. Cette dernière permet notamment de mieux percevoir la parole quand l’information auditive est altérée. Deuxio, la familiarisation à un type de parole spécifique entraîne une meilleure perception de celle-ci. Cet effet est augmenté par l’imitation de la parole perçue, qui activerait davantage les représentations motrices internes de l’auditeur.Cette mise en relation des difficultés spécifiques des personnes avec T21 avec la recherche sur la perception de la parole nous amène à formuler les questions suivantes. Compte-tenu des spécificités anatomiques orofaciales du locuteur avec T21 impactant ses gestes moteurs articulatoires, l’auditeur tout-venant bénéficie-t-il de la présence de l’information visuelle ? L’implication du système moteur dans la familiarisation à cette parole spécifique peut-elle aider à mieux la percevoir ? Pour répondre à ces questions, nous avons mené deux études expérimentales. Dans la première, en utilisant un paradigme classique de perception audio-visuelle de la parole dans le bruit, nous montrons que voir le visage du locuteur avec T21 améliore l’intelligibilité de ses consonnes de manière comparable à des locuteurs tout-venant. L’information visuelle semble donc relativement préservée malgré les spécificités anatomiques et physiologiques. Dans une deuxième étude, nous adaptons un paradigme de familiarisation avec et sans imitation pour évaluer si l’imitation lors de la perception auditive de mots produits par un locuteur avec T21 peut aider à mieux les percevoir. Nos résultats suggèrent que c’est le cas. Ce travail ouvre des perspectives cliniques et théoriques : l’étude de la perception de la parole produite par des personnes avec un conduit vocal et des mécanismes de contrôle atypiques permet d’évaluer la généralité des mécanismes de perception mis en avant avec des locuteurs typiques et d’en délimiter les contours

Perceiving speech when it is produced differently : study of the multimodal/multisensory familiarisation mechanisms between ordinary speakers and speakers with articulatory impairments

La parole est le moyen de communication le plus utilisé par l’Homme. Elle permet d’exprimer ses besoins, d’échanger ses pensées avec autrui et contribue à la construction de l’identité sociale. C’est aussi un canal de communication complexe impliquant un contrôle moteur élaboré en production et la capacité à analyser des séquences sonores produites par une grande variété de locuteurs en perception. Cette complexité fait qu’elle est souvent le mode de communication le plus altéré ou difficile à acquérir pour des personnes dont les systèmes sensori-moteurs impliqués sont perturbés. C’est en particulier le cas des personnes avec trisomie 21 (T21), syndrome d’origine génétique induisant des difficultés motrices orofaciales complexes et des altérations des sphères auditives et somatosensorielles. Si parler est possible pour la plupart de ces personnes, leur intelligibilité est toujours touchée. Améliorer leur communication orale est un enjeu clinique et d’intérêt social. L’étude de la production de la parole par des personnes avec T21 et de sa perception par des auditeurs tout-venant présente aussi un intérêt théorique, en particulier relativement aux questions fondamentales de la perception multimodale de la parole et de l’implication du système moteur de l’auditeur dans sa perception.Dans cette thèse, nous repositionnons le trouble de l’intelligibilité des personnes avec T21 dans un cadre qui conçoit la parole comme un acte coopératif entre locuteur et auditeur. En contre-pied de l’attention traditionnellement portée sur le locuteur dans la recherche appliquée, nous nous intéressons aux recours de l’auditeur pour mieux percevoir la parole en partant de deux observations : (1) la parole T21 est peu intelligible auditivement ; (2) son intelligibilité est meilleure pour des interlocuteurs familiers que non familiers. Ces observations sont mises en relation avec deux résultats importants de la recherche sur la perception de la parole. Primo, en situation de communication face-à-face, en plus de l’information auditive, l’auditeur utilise aussi l’information visuelle produite par le locuteur. Cette dernière permet notamment de mieux percevoir la parole quand l’information auditive est altérée. Deuxio, la familiarisation à un type de parole spécifique entraîne une meilleure perception de celle-ci. Cet effet est augmenté par l’imitation de la parole perçue, qui activerait davantage les représentations motrices internes de l’auditeur.Cette mise en relation des difficultés spécifiques des personnes avec T21 avec la recherche sur la perception de la parole nous amène à formuler les questions suivantes. Compte-tenu des spécificités anatomiques orofaciales du locuteur avec T21 impactant ses gestes moteurs articulatoires, l’auditeur tout-venant bénéficie-t-il de la présence de l’information visuelle ? L’implication du système moteur dans la familiarisation à cette parole spécifique peut-elle aider à mieux la percevoir ? Pour répondre à ces questions, nous avons mené deux études expérimentales. Dans la première, en utilisant un paradigme classique de perception audio-visuelle de la parole dans le bruit, nous montrons que voir le visage du locuteur avec T21 améliore l’intelligibilité de ses consonnes de manière comparable à des locuteurs tout-venant. L’information visuelle semble donc relativement préservée malgré les spécificités anatomiques et physiologiques. Dans une deuxième étude, nous adaptons un paradigme de familiarisation avec et sans imitation pour évaluer si l’imitation lors de la perception auditive de mots produits par un locuteur avec T21 peut aider à mieux les percevoir. Nos résultats suggèrent que c’est le cas. Ce travail ouvre des perspectives cliniques et théoriques : l’étude de la perception de la parole produite par des personnes avec un conduit vocal et des mécanismes de contrôle atypiques permet d’évaluer la généralité des mécanismes de perception mis en avant avec des locuteurs typiques et d’en délimiter les contours.Speech is the most widely used means of communication by humans. It allows people to express their needs, exchange thoughts with others and contributes to the construction of social identity. It is also a complex communication channel involving elaborate motor control in production and the ability to analyze sound sequences produced by a wide variety of speakers in perception. This complexity results in speech being often the most altered or difficult to acquire mode of communication for people whose sensorimotor systems are impaired. This is particularly the case for people with trisomy 21 (T21), a genetic syndrome inducing complex orofacial motor difficulties and alterations in the auditory and somatosensory spheres. While speaking is possible for most of these people, their intelligibility is always affected. Improving their oral communication is a clinical and social issue. The study of speech production by people with T21 and its perception by typical listeners is also of theoretical interest, particularly with regard to the fundamental issues of multimodal perception of speech and the involvement of the auditor's motor system in this perception.In this thesis, we reposition the intelligibility disorder of people with T21 in a framework that conceives speech as a cooperative act between speaker and listener. In contrast to the traditional focus on the speaker in applied research, we are interested in the listener's means to better perceive speech, based on two observations: (1) T21 speech is not very intelligible auditorily; (2) its intelligibility is better for familiar than unfamiliar interlocutors. These observations are linked to two important research results on speech perception. First, in a situation of face-to-face communication, in addition to auditory information, the listener also uses the visual information produced by the speaker. In particular, the latter makes it possible to better perceive speech when auditory information is altered. Secondly, familiarization with a specific type of speech leads to a better perception of it. This effect is increased by the imitation of the speech perceived, which would further activate the listener’s internal motor representations.This connection between the specific difficulties of people with T21 and research on speech perception leads to the following questions. Given the anatomical orofacial specificities of the speaker with T21 impacting his articulatory motor gestures, does the typical listener benefit from the presence of visual information? Can the involvement of the motor system in familiarizing oneself with this specific speech help to better perceive it? To answer these questions, we conducted two experimental studies. In the first one, we show that seeing the face of the speaker with T21 improves the intelligibility of his consonants in a way comparable to typical speakers, using a classical paradigm of audio-visual perception of speech in noise. Visual information therefore seems to be relatively preserved despite anatomical and physiological specificities. In a second study, we adapt a familiarization paradigm with and without imitation to assess whether imitation during the auditory perception of words produced by a speaker with T21 can help improve their perception. Our results suggest that this is the case. This work opens up clinical and theoretical perspectives: the study of the perception of speech produced by people with atypical vocal tract and control mechanisms makes it possible to evaluate the generality of the perception mechanisms put forward with typical speakers and to delimit their contours