Variations in the Relative Speeds of Orofacial Structures With Stuttering Severity

2000 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 1524-1531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. McClean ◽  
Charles M. Runyan
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Motor Coordination ◽  
Normal Rate ◽  
Speed Ratio ◽  
Continuous Measure ◽  
Electromagnetic System ◽  
Lower Lip ◽  
Correlation Analyses ◽  
Fluent Speakers

Stuttering can be characterized in part as a disorder in the coordination of different muscle systems. In light of basic aspects of orofacial physiology and development, the speeds of the lips and tongue relative to the jaw may be an important dimension for evaluating motor coordination among persons who stutter (PWS). To test this idea, an electromagnetic system was used to obtain measures of lip, tongue, and jaw speed in 38 adults (29 PWS and 9 normally fluent speakers, NFS) as they repeated a simple speech utterance at a normal rate. Using categorical ratings of stuttering severity, ratios of tongue speed to jaw speed were significantly greater in PWS rated as severe, compared to NFS and other PWS. Significant increases in lower lip-to-jaw and tongue-to-jaw speed ratios with stuttering severity were also reflected in correlation analyses relating speed ratios to a continuous measure of stuttering severity. These trends in speed ratio were related to increases in lower lip and tongue speed and decreases in jaw speed with stuttering severity. Sources of the speed differences are discussed in relation to underlying muscle activity, motor compensation processes in adults, and the development of orofacial motor control in children who stutter.

Orofacial Movements Associated With Fluent Speech in Persons Who Stutter

2004 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 294-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. McClean ◽  
Stephen M. Tasko ◽  
Charles M. Runyan
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Movement Speed ◽  
Speed Ratio ◽  
Electromagnetic System ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Lower Lip ◽  
Fluent Speech ◽  
Speed Increase ◽  
Speech Disfluency ◽  
Opening And Closing

This study was intended to replicate and extend previous findings that (a) during fluent speech persons who stutter (PS) and those who do not (NS) differ in their vocal tract closing movements (L. Max, A. J. Caruso, & V. L. Gracco, 2003) and (b) ratios relating lip and tongue speed to jaw speed increase with stuttering severity (M. D. McClean & C. R. Runyan, 2000). An electromagnetic system was used to record movements of the upper lip, lower lip, tongue, and jaw of 43 NS and 37 PS during productions of a nonsense phrase and a sentence. Measurement and analysis of movement speeds, durations, and ratios of lip and tongue speed to jaw speed were performed on fluent productions of a nonsense phrase and sentence. Statistical comparisons were made between PS with low and high stuttering severity levels (LPS and HPS) and NS. Significant variations across groups in movement speed and duration were observed, but the pattern of these effects was complex and did not replicate the results of the two earlier studies. In the nonsense phrase, significant reductions in lower lip closing duration, jaw closing duration, and jaw closing speed were seen in PS. In the sentence task, HPS showed elevated tongue opening and closing durations. For tongue opening in the sentence, LPS showed elevated speeds and HPS showed reduced speeds. The elevated speeds for LPS are interpreted as a contributing factor to speech disfluency, whereas the reduced speeds and increased durations in HPS are attributed to adaptive behavior intended to facilitate fluent speech. Significant group effects were not seen for the speed ratio measures. Results are discussed in relation to multivariate analyses intended to identify subgroups of PS.

Association of Orofacial Muscle Activity and Movement During Changes in Speech Rate and Intensity

2003 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 1387-1400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. McClean ◽  
Stephen M. Tasko
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Neural Control ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
Movement Speed ◽  
Rate Variation ◽  
Midsagittal Plane ◽  
Electromagnetic System ◽  
Lower Lip ◽  
Neural Input ◽  
Movement Distance

Understanding how orofacial muscle activity and movement covary across changes in speech rate and intensity has implications for the neural control of speech production and the use of clinical procedures that manipulate speech prosody. The present study involved a correlation analysis relating average lower-lip and jaw-muscle activity to lip and jaw movement distance, speed, and duration. Recordings were obtained on orofacial movement, muscle activity, and the acoustic signal in 3 normal speakers as they repeated a simple test utterance with targeted speech rates varying from 60% to 160% of their habitual rate and at targeted vocal intensities of –6 dB and +6 dB relative to their habitual intensity. Surface electromyographic (EMG) recordings were obtained with electrodes positioned to sample primarily the mentalis, depressor labii inferior, anterior belly of the digastric, and masseter muscles. Two-dimensional displacements of the lower lip and jaw in the midsagittal plane were recorded with an electromagnetic system. All participants produced linear changes in percent utterance duration relative to the auditory targets for speech rate variation. Intensity variations ranged from –10 dB to +8 dB. Average EMG levels for all 4 muscles were well correlated with specific parameters of movement. Across the intensity conditions, EMG level was positively correlated with movement speed and distance in all participants. Across the rate conditions, EMG level was negatively correlated with movement duration in all participants, while greater interparticipant variability was noted for correlations relating EMG to speed and distance. For intensity control, it is suggested that converging neural input to orofacial motoneurons varies monotonically with movement distance and speed. In contrast, rate control appears to be more strongly related to the temporal characteristics of neural input than activation level.

Comparison of upper and lower lip muscle activity between stutterers and fluent speakers

2007 ◽  
Vol 71 (8) ◽  
pp. 1187-1192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cláudia Maria de Felício ◽  
Rosana Luiza Rodrigues Gomes Freitas ◽  
Mathias Vitti ◽  
Simone Cecilio Hallak Regalo
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Lower Lip ◽  
Fluent Speakers

Patterns of Orofacial Movement Velocity Across Variations in Speech Rate

2000 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 205-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. McClean
Keyword(s):  
Motor Coordination ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
Tangential Velocity ◽  
Clinical Aspects ◽  
Repeated Testing ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Movement Velocity ◽  
Electromagnetic System ◽  
Lower Lip ◽  
Slow Speech

To understand the clinical aspects of speech rate control, a clearer picture is needed of how orofacial structures are coordinated across variations in speech rate. To address this problem, patterns of orofacial tangential velocity or speed were analyzed in a group of 9 normal speakers as they produced the utterance “a bad daba” at fast, normal, and slow speech rates. An electromagnetic system was used to record the movements of the upper lip, lower lip, jaw, and tongue. Measures of the magnitude of peak tangential velocities were obtained across the four structures. Orofacial velocities consistently decreased at slow rates relative to normal rates, whereas at fast rates increased and decreased velocities were observed in an equivalent number of cases. Significant correlations frequently were obtained across speech rate between lip, tongue, and jaw velocities. Upper and lower lip velocities showed consistent positive correlations with one another, whereas marked intersubject differences were observed in the sign of jaw-related correlations. Repeated testing on 3 subjects indicated a high degree of consistency within subjects in the overall patterns of mean velocity for the different structures. Results are discussed in relation to possible motor control differences underlying fast and slow speech, neural coupling of muscle systems, and jaw-related individual differences in speech motor coordination.

scholarly journals Cerebellar Dysfunction in Adults with Prader Willi Syndrome

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (15) ◽  
pp. 3320
Author(s):  
Laura Blanco-Hinojo ◽  
Laia Casamitjana ◽  
Jesus Pujol ◽  
Gerard Martínez-Vilavella ◽  
Susanna Esteba-Castillo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Motor Function ◽  
Motor Coordination ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Functional Mobility ◽  
Prader Willi Syndrome ◽  
Pathophysiological Mechanism ◽  
Motor Tasks ◽  
Correlation Pattern ◽  
Motor Processing

Severe hypotonia during infancy is a hallmark feature of Prader Willi syndrome (PWS). Despite its transient expression, moto development is delayed and deficiencies in motor coordination are present at older ages, with no clear pathophysiological mechanism yet identified. The diverse motor coordination symptoms present in adult PWS patients could be, in part, the result of a common alteration(s) in basic motor control systems. We aimed to examine the motor system in PWS using functional MRI (fMRI) during motor challenge. Twenty-three adults with PWS and 22 matched healthy subjects participated in the study. fMRI testing involved three hand motor tasks of different complexity. Additional behavioral measurements of motor function were obtained by evaluating hand grip strength, functional mobility, and balance. Whole brain activation maps were compared between groups and correlated with behavioral measurements. Performance of the motor tasks in PWS engaged the neural elements typically involved in motor processing. While our data showed no group differences in the simplest task, increasing task demands evoked significantly weaker activation in patients in the cerebellum. Significant interaction between group and correlation pattern with measures of motor function were also observed. Our study provides novel insights into the neural substrates of motor control in PWS by demonstrating reduced cerebellar activation during movement coordination.

Muscle Activity Patterns of Elite Downhill Ski Racers during Landing

1996 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-236
Author(s):  
Peter Schaff ◽  
Lars Nordsletten ◽  
Arne Kristian Aune
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Bending Moment ◽  
Acl Injury ◽  
Potential Effect ◽  
Acl Rupture ◽  
Maximum Loading ◽  
Control Pattern ◽  
Downhill Skiing

The purpose of this study was to examine motion and muscle activity in downhill skiing in order to estimate muscular involvement during the landing phase and its potential effect on ACL injury. Specially developed 8-channel portable electromyo-graphy registration was conducted during three jumps on the Russi jump of the 1994 Olympic downhill slope, and six control jumps were carried out in the laboratory. The results reveal that the skier adapts to the expected loading of the knee, possibly by using a learned motor control pattern. It is still not clear, however, how important muscular adaptation to expected forces is. The complex functional EMG pattern that skiers use while landing indicates that ACL rupture caused during a backward fall in downhill skiing might be due to a combination of the boot-top-induced anterior shear, the force generated in the ACL by forceful knee hyperflexion supported by the high bending moment generated by a stiff spoiler, and the possible absence of a significant protecting hamstrings force during maximum loading.

Tonic-to-phasic shift of lumbo-pelvic muscle activity during 8 weeks of bed rest and 6-months follow up

2007 ◽  
Vol 103 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel L. Belavý ◽  
Carolyn A. Richardson ◽  
Stephen J. Wilson ◽  
Dieter Felsenberg ◽  
Jörn Rittweger
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Muscle Activation ◽  
Weight Bearing ◽  
Young Male ◽  
Bed Rest ◽  
Movement Model ◽  
Musculoskeletal Function

Prior motor control studies in unloading have shown a tonic-to-phasic shift in muscle activation, particularly in the short extensors. Tonic muscle activity is considered critical for normal musculoskeletal function. The shift from tonic-to-phasic muscle activity has not been systematically studied in humans in unloading nor at the lumbo-pelvic (LP) region. Ten healthy young male subjects underwent 8 wk of bed rest with 6-mo follow up as part of the “Berlin Bed-Rest Study.” A repetitive knee movement model performed in the prone position is used to stimulate tonic holding LP muscle activity, as measured by superficial EMG. Tonic and phasic activation patterns were quantified by relative height of burst vs. baseline electromyographic linear-envelope signal components. Statistical analysis shows a shift toward greater phasic activity during bed rest and follow up ( P < 0.001) with a significant interaction across muscles ( P < 0.001) specifically affecting the short lumbar extensors. These changes appear unrelated to skill acquisition over time ( P all ≥0.196). This change of a shift from tonic LP muscle activation to phasic is in line with prior research on the effects of reduced weight bearing on motor control.

EMG Feedback and Recovery of Facial and Speech Gestures Following Neural Anastomosis

1978 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Billie Daniel ◽  
Barry Guitar
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Action Potentials ◽  
Substantial Improvement ◽  
Upper Lip ◽  
Lower Lip ◽  
Feedback Training ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Right ◽  
Lifting Task

A case report is presented of an attempt to increase muscle activity during non-speech and speech activities through surface electromyographic feedback. The subject, a 25-year-old male, had a surgical anastomosis of the seventh cranial to the twelfth cranial nerve five years prior to the initiation of this therapy. The right side of the face was immobile. Frequency analogs of muscle action potentials from the right lower lip during pressing, retraction, eversion, and speech were presented to the subject. His task was to increase the frequency of the tone thereby increasing muscle activity. The subject made substantial improvement in the gestures listed above. Electrodes also were placed in various infraorbital positions for an upper lip lifting task. This gesture was unimproved. Pre- and posttherapy independence of facial gestures from conscious tongue contraction was found. Possible explanations were proposed for (1) increases of muscle activity in the lower lip, (2) lack of change of MAPs in the upper lip, (3) independence of the facial muscle activity from conscious tongue contraction, and (4) effectiveness of this feedback training.

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