Dysarthria

About: Dysarthria is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2402 publications have been published within this topic receiving 56554 citations.

An Exploration of Listener Variability in Intelligibility Judgments

Abstract: Purpose This study was designed to assess potential contributors to listener variability in judgments of intelligibility. Method A total of 228 unfamiliar everyday listeners judged speech samples f...

Dysarthria in Friedreich's ataxia: Timing of speech segments

Abstract: Under certain conditions Friedreich's ataxia (FA) can be considered a model of afferent cerebellar dysfunction. In seven subjects suffering from FA acoustic analysis of sentence utterances, including durational measurements of syllables and intrasyllabic segments, was performed. The FA patients presented with prolongation of syllable, vowel and occlusion lengths. Furthermore, they showed less durational contrasts between stressed and unstressed syllables. These abnormalities may be explained by a slowing of articulatory movements. In contrast, the voice onset time (VOT) values and the variation coefficients of the segments considered were not consistently increased. With respect to interarticulatory coordination, thus, a specific timing deficit could not be disclosed in FA dysarthria. These results are discrepant to data obtained with syllable repetition tasks, as reported in the literature. Obviously, the motor control of sentence utterances differs from that of syllable repetitions. There is psycholingu...

Differentiating profiles of speech impairments in Friedreich's ataxia: a perceptual and instrumental approach

Abstract: The speech disorder associated with Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA) is classically described as ataxic dysarthria. However, variable neuropathology beyond the cerebellum, which may include the corticospinal and corticobulbar tracts, means that the dysarthria can be mixed rather than a pure ataxic dysarthria. To characterize physiological features of the dysarthria associated with FRDA and identify differential patterns of deviation that may occur across the subsystems of the speech-production mechanism in a series of seven case studies. The assessment battery included a perceptual analysis of a speech sample using an interval rating scale, and a range of instrumental measures to investigate the respiratory, laryngeal, velopharyngeal and articulatory systems. The results demonstrated the variability that exists in the dysarthria associated with FRDA, highlighting the existence of differential profiles of speech impairment. A particular distinction was observed between the presence of hypernasality and phonatory dysfunction, as evidenced by the instrumental results. The distinct profiles of dysarthria associated with FRDA indicate that approaches that address multiple subsystems are necessary for the accurate characterization and quantification of the motor speech disorder. Further research is required to investigate the decline in speech function as the disease progresses, as changes in speech function over time may be a good indicator of neurological decline in FRDA.

Can group singing provide effective speech therapy for people with Parkinson's disease?

Abstract: Aim: To investigate whether group singing lessons, provided by a professional singing teacher, can provide an effective means of improving and maintaining voice dynamics for people with Parkinson's disease and possibly also improve quality of life. Method: The study was undertaken by recruiting people with a diagnosis of Parkinson's with voice problems and inviting them to attend a two-hour singing session every fortnight for two years. An assessment of voice dynamics using the Frenchay Dysarthria test was carried out by the local UK National Health Service (NHS) Speech and Language Therapist at the beginning of the study, then every six months for two years. Hypotheses: It was expected that singing would provide benefit to all four main parameters of speech: respiration, phonation, movement of facial musculature and articulation. It was also possible that the group sessions would provide support and an element of fun and thereby improve quality of life. This was measured using the validated PDQ39 measure...

An investigation into the influences of age, pathology and cognition on speech production.

Abstract: Changes in speech rate have long been identified as a prominent sign of dysarthria. At the same time, such changes have been reported in the literature on normal ageing. This study aimed to provide information on the speech rate behaviour in the three participant groups, comprising speakers with Parkinson's Disease (PD), healthy age matched control speakers (CON), and an older non-dysarthric group with mild cognitive decline (DEM). The analysis revealed that the CON and PD group performed similarly for articulation rate whereas the DEM speakers spoke significantly more slowly. This relationship was reversed for pausing behaviour, where the DEM and CON groups performed similarly whilst the PD speakers produced a higher degree of pause time. All groups could change their articulation rate significantly from habitual to slow and fast conditions. However, the groups differed in the amount of change, with CON speakers showing the greatest and DEM the smallest amount of differences in articulation rate. The data did not identify clear performance predictors. However, there was a suggestion that the speakers' cognitive skills had an impact on their speech performance.