Dysarthria

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

Non-speech oro-motor exercise use in acquired dysarthria management: regimes and rationales

Abstract: Background: Non-speech oro-motor exercises (NSOMExs) are described in speech and language therapy manuals and are thought to be much used in acquired dysarthria intervention, though there is no robust evidence of an influence on speech outcome. Opinions differ as to whether, and for which dysarthria presentations, NSOMExs are appropriate.Aims: The investigation sought to collect development-phase data, in accordance with the Medical Research Council (MRC) evaluation of complex interventions. The aims were to establish the extent of use of NSOMExs in acquired disorders, the exercise regimes in use for dysarthria, with which dysarthric populations, and the anticipated clinical outcomes. A further aim was to determine the influencing rationales where NSOMExs were or were not used in dysarthria intervention.Methods & Procedures: Speech and language therapists throughout Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, working with adult-acquired dysarthria, were identified by their service heads. They received postal q...

Behavioural phenotype of Bardet-Biedl syndrome.

Abstract: Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS), also known as Laurence-Moon-Bardet-Biedl syndrome (LMBBS), has long been regarded as an autosomal recessive condition but recent evidence now points to a more complex pattern of inheritance.1–3 Prevalence rates range from 1 in 100 000 to 1 in 160 000,4–6 although there are communities in which BBS appears to be more common as a result of consanguinity.3,7 BBS is a heterogeneous genetic condition with six gene loci mapped to date: 11q13 ( BBS1 ),8 16q21 ( BBS2 ),9 3p12-13 ( BBS3 ),10 15q23 ( BBS4 ),11 2q31 ( BBS5 ),12 and 20p12 ( BBS6 / MKKS ).13,14 Three of these genes have now been identified, BBS2 , BBS4 , and BBS6 .15 The phenotype of BBS varies from one family to another and within families, with only subtle phenotypic difference related to the different genes identified to date.16,17 The accepted major criteria for diagnosis include retinal dystrophy, obesity, polydactyly, male hypogonadism, mental retardation, and renal dysfunction.3 In addition to the primary features, a number of associated secondary features, including neurological, speech, and language deficits, behavioural traits, facial dysmorphism, and dental anomalies have been identified.18 The motor problems identified include delay in acquisition of motor skills, unsteady gait, and ataxia.18 Language development is delayed in many cases, although this may be commensurate with overall intellectual function, and there are also reports of speech problems that include articulation difficulties, consonant omission or distortions, dysarthria and hypernasality.3,4,17–19 Developmental delay has been widely described as a major feature of BBS, with two-thirds to three-quarters of patients performing in the mental retardation range on formal testing4,18,20 (but see Green et al 3 for an exception). Disturbances in behaviour have been reported in …

Effect of l-dopa on speech in Parkinsonism : An EMG study of labial articulatory function

Abstract: The articulatory function of the labial musculature has been investigated electromyographically before and after treatment with l-dopa in patients with Parkinsonism who had dysarthria. Before medication the EMG traces generally showed a constant, abnormally increased, tonic activity, together with disturbed reciprocal innervation, which impaired the articulatory activity. After medication the tonic hyperactivity was reduced and the reciprocal innervation re-established. This normalization of the EMG articulatory pattern was paralleled by an improvement of the dysarthria.

Acoustic characteristics of the question-statement contrast in severe dysarthria due to cerebral palsy.

Abstract: Studies of prosodic control in severe dysarthria (DYS) have focused on differences between impaired and nonimpaired speech in terms of the range and variation of fundamental frequency (F0), intensi...

Prosodic control in severe dysarthria: preserved ability to mark the question-statement contrast.

Abstract: Speakers with severe dysarthria are known to have reduced range in prosody. Consistent control within that range, however, has largely been ignored. In earlier investigations speakers with severe d...