The recognition of unfamiliar regional and foreign accents represents a challenging task
for the speech perception system (Floccia et al., 2006; Adank et al., 2009). Despite the
frequency with which we encounter such accents, the neural mechanisms supporting
successful perception of accented speech are poorly understood. Nonetheless,
candidate neural substrates involved in processing speech in challenging listening
conditions, including accented speech, are beginning to be identified. This review will
outline neural bases associated with perception of accented speech in the light of current
models of speech perception, and compare these data to brain areas associated with
processing other speech distortions. We will subsequently evaluate competing models
of speech processing with regards to neural processing of accented speech. See Cristia
et al. (2012) for an in-depth overview of behavioral aspects of accent processing.