ABSTRACT
The processing of a speech signal may be much more similar to sensory processing, in particular visual processing, than has previously been assumed (Chomsky 1976). In visual perception, certain features are extracted from the retinal (preprocessed) image, and relayed through several centers (Shepherd 1994). Feature extraction utilizes lateral inhibition which serves to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio. Several distinctive pathways for types of information (color perception, motion detection, texture analysis, shape perception) can be anatomically differentiated. 'Relay centers' have an increasing range of input from different centers and turn out features or schemas which are increasingly complex and useful for the organism. They feature interactive sideways and feedback connections (VanEssen & Deyoe 1995).
