Temporal lobe perceptual predictions for speech are instantiated in motor cortex and reconciled by inferior frontal cortex.

Humans use predictions to improve speech perception, especially in noisy environments. Here we use 7-T functional MRI (fMRI) to decode brain representations of written phonological predictions and degraded speech signals in healthy humans and people with selective frontal neurodegeneration (non-fluent variant primary progressive aphasia [nfvPPA]). Multivariate analyses of item-specific patterns of neural activation indicate dissimilar representations of verified and violated predictions in left inferior frontal gyrus, suggestive of processing by distinct neural populations. In contrast, precentral gyrus represents a combination of phonological information and weighted prediction error. In the presence of intact temporal cortex, frontal neurodegeneration results in inflexible predictions. This manifests neurally as a failure to suppress incorrect predictions in anterior superior temporal gyrus and reduced stability of phonological representations in precentral gyrus. We propose a tripartite speech perception network in which inferior frontal gyrus supports prediction reconciliation in echoic memory, and precentral gyrus invokes a motor model to instantiate and refine perceptual predictions for speech

Where Philosophical Intuitions Come From

Little is known about the aetiology of philosophical intuitions, in spite of their central role in analytic philosophy. This paper provides a psychological account of the intuitions that underlie philosophical practice, with a focus on intuitions that underlie the method of cases. I argue that many philosophical intuitions originate from spontaneous, early-developing, cognitive processes that also play a role in other cognitive domains. Additionally, they have a skilled, practiced, component. Philosophers are expert elicitors of intuitions in the dialectical context of professional philosophy. If this analysis is correct, this should lead to a reassessment of experimental philosophical studies of expertise

How Can Hearing Loss Cause Dementia?

Epidemiological studies identify midlife hearing loss as an independent risk factor for dementia, estimated to account for 9% of cases. We evaluate candidate brain bases for this relationship. These bases include a common pathology affecting the ascending auditory pathway and multimodal cortex, depletion of cognitive reserve due to an impoverished listening environment, and the occupation of cognitive resources when listening in difficult conditions. We also put forward an alternate mechanism, drawing on new insights into the role of the medial temporal lobe in auditory cognition. In particular, we consider how aberrant activity in the service of auditory pattern analysis, working memory, and object processing may interact with dementia pathology in people with hearing loss. We highlight how the effect of hearing interventions on dementia depends on the specific mechanism and suggest avenues for work at the molecular, neuronal, and systems levels to pin this down

Crowning glory: public law, power and the monarchy

‘New public law’ has a keen interest in the deployment of power and the shifting nature of the public and private. In this article, we argue that the historical legacy of the Crown has hindered the ability of public lawyers to respond to changes in modes of governance in the UK. The constitutional law textbook tradition has played a key role in limiting critiques of the Crown because of the obfuscation that surrounds the legal and political status of the Monarch. However, instead of discounting the significance of the monarchy, we use it as a resource for exploring governing power, the blurring of boundaries and constitutional renewal. Our starting point is the life, death and, most importantly, the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales. The latter event exposed the political relevance of the ‘personal’ in a most dramatic way, generating claims about the ‘feminisation of the government’ and ‘emotions augmenting democracy’. We follow through on these claims in order to focus on the effects of adopting private, intimate-sphere norms in the public sphere, in particular public-sphere decision making. While aware of the risks associated with this ‘transformation’ of democracy, we conclude that the increasing centrality of the intimate merits onsideration in new public law’s search for progressive tools of modern governance