scholarly journals Speech Production in People Who Stutter: Testing the Motor Plan Assembly Hypothesis

1996 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascal H.H.M. van Lieshout ◽  
Wouter Hulstijn ◽  
Herman F.M. Peters

The main purpose of the present study was to test the hypothesis that persons who stutter, when compared to persons who do not stutter, are less able to assemble abstract motor plans for short verbal responses. Subjects were adult males who stutter and age- and sex-matched control speakers, who were tested on naming pictures and words, using a choice-reaction time paradigm for both tasks. Words varied in the number of syllables (1, 2, and 3 syllables) and, for the bisyllabic words, also in the number of consonants (one or more) at the onset of the second syllable. Measurements consisted of speech reaction times, word durations, and measures of relative timing of specific motor events in the respiratory, phonatory, and articulatory subsystems. Results indicated that, in spite of longer speech reaction times for persons who stutter in comparison to control speakers, there was no interaction with word size, a finding that does not lend support to the abovementioned hypothesis. Word durations were found to be longer for persons who stutter, and, in addition, there was an interaction of group with word size. Both findings were associated with longer delays for persons who stutter in the onset of upper lip integrated electromyographic (IEMG) activity and thoracic compression, and a group effect on the order of upper lip and lower lip IEMG onset. Findings are taken to suggest the possibility that persons who stutter may use different motor control strategies to compensate for a reduced verbal motor skill, and although the nature of this reduced skill is unknown, it is speculated that it relates to the processes involved in the integration of sensory-motor information.

1996 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 546-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascal H. H. M. van Lieshout ◽  
Wouter Hulstijn ◽  
Herman F. M. Peters

The main purpose of the present study was to differentiate between people who stutter and control speakers regarding their ability to assemble motor plans and to prepare (and execute) muscle commands. Adult males who stutter, matched for age, gender, and educational level with a group of control speakers, were tested on naming words and symbols. In addition, their ability to encode and retrieve memory representations of combinations of a symbol and a word, was tested in a recognition task, using manual reaction times and sensitivity scores, as defined in signal detection theory, as performance measures. Group differences in muscle command preparation were assessed from electromyographic recordings of upper lip and lower lip. Results indicated no interaction between group and word size effects in choice reaction times or a group effect in the ability to recognize previously learned symbol-word combinations. However, they were significantly different in the timing of peak amplitudes in the integrated electromyographic signals of upper lip and lower lip (IEMG peak latency). Findings question the claim that people who stutter have problems in creating abstract motor plans for speech. In addition, it is argued that the group differences in IEMG peak latency that were found in the present study might be better understood in terms of motor control strategies than in terms of motor control deficits.


2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 43-52
Author(s):  
Marcos Alan Vieira Bittencourt ◽  
Arthur Costa Rodrigues Farias ◽  
Marcelo de Castellucci e Barbosa

INTRODUCTION: A female patient aged 12 years and 2 months had molars and canines in Class II relationship, severe overjet (12 mm), deep overbite (100%), excessive retroclination and extrusion of the lower incisors, upper incisor proclination, with mild midline diastema. Both dental arches appeared constricted and a lower arch discrepancy of less than -6.5 mm. Facially, she had a significant upper incisors display at rest, interposition and eversion of the lower lip, acute nasolabial angle and convex profile. OBJECTIVE: To report a clinical case consisting of Angle Class I malocclusion with deep overbite and overjet in addition to severe crowding treated with a conservative approach. METHODS: Treatment consisted of slight retraction of the upper incisors and intrusion and protrusion of the lower incisors until all crowding was eliminated. RESULTS: Adequate overbite and overjet were achieved while maintaining the Angle Class I canine and molar relationships and coincident midlines. The facial features were improved, with the emergence of a slightly convex profile and lip competence, achieved through a slight retraction of the upper lip and protrusion of the lower lip, while improving the nasolabial and mentolabial sulcus. CONCLUSIONS: This conservative approach with no extractions proved effective and resulted in a significant improvement of the occlusal relationship as well as in the patient's dental and facial aesthetics.


1986 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 348-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Folkins ◽  
Jeanne L. Canty

Inferior-superior displacements of the upper lip, lower lip, and jaw were transduced with a strain-gauge system in 4 normal-speaking adults. Movements of the upper and lower lips were compared across conditions in which the jaw was free to move and when bite blocks were used to fix the jaw at four different vertical positions. As jaw-open position was increased with the bite blocks, it was found that: (a) Positions of both lips changed for bilabial closure, but the closing movements did not usually maintain consistent proportions between lips across different bite-block sizes; (b) although the lips maintained fairly consistent maximum interlabial opening across many conditions, this opening was reduced in the small bite-block conditions; and (c) in a few cases there was an increase in the duration of lip-closing movements, but these were small and inconsistent. The findings are discussed relative to possible organizational systems that would produce the observed interactions among speech articulators.


1997 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 877-893 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anders Löfqvist ◽  
Vincent L. Gracco

This paper reports two experiments, each designed to clarify different aspects of bilabial stop consonant production. The first one examined events during the labial closure using kinematic recordings in combination with records of oral air pressure and force of labial contact. The results of this experiment suggested that the lips were moving at a high velocity when the oral closure occurred. They also indicated mechanical interactions between the lips during the closure, including tissue compression and the lower lip moving the upper lip upward. The second experiment studied patterns of upper and lower lip interactions, movement variability within and across speakers, and the effects on lip and jaw kinematics of stop consonant voicing and vowel context. Again, the results showed that the lips were moving at a high velocity at the onset of the oral closure. No consistent influences of stop consonant voicing were observed on lip and jaw kinematics in five subjects, nor on a derived measure of lip aperture. The overall results are compatible with the hypothesis that one target for the lips in bilabial stop production is a region of negative lip aperture. A negative lip aperture implies that to reach their virtual target, the lips would have to move beyond each other. Such a control strategy would ensure that the lips will form an air tight seal irrespective of any contextual variability in the onset positions of their closing movements.


Author(s):  
T. R. Ryzhikova ◽  

The paper aims to describe the articulatory traits of the Baraba-Tatar phoneme o /ʊ̇/ by the somatic methods. The method used is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Eighteen Barabian tomograms comprising o-type articulation have been described and analyzed according to the technique adopted in the V. M. Nadelyayev’s Laboratory of Experimental-Phonetic Researches (Institute of Philology SB RAS). The text provides only general observations and conclusions, with a full description of all tomograms given in three tables. The experimentalphonetic analysis of the Baraba-Tatar tomograms of the vowel o allowed the author to draw several conclusions. There is a variability of the o-type tunings in Barabian, the most typical being the central-back narrow labialized ejective realization. Though it is very narrow and is phonetically transcribed as /ʊ̇/, it is acoustically perceived as o. While producing the sound o, the oral and pharyngeal cavities become very small, producing the effect of tension. Additional narrowing occurs between the soft palate and the tongue back as well as between the upper teeth and the lower lip, thus preventing the airflow from free release. The lip position is also unusual: instead of protruding forward, the upper lip moves back, tightly covering the upper teeth to produce an interesting acoustic effect. To sum up, further investigation of all vocal system units of Baraba-Tatar is needed to draw ultimate conclusions about the typological belonging of the language under consideration.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. e243156
Author(s):  
Monika Gupta ◽  
Harshita Vig ◽  
Yajas Kumar ◽  
Aliza Rizvi

Double lip or macrocheilitis is a rare facial anomaly, mostly congenital in origin. It commonly involves the upper lip than the lower lip. It may occur in isolation or as part of the Ascher’s syndrome. It results due to deposition of excessive areolar tissue and non-inflammatory hyperplasia of labial mucosa gland of pars villosa. It may be acquired as a result of injury to the lips or lip-biting habit. The double lip becomes conspicuous when the lips are retracted during smiling resulting in the characteristic ‘cupid’s bow’ appearance. This disfigurement can pose aesthetic and functional problems and may result in psychological distress. A surgical intervention is must for restoration of functions and to address the aesthetic concerns. The present article reports a case of non-syndromic double upper lip with triple labial frena and its surgical management with laser on one side and with scalpel on the other side.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Borgnis ◽  
Francesca Baglio ◽  
Elisa Pedroli ◽  
Federica Rossetto ◽  
Giuseppe Riva ◽  
...  

Executive dysfunctions constitute a significant public health problem due to their high impact on everyday life and personal independence. Therefore, the identification of early strategies to assess and rehabilitate these impairments appears to be a priority. The ecological limitations of traditional neuropsychological tests and the numerous difficulties in administering tests in real-life scenarios have led to the increasing use of virtual reality (VR) and 360° environment-based tools for assessing executive functions (EFs) in real life. This perspective aims at proposing the development and implementation of Executive-functions Innovative Tool 360° (EXIT 360°), an innovative, enjoyable, and ecologically valid tool for a multidimensional and multicomponent evaluation of executive dysfunctions. EXIT 360° allows a complete and integrated executive functioning assessment through an original task for EFs delivered via a mobile-powered VR headset combined with eye tracker (ET) and electroencephalograms (EEG). Our tool is born as a 360°-based instrument, easily accessible and clinically usable, that will radically transform clinicians’ and patient’s assessment experience. In EXIT 360°, patients are engaged in a “game for health,” where they must perform everyday subtasks in 360° daily life environments. In this way, the clinicians can obtain quickly more ecologically valid information about several aspects of EFs (e.g., planning, problem-solving). Moreover, the multimodal approach allows completing the assessment of EFs by integrating verbal responses, reaction times, and physiological data (eye movements and brain activation). Overall, EXIT 360° will allow obtaining simultaneously and in real time more information about executive dysfunction and its impact in real life, allowing clinicians to tailor the rehabilitation to the subject’s needs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 456-469
Author(s):  
Nicolás Lavandero ◽  
Javiera Chinga ◽  
Raquel Pinto ◽  
María Fernanda Pérez

Abstract— A new Schizanthus species from northern Chile is described and illustrated. Schizanthus nutantiflorus was discovered based on recent collections made during unusual rain events in the Atacama Desert in 2015. The new species is distinguished morphologically from other Schizanthus species from northern Chile by its short corolla tube, with a distinct upper lip arrangement and colour, having the longest lower lip, and downward-facing flowers. Additionally, the reinstatement of Schizanthus fallax is proposed. By using both nDNA and cpDNA, phylogenetic relationships among all species of Schizanthus were investigated. Molecular and field observations, as well as an exhaustive morphological revision of fresh material and herbarium specimens, supports the segregation of Schizanthus with short corolla tubes from northern Chile into three species. We propose that, in order to fully understand both the taxonomy and evolution of Schizanthus, an integrative framework encompassing molecular, ecological, and morphological data should be carried out. Information on distribution, habitat, informal conservation status, as well as taxonomic notes and illustrations are provided. In addition, an updated key for the species of Schizanthus from northern Chile is given.


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