scholarly journals Auditory Masking Effects on Speech Fluency in Apraxia of Speech and Aphasia: Comparison to Altered Auditory Feedback

2015 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 1670-1686 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Jacks ◽  
Katarina L. Haley
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Feedback ◽  
Speaking Rate ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Auditory Masking ◽  
Apraxia Of Speech ◽  
Speech Fluency ◽  
Design Effects ◽  
Additional Work ◽  
Feedback Monitoring ◽  
Vocal Intensity

Purpose To study the effects of masked auditory feedback (MAF) on speech fluency in adults with aphasia and/or apraxia of speech (APH/AOS). We hypothesized that adults with AOS would increase speech fluency when speaking with noise. Altered auditory feedback (AAF; i.e., delayed/frequency-shifted feedback) was included as a control condition not expected to improve speech fluency. Method Ten participants with APH/AOS and 10 neurologically healthy (NH) participants were studied under both feedback conditions. To allow examination of individual responses, we used an ABACA design. Effects were examined on syllable rate, disfluency duration, and vocal intensity. Results Seven of 10 APH/AOS participants increased fluency with masking by increasing rate, decreasing disfluency duration, or both. In contrast, none of the NH participants increased speaking rate with MAF. In the AAF condition, only 1 APH/AOS participant increased fluency. Four APH/AOS participants and 8 NH participants slowed their rate with AAF. Conclusions Speaking with MAF appears to increase fluency in a subset of individuals with APH/AOS, indicating that overreliance on auditory feedback monitoring may contribute to their disorder presentation. The distinction between responders and nonresponders was not linked to AOS diagnosis, so additional work is needed to develop hypotheses for candidacy and underlying control mechanisms.

scholarly journals Contributions of Auditory and Somatosensory Feedback to Vocal Motor Control

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (7) ◽  
pp. 2039-2053
Author(s):  
Dante J. Smith ◽  
Cara Stepp ◽  
Frank H. Guenther ◽  
Elaine Kearney
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Auditory Feedback ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Auditory Masking ◽  
Somatosensory Feedback ◽  
Perturbation Experiment ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Auditory Acuity ◽  
Auditory Feedback Control

Purpose To better define the contributions of somatosensory and auditory feedback in vocal motor control, a laryngeal perturbation experiment was conducted with and without masking of auditory feedback. Method Eighteen native speakers of English produced a sustained vowel while their larynx was physically and externally displaced on a subset of trials. For the condition with auditory masking, speech-shaped noise was played via earphones at 90 dB SPL. Responses to the laryngeal perturbation were compared to responses by the same participants to an auditory perturbation experiment that involved a 100-cent downward shift in fundamental frequency ( f o ). Responses were also examined in relation to a measure of auditory acuity. Results Compensatory responses to the laryngeal perturbation were observed with and without auditory masking. The level of compensation was greatest in the laryngeal perturbation condition without auditory masking, followed by the condition with auditory masking; the level of compensation was smallest in the auditory perturbation experiment. No relationship was found between the degree of compensation to auditory versus laryngeal perturbations, and the variation in responses in both perturbation experiments was not related to auditory acuity. Conclusions The findings indicate that somatosensory and auditory feedback control mechanisms work together to compensate for laryngeal perturbations, resulting in the greatest degree of compensation when both sources of feedback are available. In contrast, these two control mechanisms work in competition in response to auditory perturbations, resulting in an overall smaller degree of compensation. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12559628

The Effects of Auditory Masking on the Anxiety Level, Frequency of Dysfluency, and Selected Vocal Characteristic of Stutterers

1972 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 572-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin R. Adams ◽  
Walter H. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Feedback ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Anxiety Level ◽  
Read Aloud ◽  
Masking Effect ◽  
Auditory Masking ◽  
Vocal Intensity

This study tested and compared two different explanations of the effects of auditory masking on stuttering: masking minimizes the individual’s auditory feedback of his stuttering so that he is less anxious about the dysfluency and consequently stutters less; or masking causes the stutterer to increase his vocal intensity and reduce his speech rate, and these changes create the reduction in stuttering. Twelve stutterers with normal hearing read aloud in masking and no-masking (control) conditions. Measures of palmar sweat anxiety, the frequency of stuttering, reading time, and vocal intensity were obtained for each subject in both of these situations. Significantly less stuttering and more vocal intensity were noted concomitantly in the masking as compared to the control condition. The between-condition differences in reading time and measured anxiety were small and rather unreliable. These results were interpreted as supporting the “modified vocalization” explanation of the masking effect, but as detracting from the “reduced anxiety over stuttering” hypothesis.

Effects of Noise and Increased Vocal Intensity on Stuttering

1977 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon F. Garber ◽  
Richard R. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Normal Level ◽  
Auditory Feedback ◽  
Concomitant Increase ◽  
Vocal Intensity ◽  
Presence And Absence

The present study was designed to assess the effects of increased vocal level on stuttering in the presence and absence of noise, and to assess the effects of noise on stuttering with and without a concomitant increase in vocal level. Accordingly, eight adult stutterers spoke in quiet with normal vocal level, in quiet with increased vocal level, in noise with normal level, and in noise with increased level. All subjects reduced stuttering in noise compared with quiet conditions. However, there was no difference in stuttering when subjects spoke with normal compared with increased vocal level. In the present study, reductions in stuttering under noise could not be explained by increases in vocal level. It appears, instead, that reductions in stuttering were related to a decrease in auditory feedback. The condition which resulted in the largest decrease in auditory feedback, speaking in noise with a normal level, also resulted in the largest decrease in stuttering.

The Establishment, Transfer, and Maintenance of Fluent Speech in 50 Stutterers Using Delayed Auditory Feedback and Operant Procedures

1974 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce P. Ryan ◽  
Barbara Van Kirk
Keyword(s):  
Detailed Analysis ◽  
Auditory Feedback ◽  
Rehabilitation Center ◽  
Delayed Auditory Feedback ◽  
Fluent Speech ◽  
Speech Fluency ◽  
The Past ◽  
Clinical Program

Operant speech fluency techniques are being used in a clinical program in a rehabilitation center to treat people who stutter. Establishment, transfer, and maintenance programs are used. Delayed auditory feedback is commonly employed to produce the initial fluent speech. From more than 200 clients seen over the past four years, 50 recent clients were selected for a detailed analysis. The results indicate that the programs are effective in helping people of varying ages and stuttering severity to speak fluently. This was accomplished in relatively short periods (approximately 20 hours of therapy). The fluent speech of the clients has transferred to their environment and checks indicate that it has been maintained.

Effect of Speech Dialect on Speech Naturalness Ratings

1997 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 349-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda S. Mackey ◽  
Patrick Finn ◽  
Roger J. Ingham
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Speaking Rate ◽  
Speech Fluency ◽  
The Third ◽  
Speech Naturalness

This study investigated the effect of speech dialect on listeners' speech naturalness ratings by systematically replicating Martin, Haroldson, and Triden's (1984) study using three groups of speaker samples. Two groups consisted of speakers with General American dialect—one with persons who stutter and the other with persons who do not stutter. The third group also consisted of speakers who do not stutter but who spoke non-General American dialect. The results showed that speech naturalness ratings distinguished among the three speaker groups. The variables that appeared to influence speech naturalness ratings were type of dialect, speech fluency, and speaking rate, though they differed across speaker groups. The findings also suggested that strength of speech dialect may be a scaleable dimension that judges can rate with acceptable levels of reliability. Dialect may also be an important factor that needs to be incorporated or controlled within systems designed to train speech naturalness ratings. It may also be an important factor in determining the extent to which stuttering treatment produces natural sounding speech.

scholarly journals Top–Down Inhibitory Mechanisms Underlying Auditory–Motor Integration for Voice Control: Evidence by TMS

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (8) ◽  
pp. 4515-4527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongxu Liu ◽  
Guangyan Dai ◽  
Churong Liu ◽  
Zhiqiang Guo ◽  
Zhiqin Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Feedback ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Left Dlpfc ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽  
Pitch Regulation ◽  
Condition C

Abstract The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has been implicated in auditory–motor integration for accurate control of vocal production, but its precise role in this feedback-based process remains largely unknown. To this end, the present event-related potential study applied a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) protocol, continuous theta-burst stimulation (c-TBS), to disrupt cortical activity in the left DLPFC as young adults vocalized vowel sounds while hearing their voice unexpectedly shifted upwards in pitch. The results showed that, as compared to the sham condition, c-TBS over left DLPFC led to significantly larger vocal compensations for pitch perturbations that were accompanied by significantly smaller cortical P2 responses. Source localization analyses revealed that this brain activity pattern was the result of reduced activation in the left superior frontal gyrus and right inferior parietal lobule (supramarginal gyrus). These findings demonstrate c-TBS-induced modulatory effects of DLPFC on the neurobehavioral processing of vocal pitch regulation, suggesting that disrupting prefrontal function may impair top–down inhibitory control mechanisms that prevent speech production from being excessively influenced by auditory feedback, resulting in enhanced vocal compensations for feedback perturbations. This is the first study that provides direct evidence for a causal role of the left DLPFC in auditory feedback control of vocal production.

Recovering With Acquired Apraxia of Speech: The First 2 Years

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (4S) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarina L. Haley ◽  
Jennifer N. Shafer ◽  
Tyson G. Harmon ◽  
Adam Jacks
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Sound Production ◽  
Speech Sound ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Speaking Rate ◽  
Apraxia Of Speech ◽  
Dynamic Relationship ◽  
Speech Features ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This study was intended to document speech recovery for 1 person with acquired apraxia of speech quantitatively and on the basis of her lived experience. Method The second author sustained a traumatic brain injury that resulted in acquired apraxia of speech. Over a 2-year period, she documented her recovery through 22 video-recorded monologues. We analyzed these monologues using a combination of auditory perceptual, acoustic, and qualitative methods. Results Recovery was evident for all quantitative variables examined. For speech sound production, the recovery was most prominent during the first 3 months, but slower improvement was evident for many months. Measures of speaking rate, fluency, and prosody changed more gradually throughout the entire period. A qualitative analysis of topics addressed in the monologues was consistent with the quantitative speech recovery and indicated a subjective dynamic relationship between accuracy and rate, an observation that several factors made speech sound production variable, and a persisting need for cognitive effort while speaking. Conclusions Speech features improved over an extended time, but the recovery trajectories differed, indicating dynamic reorganization of the underlying speech production system. The relationship among speech dimensions should be examined in other cases and in population samples. The combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis methods offers advantages for understanding clinically relevant aspects of recovery.

scholarly journals Perceptually Salient Sound Distortions and Apraxia of Speech: A Performance Continuum

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (2S) ◽  
pp. 631-640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarina L. Haley ◽  
Adam Jacks ◽  
Jessica D. Richardson ◽  
Julie L. Wambaugh
Keyword(s):  
Left Hemisphere ◽  
Sound Production ◽  
Dynamic Performance ◽  
Speech Sound ◽  
Speaking Rate ◽  
Apraxia Of Speech ◽  
External Criterion ◽  
Syllable Duration ◽  
Left Hemisphere Stroke ◽  
A Performance

Purpose We sought to characterize articulatory distortions in apraxia of speech and aphasia with phonemic paraphasia and to evaluate the diagnostic validity of error frequency of distortion and distorted substitution in differentiating between these disorders. Method Study participants were 66 people with speech sound production difficulties after left-hemisphere stroke or trauma. They were divided into 2 groups on the basis of word syllable duration, which served as an external criterion for speaking rate in multisyllabic words and an index of likely speech diagnosis. Narrow phonetic transcriptions were completed for audio-recorded clinical motor speech evaluations, using 29 diacritic marks. Results Partial voicing and altered vowel tongue placement were common in both groups, and changes in consonant manner and place were also observed. The group with longer word syllable duration produced significantly more distortion and distorted-substitution errors than did the group with shorter word syllable duration, but variations were distributed on a performance continuum that overlapped substantially between groups. Conclusions Segment distortions in focal left-hemisphere lesions can be captured with a customized set of diacritic marks. Frequencies of distortions and distorted substitutions are valid diagnostic criteria for apraxia of speech, but further development of quantitative criteria and dynamic performance profiles is necessary for clinical utility.

scholarly journals Integration of auditory and somatosensory error signals in the neural control of speech movements

2011 ◽  
Vol 106 (2) ◽  
pp. 667-679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongqiang Feng ◽  
Vincent L. Gracco ◽  
Ludo Max
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Feedback ◽  
Neural Control ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Feedback Signal ◽  
Sensorimotor Adaptation ◽  
Auditory Modality ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Articulatory Movements ◽  
Jaw Opening ◽  
Jaw Position

We investigated auditory and somatosensory feedback contributions to the neural control of speech. In task I, sensorimotor adaptation was studied by perturbing one of these sensory modalities or both modalities simultaneously. The first formant (F1) frequency in the auditory feedback was shifted up by a real-time processor and/or the extent of jaw opening was increased or decreased with a force field applied by a robotic device. All eight subjects lowered F1 to compensate for the up-shifted F1 in the feedback signal regardless of whether or not the jaw was perturbed. Adaptive changes in subjects' acoustic output resulted from adjustments in articulatory movements of the jaw or tongue. Adaptation in jaw opening extent in response to the mechanical perturbation occurred only when no auditory feedback perturbation was applied or when the direction of adaptation to the force was compatible with the direction of adaptation to a simultaneous acoustic perturbation. In tasks II and III, subjects' auditory and somatosensory precision and accuracy were estimated. Correlation analyses showed that the relationships 1) between F1 adaptation extent and auditory acuity for F1 and 2) between jaw position adaptation extent and somatosensory acuity for jaw position were weak and statistically not significant. Taken together, the combined findings from this work suggest that, in speech production, sensorimotor adaptation updates the underlying control mechanisms in such a way that the planning of vowel-related articulatory movements takes into account a complex integration of error signals from previous trials but likely with a dominant role for the auditory modality.

Auditory feedback on the regulation of vocal intensity of preschool children.

1976 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 255-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald M. Siegel ◽  
Herbert L. Pick ◽  
Marsha G. Olsen ◽  
Linda Sawin
Keyword(s):  
Preschool Children ◽  
Auditory Feedback ◽  
Vocal Intensity
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