Phonatory and Articulatory Changes Associated With Increased Vocal Intensity in Parkinson Disease: A Case Study

1995 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 751-764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Dromey ◽  
Lorraine Olson Ramig ◽  
Antonia B. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson Disease ◽  
Maximum Flow ◽  
Intensity Change ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Acoustic Measures ◽  
Syllable Repetition ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Subglottal Pressure ◽  
Vocal Intensity ◽  
Whole Word

This study examined changes in voice and speech production in a patient with Parkinson disease as he increased vocal intensity following 1 month of intensive voice treatment. Phonatory function and articulatory acoustic measures were made before and after treatment as well as 6 and 12 months later. Pre- to post-treatment increases were documented in sound pressure level in sustained phonation, syllable repetition, reading, and monologue. Consistent with mechanisms of intensity change reported in normal speakers, corresponding improvements were measured in estimated subglottal pressure, maximum flow declination rate, laryngeal airway resistance, open quotient, EGGW-25, harmonic-spectral slope, and maximum vowel duration. Measures of phonatory stability in sustained phonation and semitone standard deviation in reading and speaking showed changes accompanying increased vocal intensity. In addition, changes were measured in articulatory acoustic parameters (vowel and whole word duration, transition duration, extent and rate, and frication duration and rise time) in single-word productions. These findings indicate that this patient increased his vocal intensity using phonatory mechanisms that have been associated with the nondisordered larynx. In addition, the increased vocal intensity led to changes in articulation that were not targeted in treatment.

Aerodynamic Mechanisms Underlying Treatment-Related Changes in Vocal Intensity in Patients With Parkinson Disease

1996 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 798-807 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorraine Olson Ramig ◽  
Christopher Dromey
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson Disease ◽  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
Vocal Fold ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Maximum Flow ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Syllable Repetition ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Subglottal Pressure ◽  
Vocal Intensity

The purpose of this study was to document changes in aerodynamic and glottographic aspects of vocal function in patients with Parkinson disease who received two forms of high effort treatment. Previous reports (Ramig, Countryman, Thompson, & Horii, 1995) have documented increased sound pressure level (SPL) following treatment that trained phonation and respiration (Lee Silverman Voice Treatment: LSVT), but not for treatment that trained respiration only (R). In order to examine the mechanisms underlying these differences, measures of maximum flow declination rate (MFDR) and estimated subglottal pressure (Psub) were made before and after treatment. A measure of relative vocal fold adduction (EGGW) was made from the electroglottographic signal during sustained vowel phonation. Sound pressure level data from syllable repetition, sustained vowel phonation, reading, and monologue tasks were also analyzed to allow a more detailed understanding of treatment-related change in several contexts. Consistent with increases in SPL, significant increases in MFDR, estimated Psub, and EGGW were measured posttreatment in patients who received the LSVT. Similar changes were not observed following R treatment. These findings suggest that the combination of increased vocal fold adduction and subglottal pressure is a key in generating posttreatment increases in vocal intensity in idiopathic Parkinson disease (IPD).

Training Effects on Vowel Production by Two Profoundly Hearing-Impaired Speakers

1987 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Joe Osberger
Keyword(s):  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
The Other ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Vowel Production ◽  
Training Effects ◽  
Acoustic Measures ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Speech Training

Two profoundly hearing-impaired adolescents received systematic speech training to improve their production of the vowels /i/ and /æ/. Acoustic measures of F 1 , F 2 , and duration, and listener judgments of vowel acceptability, were used to quantify vowel production before and after training. Both subjects demonstrated significant changes in their production of the two vowels at the acoustic and perceptual levels following treatment. The changes were highly individualized. For some features, significant improvement occurred posttreatment with differences between the hearing-impaired subject and a control group of subjects with normal hearing no longer present. There was a significant improvement in the acceptability of the two vowels in each subject's speech after training. Vowel duration remained unchanged in the speech of one subject whereas it increased in the speech of the other subject following training. There was a trend toward reduced token-to-token variation in the posttreatment samples. Acoustic and perceptual measures also were obtained on two vowels not directly trained in the program. Significant changes occurred in the production of these segments but some of the changes resulted in greater deviation in the post- than in the pretreatment samples.

Signal Interpretation Considerations When Estimating Subglottal Pressure From Oral Air Pressure

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 1326-1337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brittany L. Perrine ◽  
Ronald C. Scherer ◽  
Jason A. Whitfield
Keyword(s):  
Standard Condition ◽  
Word Production ◽  
Air Pressure ◽  
Pressure Waveform ◽  
Pressure Measurements ◽  
Air Leak ◽  
Pressure Signal ◽  
Adult Participants ◽  
Syllable Repetition ◽  
Subglottal Pressure

Purpose Oral air pressure measurements during lip occlusion for /pVpV/ syllable strings are used to estimate subglottal pressure during the vowel. Accuracy of this method relies on smoothly produced syllable repetitions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the oral air pressure waveform during the /p/ lip occlusions and propose physiological explanations for nonflat shapes. Method Ten adult participants were trained to produce the “standard condition” and were instructed to produce nonstandard tasks. Results from 8 participants are included. The standard condition required participants to produce /pːiːpːiː.../ syllables smoothly at approximately 1.5 syllables/s. The nonstandard tasks included an air leak between the lips, faster syllable repetition rates, an initial voiced consonant, and 2-syllable word productions. Results Eleven oral air pressure waveform shapes were identified during the lip occlusions, and plausible physiological explanations for each shape are provided based on the tasks in which they occurred. Training the use of the standard condition, the initial voice consonant condition, and the 2-syllable word production increased the likelihood of rectangular oral air pressure waveform shapes. Increasing the rate beyond 1.5 syllables/s improved the probability of producing rectangular oral air pressure signal shapes in some participants. Conclusions Visual and verbal feedback improved the likelihood of producing rectangular oral air pressure signal shapes. The physiological explanations of variations in the oral air pressure waveform shape may provide direction to the clinician or researcher when providing feedback to increase the accuracy of estimating subglottal pressure from oral air pressure.

Aerodynamic and Acoustic Voice Measures Before and After an Acute Public Speaking Stressor

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (10) ◽  
pp. 3311-3325
Author(s):  
Brittany L. Perrine ◽  
Ronald C. Scherer
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
Public Speaking ◽  
Stress System ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Subglottal Pressure ◽  
Response To Stress ◽  
System Activation ◽  
Speaking Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Pituitary Adrenal Axis

Purpose The goal of this study was to determine if differences in stress system activation lead to changes in speaking fundamental frequency, average oral airflow, and estimated subglottal pressure before and after an acute, psychosocial stressor. Method Eighteen vocally healthy adult females experienced the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) to activate the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. The TSST includes public speaking and performing mental arithmetic in front of an audience. At seven time points, three before the stressor and four after the stressor, the participants produced /pa/ repetitions, read the Rainbow Passage, and provided a saliva sample. Measures included (a) salivary cortisol level, (b) oral airflow, (c) estimated subglottal pressure, and (d) speaking fundamental frequency from the second sentence of the Rainbow Passage. Results Ten of the 18 participants experienced a hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis response to stress as indicated by a 2.5-nmol/L increase in salivary cortisol from before the TSST to after the TSST. Those who experienced a response to stress had a significantly higher speaking fundamental frequency before and immediately after the stressor than later after the stressor. No other variable varied significantly due to the stressor. Conclusions This study suggests that the idiosyncratic and inconsistent voice changes reported in the literature may be explained by differences in stress system activation. In addition, laryngeal aerodynamic measures appear resilient to changes due to acute stress. Further work is needed to examine the influence of other stress systems and if these findings hold for dysphonic individuals.

Temporal Characteristics of Speech in Simultaneous Communication

1995 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 1014-1024 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L. Whitehead ◽  
Nicholas Schiavetti ◽  
Brenda H. Whitehead ◽  
Dale Evan Metz
Keyword(s):  
Pause Duration ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Vowel Perception ◽  
Temporal Characteristics ◽  
Spoken English ◽  
Temporal Features ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Word Duration ◽  
Rate Of Speech ◽  
Speech Condition

The purpose of this investigation was twofold: (a) to determine if there are changes in specific temporal characteristics of speech that occur during simultaneous communication, and (b) to determine if known temporal rules of spoken English are disrupted during simultaneous communication. Ten speakers uttered sentences consisting of a carrier phrase and experimental CVC words under conditions of: (a) speech, (b) speech combined with signed English, and (c) speech combined with signed English for every word except the CVC word that was fingerspelled. The temporal features investigated included: (a) sentence duration, (b) experimental CVC word duration, (c) vowel duration in experimental CVC words, (d) pause duration before and after experimental CVC words, and (e) consonantal effects on vowel duration. Results indicated that for all durational measures, the speech/sign/fingerspelling condition was longest, followed by the speech/sign condition, with the speech condition being shortest. It was also found that for all three speaking conditions, vowels were longer in duration when preceding voiced consonants than vowels preceding their voiceless cognates, and that a low vowel was longer in duration than a high vowel. These findings indicate that speakers consistently reduced their rate of speech when using simultaneous communication, but did not violate these specific temporal rules of English important for consonant and vowel perception.

scholarly journals The Effect of Dual Language Activation on L2-Induced Changes in L1 Speech within a Code-Switched Paradigm

Languages ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 114
Author(s):  
Ulrich Reubold ◽  
Sanne Ditewig ◽  
Robert Mayr ◽  
Ineke Mennen
Keyword(s):  
Dual Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Predictor Variable ◽  
Predictor Variables ◽  
Acoustic Measures ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Language Activation ◽  
Dual Activation ◽  
Induced Changes

The present study sought to examine the effect of dual language activation on L1 speech in late English–Austrian German sequential bilinguals, and to identify relevant predictor variables. To this end, we compared the English speech patterns of adult migrants to Austria in a code-switched and monolingual condition alongside those of monolingual native speakers in England in a monolingual condition. In the code-switched materials, German words containing target segments known to trigger cross-linguistic interaction in the two languages (i.e., [v–w], [ʃt(ʁ)-st(ɹ)] and [l-ɫ]) were inserted into an English frame; monolingual materials comprised English words with the same segments. To examine whether the position of the German item affects L1 speech, the segments occurred either before the switch (“He wants a Wienerschnitzel”) or after (“I like Würstel with mustard”). Critical acoustic measures of these segments revealed no differences between the groups in the monolingual condition, but significant L2-induced shifts in the bilinguals’ L1 speech production in the code-switched condition for some sounds. These were found to occur both before and after a code-switch, and exhibited a fair amount of individual variation. Only the amount of L2 use was found to be a significant predictor variable for shift size in code-switched compared with monolingual utterances, and only for [w]. These results have important implications for the role of dual activation in the speech of late sequential bilinguals.

Comments on the Myoelastic - Aerodynamic Theory of Phonation

1980 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 495-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingo R. Titze
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Fold ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Vibrational Amplitude ◽  
Subglottal Pressure ◽  
Vertical Displacements ◽  
Vocal Intensity ◽  
Tissue Deformations ◽  
Chest Voice ◽  
Phase Differences

The myoelastic-aerodynamic theory of phonation has been quantified and tested with mathematical models. The models suggest that vocal fold oscillation is produced as a result of asymmetric forcing functions over closing and opening portions of the glottal cycle. For nearly uniform tissue displacements, as in falsetto voice, the asymmetry in the driving forces can result from the inertia of the air moving through the glottis. This inertia can in turn be enhanced or suppressed by supraglottal or subglottal vocal tract coupling. More obvious and pronounced asymmetries in the driving forces are associated with non-uniform vocal fold tissue displacements. These are combinations of normal tissue modes, and can result in vertical and horizontal phase differences along the surfaces, as observed in chest voice. The ranges of oscillation increase among various models as more freedom in the simulated tissue movement is incorporated. Of particular significance in initiating and maintaining oscillation are the vertical motions that facilitate coupling of aerodynamic energy into the tissues and allow tissue deformations under conditions of incompressibility. Vertical displacements also can have a significant effect on vocal tract excitation. Control of fundamental frequency of oscillation (FO) is basically myoelastic, partially as a result of deliberate or reflex adjustments of laryngeal muscles, and partially as a result of nonlinear tissue strain over the vibrational cycle. This places limits on the control of FO by subglottal pressure, and forces such control to be inseparably connected with vibrational amplitude, or less directly, with vocal intensity.

Speech Waveform Perturbation Analysis

1986 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anders G. Askenfelt ◽  
Britta Hammarberg
Keyword(s):  
Relative Frequency ◽  
Clinical Applications ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
Frequency Of Occurrence ◽  
Pitch Period ◽  
Acoustic Measures ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Perturbation Data ◽  
Acoustic Measure ◽  
Pathological Voice

The performance of seven acoustic measures of cycle-to-cycle variations (perturbations) in the speech waveform was compared. All measures were calculated automatically and applied on running speech. Three of the measures refer to the frequency of occurrence and severity of waveform perturbations in special selected parts of the speech, identified by means of the rate of change in the fundamental frequency. Three other measures refer to statistical properties of the distribution of the relative frequency differences between adjacent pitch periods. One perturbation measure refers to the percentage of consecutive pitch period differences with alternating signs. The acoustic measures were tested on tape recorded speech samples from 41 voice patients, before and after successful therapy. Scattergrams of acoustic waveform perturbation data versus an average of perceived deviant voice qualities, as rated by voice clinicians, are presented. The perturbation measures were compared with regard to the acoustic-perceptual correlation and their ability to discriminate between normal and pathological voice status. The standard deviation of the distribution of the relative frequency differences was suggested as the most useful acoustic measure of waveform perturbations for clinical applications.

Relationship between the Discrimination of /w-r/ and /t-d/ Continua and the Identification of Distorted /r/

1988 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald J. Sharf ◽  
Ralph N. Ohde ◽  
Mark E. Lehman
Keyword(s):  
Category Boundary ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Individual Subject ◽  
Group Response ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Response Choices ◽  
Subject Performance

The purpose of this study was to assess the extent to which listeners can perceive intraphonemic differences. In Experiment 1, subjects identified synthesized acoustic tokens of child-like speech that varied in second and third formant (F 2 and F 3 ) onset frequencies as /w/, /r/, or distorted /r/ in two conditions: (a) with and without feedback of the group response choices, and (b) before and after training to identify the best examples of /w/, /r/, and distorted /r/ based on their identification in the first condition. The results were: (a) some subjects consistently identified distorted /r/ above criterion, and (b) feedback was more effective in increasing distorted /r/ identification than was training. In Experiment 2, the same subjects participated in discrimination tasks using stimuli from a synthesized child /w-r/ continuum that varied in F 2 and F 3 onsets and from a synthesized adult /t-d/ continuum that varied in preconsonantal vowel duration. The results were: (a perception was not categorical for both continua, (b) little relation was found between distorted-/r/ identification and measures of /w-r/ discrimination, and (c) a high and significant correlation was found between identification of distorted /r/ and within-/d/ discrimination. In Experiment 3, different subjects identified the child manifold stimuli and discriminated stimuli in a synthesized child /w-r/ continuum and in a synthesized adult /t-d/ continuum. The results were: (a) neither /w-r/ or /t-d/ perception was categorical although the former came closer than the latter in terms of individual subject performance, (b) there was a high and significant correlation between distorted-/r/ identification and within-/r/ discrimination of /w-r/ stimuli, and (c) there were high and significant correlations between distorted-/r/identification and mean, cross-category boundary, and within-/t/discrimination of /t-d/ stimuli.

scholarly journals Acoustic Voice Modifications in Individuals with Parkinson Disease Submitted to Deep Brain Stimulation

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (02) ◽  
pp. 203-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aline Juliane Romann ◽  
Bárbara Costa Beber ◽  
Carla Aparecida Cielo ◽  
Carlos Roberto de Mello Rieder
Keyword(s):  
Deep Brain Stimulation ◽  
Parkinson Disease ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Statistical Difference ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Acoustic Measures ◽  
Disease Rating ◽  
The Voice ◽  
Stn Dbs ◽  
Deep Brain

Introduction Subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) improves motor function in individuals with Parkinson disease (PD). The evidence about the effects of STN-DBS on the voice is still inconclusive. Objective To verify the effect of STN-DBS on the voice of Brazilian individuals with PD. Methods Sixteen participants were evaluated on the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale—Part III, and by the measurement of the acoustic modifications in on and off conditions of stimulation. Results The motor symptoms showed significant improvement with STN-DBS on. Regarding the acoustic measures of the voice, only the maximum fundamental frequency (fhi) showed a statistical difference between on- and off-conditions, with reduction in off-condition. Conclusion Changes in computerized acoustic measures are more valuable when interpreted in conjunction with changes in other measures. The single finding in fhi suggests that DBS-STN increases vocal instability. The interpretation of this result should be done carefully, since it may not be of great value if other measures that also indicate instability are not significantly different.

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