Acoustic Characteristics of Dysarthria Associated with Cerebellar Disease

1979 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 627-648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ray D. Kent ◽  
Ronald Netsell ◽  
James H. Abbs
Keyword(s):  
Normal Subjects ◽  
Cerebellar Disease ◽  
Acoustic Characteristics ◽  
Essentially Normal ◽  
Vowel Formant ◽  
Timing Pattern ◽  
Ataxic Dysarthria ◽  
Acoustic Analyses ◽  
Simple Sentences ◽  
Number Of Segments

The speech of five individuals with cerebellar disease and ataxic dysarthria was studied with acoustic analyses of CVC words, words of varying syllabic structure (stem, stem plus suffix, stem plus two suffixes), simple sentences, the Rainbow Passage, and conversation. The most consistent and marked abnormalities observed in spectrograms were alterations of the normal timing pattern, with prolongation of a variety of segments and a tendency toward equalized syllable durations. Vowel formant structure in the CVC words was judged to be essentially normal except for transitional segments. The greater the severity of the dysarthria, the greater the number of segments lengthened and the degree of lengthening of individual segments. The ataxic subjects were inconsistent in durational adjustments of the stem syllable as the number of syllables in a word was varied and generally made smaller reductions than normal subjects as suffixes were added. Disturbances of syllable timing frequently were accompanied by abnormal contours of fundamental frequency, particularly monotone and syllable-falling patterns. These dysprosodic aspects of ataxic dysarthria are discussed in relation to cerebellar function in motor control.

Ataxic Dysarthria

2000 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 1275-1289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ray D. Kent ◽  
Jane Finley Kent ◽  
Joe R. Duffy ◽  
Jack E. Thomas ◽  
Gary Weismer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
Sentence Production ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Acoustic Data ◽  
Essentially Normal ◽  
Syllable Repetition ◽  
The Face ◽  
Ataxic Dysarthria ◽  
Acoustic Analyses

Although ataxic dysarthria has been studied with various methods in several languages, questions remain concerning which features of the disorder are most consistent, which speaking tasks are most sensitive to the disorder, and whether the different speech production subsystems are uniformly affected. Perceptual and acoustic data were obtained from 14 individuals (seven men, seven women) with ataxic dysarthria for several speaking tasks, including sustained vowel phonation, syllable repetition, sentence recitation, and conversation. Multidimensional acoustic analyses of sustained vowel phonation showed that the largest and most frequent abnormality for both men and women was a long-term variability of fundamental frequency. Other measures with a high frequency of abnormality were shimmer and peak amplitude variation (for both sexes) and jitter (for women). Syllable alternating motion rate (AMR) was typically slow and irregular in its temporal pattern. In addition, the energy maxima and minima often were highly variable across repeated syllables, and this variability is thought to reflect poorly coordinated respiratory function and inadequate articulatory/voicing control. Syllable rates tended to be slower for sentence recitation and conversation than for AMR, but the three rates were highly similar. Formant-frequency ranges during sentence production were essentially normal, showing that articulatory hypometria is not a pervasive problem. Conversational samples varied considerably across subjects in intelligibility and number of words/ morphemes in a breath group. Qualitative analyses of unintelligible episodes in conversation showed that these samples generally had a fairly well-defined syllable pattern but subjects differed in the degree to which the acoustic contrasts typical of consonant and vowel sequences were maintained. For some individuals, an intelligibility deficit occurred in the face of highly distinctive (and contrastive) acoustic patterns.

Vocal Tract Steadiness

1992 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 761-768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra Zwirner ◽  
Gary J. Barnes
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Upper Airway ◽  
Normal Subjects ◽  
Subject Group ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Control Subjects ◽  
Acoustic Analyses ◽  
The Relationship

Acoustic analyses of upper airway and phonatory stability were conducted on samples of sustained phonation to evaluate the relation between laryngeal and articulomotor stability for 31 patients with dysarthria and 12 non-dysarthric control subjects. Significantly higher values were found for the variability in fundamental frequency and formant frequency of patients who have Huntington’s disease compared with normal subjects and patients with Parkinson’s disease. No significant correlations were found between formant frequency variability and the variability of the fundamental frequency for any subject group. These findings are discussed as they pertain to the relationship between phonatory and upper airway subsystems and the evaluation of vocal tract motor control impairments in dysarthria.

An Evaluation of Bilirubin Kinetics with Respect to the Diagnosis of Gilbert's Syndrome

1978 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 539-547
Author(s):  
L. Okolicsanyi ◽  
O. Ghidini ◽  
R. Orlando ◽  
S. Cortelazzo ◽  
G. Benedetti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Storage Capacity ◽  
Hepatic Clearance ◽  
Normal Subjects ◽  
Tolerance Test ◽  
Gilbert’S Syndrome ◽  
Transfer Rates ◽  
Essentially Normal ◽  
Gilbert's Syndrome ◽  
Relative Storage Capacity ◽  
Kinetics Of

1. The kinetics of the plasma disappearance of bilirubin (2 mg/kg intravenously) were studied in 106 patients with Gilbert's syndrome and in 13 normal subjects. 2. All patients had significant decreases in hepatic bilirubin clearance and transfer rates from plasma to liver, resulting in increased values for plasma retention at 4 h. The calculated value for unconjugated bilirubin production was normal in 40% of patients and increased in the remainder. 3. In 29 of the Gilbert's patients their bromosulphthalein kinetics were studied 1 week before the bilirubin test. These results were essentially normal and it was concluded that the hepatic clearance mechanisms for bilirubin and bromosulphthalein are different. 4. In 10 patients the bilirubin transport maximum (Tm) was found to be low whereas the relative storage capacity (S) was normal. Phenobarbitone treatment in four patients resulted in an increase in Tm, and S decreased in two patients and remained unchanged in the other two. 5. These results support the hypothesis that there are several variants of Gilbert's syndrome and that the bilirubin tolerance test is a useful diagnostic test.

Voice Response to Injection of Succinylcholine in the Thyroarytenoid Muscle of Normal Subjects

1996 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 43-52
Author(s):  
Cheryl L. Rainey ◽  
David L. Zealear ◽  
Mark Courey ◽  
R. E. (Ed) Stone
Keyword(s):  
Normal Subjects ◽  
Blocking Agent ◽  
Neuromuscular Blocking ◽  
Vocal Fold Injection ◽  
Normal Voice ◽  
Glottal Flow ◽  
Acoustic Analyses ◽  
Perceptual Changes ◽  
Thyroarytenoid Muscle ◽  
Voice Response

Botulinum toxin (Botox) is commonly used in the treatment of spasmodic dysphonia. Succinylcholine is a neuromuscular blocking agent that mimics the biological activity of Botox yet takes effect within minutes. Four subjects with normal voice underwent bilateral vocal fold injection of succinylcholine to determine whether the drug would alter voice in a way comparable to previously reported analyses of voice response with Botox. Acoustic analyses confirmed that succinylcholine induced an increase in fundamental frequency, jitter, and shimmer, and a decrease in harmonic-to-noise ratio. Glottal flow rates were elevated after drug injection. Succinylcholine induced perceptual changes in pitch and quality. These findings suggest that succinylcholine alters vocal parameters that are also influenced by Botox. This drug may prove useful as a screening agent in patients for whom the benefit of Botox is questionable, or as an agent injected coincidentally with Botox to predict an optimal voice result and avoid the side effects associated with treatment.

Cerebellar Disease Alters the Axis of the High-Acceleration Vestibuloocular Reflex

2005 ◽  
Vol 94 (5) ◽  
pp. 3417-3429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark F. Walker ◽  
David S. Zee
Keyword(s):  
Head Rotation ◽  
Normal Subjects ◽  
Vestibuloocular Reflex ◽  
Cerebellar Disease ◽  
Characteristic Finding ◽  
High Acceleration ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Head Impulses ◽  
Cross Axis ◽  
Eye Velocity

L. W. Schultheis and D. A. Robinson showed that the axis of the rotational vestibuloocular reflex (RVOR) cannot be altered by visual-vestibular mismatch (“cross-axis adaptation”) when the vestibulocerebellum is lesioned. This suggests that the cerebellum may calibrate the axis of eye velocity of the RVOR under natural conditions. Thus we asked whether patients with cerebellar disease have alterations in the RVOR axis and, if so, what might be the mechanism. We used three-axis scleral coils to record head and eye movements during yaw, pitch, and roll head impulses in 18 patients with cerebellar disease and in a comparison group of eight subjects without neurologic disease. We found distinct shifts of the eye-velocity axis in patients. The characteristic finding was a disconjugate upward eye velocity during yaw. Measured at 70 ms after the onset of head rotation, the median upward gaze velocity was 15% of yaw head velocity for patients and <1% for normal subjects ( P < 0.001). Upward eye velocity was greater in the contralateral (abducting) eye during yaw and in the ipsilateral eye during roll. Patients had a higher gain (eye speed/head speed) for downward than for upward pitch (median ratio of downward to upward gain: 1.3). In patients, upward gaze velocities during both yaw and roll correlated with the difference in anterior (AC) and posterior canal excitations, scaled by the respective pitch gains. Our findings support the hypothesis that upward eye velocity during yaw results from AC excitation, which must normally be suppressed by the intact cerebellum.

Diadochokinetic Syllable Rate and Regularity in Normal and in Spastic and Ataxic Dysarthric Subjects

1982 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 324-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Portnoy ◽  
Arnold E. Aronson
Keyword(s):  
Normal Subjects ◽  
Normal Rate ◽  
Acoustic Features ◽  
Quantitative Measurements ◽  
Syllable Repetition ◽  
Ataxic Dysarthria ◽  
Unexpected Findings

Rate and regularity of diadochokinetic syllable repetitions of /pΛ/, /tΛ/, and /kΛ/ in 30 normal subjects, 30 subjects with spastic dysarthria, and 30 subjects with ataxic dysarthria were measured by computer. Normal subjects had rates (syllables per second) of 6.4, 6.1, and 5.7; spastic dysarthric subjects, 4.6, 4.2, and 3.5; and ataxic dysarthric subjects, 3.8, 3.9, and 3.4 for /pΛ/, /tΛ/, and /kΛ/, respectively. Spastic and ataxic subjects were significantly slower and more variable than normal subjects and ataxic subjects were significantly more variable than spastic subjects. The significantly slower than normal rate of repetition in the ataxic subjects and the significantly more variable than normal rhythm of repetition in the spastic subjects were unexpected findings and are in contrast with results from perceptually based investigations of dysarthria. The study demonstrates that slowness of syllable repetition is not restricted to spastic dysarthria and that dysrhythmia of syllable repetition is not restricted to ataxic dysarthria, thus suggesting the need for additional quantitative measurements of acoustic features on which certain notions about the dysarthrias are currently based.

scholarly journals Acquired Dysarthria within the Context of the Four-level Framework of Speech Sensorimotor Control

2007 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Stipinovich ◽  
Anita Van der Merwe
Keyword(s):  
Coefficient Of Variation ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Sensorimotor Control ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
State Duration ◽  
Vowel Formant ◽  
Subject Variability ◽  
Ataxic Dysarthria ◽  
Preliminary Study

The Four-Level Framework of speech sensorimotor control (Van der Merwe, 1997) complicates the traditional view of dysarthria as a purely motor execution disorder. According to this framework, hypokinetic, hyperkinetic and ataxic dysarthria are programming-execution dysarthrias, while flaccid dysarthria is the only execution dysarthria. This preliminary study aimed to differentiate programming-execution dysarthria from execution dysarthria by examining variability of the temporal control of speech. Six participants and five control participants repeated 15 stimulus words ten times. Voice onset time, vowel duration, vowel steady state duration and vowel formant transition duration were measured acoustically. The coefficient of variation of the temporal parameters, and the correlation coefficient between the durational parameters, were calculated and analysed using descriptive statistics. The coefficient of variation revealed that the speakers with dysarthria were more variable than the control speakers. All participants, except those with flaccid dysarthria, showed similar patterns of intra-subject variability. Those with flaccid dysarthria exhibited greater intra-subject variability of voice onset time. The correlation analysis did not reveal differences between dysarthria type, or between the dysarthric speakers and the controls. Differences found in the patterns of variability may support the hypothesis that individuals with programming-execution dysarthria resort to a different level of control than those with execution dysarthria. Further research in this field is necessary.

Acoustic Characteristics of /s/ in Adolescents

1999 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 663-677 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Flipsen ◽  
Lawrence Shriberg ◽  
Gary Weismer ◽  
Heather Karlsson ◽  
Jane McSweeny
Keyword(s):  
Reference Database ◽  
Linguistic Context ◽  
Spectral Moments ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Acoustic Characteristics ◽  
Acoustic Data ◽  
Acoustic Characterization ◽  
Acoustic Analyses ◽  
Age Range

The goal of the current study was to construct a reference database against which misarticulations of /s/ can be compared. Acoustic data for 26 typically speaking 9- to 15-year-olds were examined to resolve measurement issues in acoustic analyses, including alternative sampling points within the /s/ frication; the informativeness of linear versus Bark transformations of each of the 4 spectral moments of /s/ (Forrest, Weismer, Milenkovic, & Dougall, 1988); and measurement effects associated with linguistic context, age, and sex. Analysis of the reference data set indicates that acoustic characterization of /s/ is appropriately and optimally (a) obtained from the midpoint of /s/, (b) represented in linear scale, (c) reflected in summary statistics for the 1st and 3rd spectral moments, (d) referenced to individual linguistic-phonetic contexts, (e) collapsed across the age range studied, and (f) described individually by sex.

scholarly journals A Phonetic Level Analysis of Dysarthria in Kannada Language

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1235-1241
Keyword(s):  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Normal Subjects ◽  
Speech Disorders ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Motor Speech ◽  
Acoustic Characteristics ◽  
Motor Speech Disorder ◽  
Kannada Language

Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder and the most common neurodegenerative disease characterized by low volume in precise articulation, poor coordination of respiratory and phonatory subsystems, irregular pauses and so on. The challenging factor in improving the communication with dysarthria is speech intelligibility. The intelligilibility of speech can be determined by measuring the acoustic characteristics and phonetic structures of speech. In our analysis, we have concentrated on bisyllabic words in the Kannada language. The analysis is carried out with respect to basic acoustic parameters and spectrogram to extract fundamental frequency, formant frequency, jitter, shimmer, HNR and Standard Deviation using PRAAT tool. These results are helpful to identify and differentiate the complex natural frequency of the vocal tract functions with respect to normal subjects and dysarthria subjects. This study provides inputs to increase efficacy in the clinical assessments for monitoring and diagnosing the speech disorders for improving communication among human beings.

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