Convergence in voice fundamental frequency during synchronous speech

Joint speech behaviours where speakers produce speech in unison are found in a variety of everyday settings, and have clinical relevance as a temporary fluency-enhancing technique for people who stutter. It is currently unknown whether such synchronisation of speech timing among two speakers is also accompanied by alignment in their vocal characteristics, for example in acoustic measures such as pitch. The current study investigated this by testing whether convergence in voice fundamental frequency (F0) between speakers could be demonstrated during synchronous speech. Sixty participants across two online experiments were audio recorded whilst reading a series of sentences, first on their own, and then in synchrony with another speaker (the accompanist) in a number of between-subject conditions. Experiment 1 demonstrated significant convergence in participants’ F0 to a pre-recorded accompanist voice, in the form of both upward (high F0 accompanist condition) and downward (low and extra-low F0 accompanist conditions) changes in F0. Experiment 2 demonstrated that such convergence was not seen during a visual synchronous speech condition, in which participants spoke in synchrony with silent video recordings of the accompanist. An audiovisual condition in which participants were able to both see and hear the accompanist in pre-recorded videos did not result in greater convergence in F0 compared to synchronisation with the pre-recorded voice alone. These findings suggest the need for models of speech motor control to incorporate interactions between self- and other-speech feedback during speech production, and suggest a novel hypothesis for the mechanisms underlying the fluency-enhancing effects of synchronous speech in people who stutter.

Attraction error and speech timing profiles in in-lab and web-based production experiments

Until recently, most web-based psycholinguistic experiments have focused on simple responses such as button presses or typed text. In this paper, we compare two sentence production experiments carried out in the lab and in an unsupervised web-based setting in order to test the robustness of error patterns and speech timing effects in web-based experimental settings. The open-ended spoken responses generated in this task could elicit more variable and noisier recordings when conducted outside a controlled lab environment. The experiments investigate patterns of well-documented attraction effects in the production of subject–verb agreement, examining error rates as well as speech timing effects in correctly produced sentences. In both the error and timing analyses, the results are strikingly similar across the experimental settings. Furthermore, the two experiments challenge common assumptions about a strong plural markedness effect in agreement attraction. Through this replication and comparison, we have found that we can do production experiments via the internet with a high level of similarity to those done in the lab. These results will allow for future production research to be conducted online, which will provide more flexibility and efficiency to this type of experimentation.

Synchronised speech and speech motor control: convergence in voice fundamental frequency during choral speech

Synchronised speech behaviours such as choral speech (speaking in unison) are found in a variety of everyday settings, and have clinical relevance as a temporary fluency-enhancing technique for people who stutter. It is currently unknown whether such synchronisation of speech timing among two speakers is also accompanied by alignment in their vocal characteristics, for example in acoustic measures such as pitch. The current study investigated this by testing whether convergence in voice fundamental frequency (F0) between speakers could be demonstrated during choral speech. Sixty participants across three online experiments were audio recorded whilst reading a series of sentences, first on their own, and then in synchrony with another speaker (the accompanist) in a number of between-subject conditions. Experiment 1 demonstrated significant convergence in participants’ F0 to a pre-recorded accompanist voice, in the form of both upward (high F0 accompanist condition) and downward (low F0 accompanist condition) changes in F0; however, upward convergence was greater than downward convergence. Experiment 2 found that downward convergent changes in F0 could not be increased by the use of an accompanist voice with an even lower F0. Experiment 3 demonstrated that such convergence was not seen during a visual choral speech condition, in which participants spoke in synchrony with silent video recordings of the accompanist. Further, convergence in F0 was enhanced for a condition where participants could both see and hear the accompanist in pre-recorded videos compared to synchronisation with the pre-recorded voice alone. These findings suggest the need for models of speech motor control to incorporate interactions between self- and other-speech feedback during speech production, and suggest a novel hypothesis for the mechanisms underlying the fluency-enhancing effects of choral speech in people who stutter.

Cognitive and Structural Correlates of Conversational Speech Timing in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Mild-to-Moderate Alzheimer’s Disease: Relevance for Early Detection Approaches

Background: Increasing efforts have focused on the establishment of novel biomarkers for the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and prediction of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)-to-AD conversion. Behavioral changes over the course of healthy ageing, at disease onset and during disease progression, have been recently put forward as promising markers for the detection of MCI and AD. The present study examines whether the temporal characteristics of speech in a collaborative referencing task are associated with cognitive function and the volumes of brain regions involved in speech production and known to be reduced in MCI and AD pathology. We then explore the discriminative ability of the temporal speech measures for the classification of MCI and AD.Method: Individuals with MCI, mild-to-moderate AD and healthy controls (HCs) underwent a structural MRI scan and a battery of neuropsychological tests. They also engaged in a collaborative referencing task with a caregiver. The associations between the conversational speech timing features, cognitive function (domain-specific) and regional brain volumes were examined by means of linear mixed-effect modeling. Genetic programming was used to explore the discriminative ability of the conversational speech features.Results: MCI and mild-to-moderate AD are characterized by a general slowness of speech, attributed to slower speech rate and slower turn-taking in conversational settings. The speech characteristics appear to be reflective of episodic, lexico-semantic, executive functioning and visuospatial deficits and underlying volume reductions in frontal, temporal and cerebellar areas.Conclusion: The implementation of conversational speech timing-based technologies in clinical and community settings may provide additional markers for the early detection of cognitive deficits and structural changes associated with MCI and AD.

Speech Rhythm and Timing

Speech events do not typically exhibit the temporal regularity conspicuous in many musical rhythms. In the absence of such surface periodicity, hierarchical approaches to speech timing propose that nested prosodic domains, such as syllables and stress-delimited feet, can be modelled as coupled oscillators and that surface timing patterns reflect variation in the relative weights of oscillators. Localized approaches argue, by contrast, that speech timing is largely organized bottom-up, based on segmental identity and subsyllabic organization, with prosodic lengthening effects locally associated with domain heads and edges. This chapter weighs the claims of the two speech timing approaches against empirical data. It also reviews attempts to develop quantitative indices (‘rhythm metrics’) of cross-linguistic variations in surface timing, in particular in the degree of contrast between stronger and weaker syllables. It further reflects on the shortcomings of categorical ‘rhythm class’ typologies in the face of cross-linguistic evidence from speech production and speech perception.

Sentence Prosody in a Second Language

This chapter provides an overview of (i) the intonational properties of second language (L2) speech above the word level, (ii) timing aspects, and (iii) the perception and processing of the target languages’ prosody by L2 learners. Intonationally, the chapter summarizes prosodic differences between different learner groups regarding prosodic marking of information structure (highlighting of new or contrastive information), illocution (questions or assertions), and prosodic phrasing. Apart from phonological differences, the chapter also reports phonetic differences between native language (L1) and L2 intonation, observed in particular in the alignment and scaling of the tonal targets in pitch accents. Finally, the chapter summarizes findings on the prosodic marking of expressive prosody in L2 speech. Timing-wise, it focuses on the phenomena of rhythm, tempo, and fluency in L2 speech. The chapter next moves on to an overview of work on the perception and interpretation of intonation of the target language by L2 learners (information structure, illocution, accent location, phrasing, attitudes), and also provides examples of the present knowledge of the online processing of prosody by L2 learners. The chapter then flips the perspective and presents data on how native speakers of the target language perceive foreign-accented L2 speech, regarding foreign-accentedness, intelligibility, and comprehension.

Linguistic constraints modulate speech timing in an oscillating neural network

Neuronal oscillations putatively track speech in order to optimize sensory processing. However, it is unclear how isochronous brain oscillations can track pseudo-rhythmic speech input. Here we investigate how top-down predictions flowing from internal language models interact with oscillations during speech processing. We show that word-to-word onset delays are shorter when words are spoken in predictable contexts. A computational model including oscillations, feedback, and inhibition is able to track the natural pseudo-rhythmic word-to-word onset differences. As the model processes, it generates temporal phase codes, which are a candidate mechanism for carrying information forward in time in the system. Intriguingly, the model’s response is more rhythmic for non-isochronous compared to isochronous speech when onset times are proportional to predictions from the internal model. These results show that oscillatory tracking of temporal speech dynamics relies not only on the input acoustics, but also on the linguistic constraints flowing from knowledge of language.

Impact of Cognitive Impairment and Dysarthria on Spoken Language in Multiple Sclerosis

Objective: To investigate the impact of cognitive impairment on spoken language produced by speakers with multiple sclerosis (MS) with and without dysarthria. Method: Sixty speakers comprised operationally defined groups. Speakers produced a spontaneous speech sample to obtain speech timing measures of speech rate, articulation rate, and silent pause frequency and duration. Twenty listeners judged the overall perceptual severity of the samples using a visual analog scale that ranged from no impairment to severe impairment (speech severity). A 2 × 2 factorial design examined main and interaction effects of dysarthria and cognitive impairment on speech timing measures and speech severity in individuals with MS. Each speaker group with MS was further compared to a healthy control group. Exploratory regression analyses examined relationships between cognitive and biopsychosocial variables and speech timing measures and perceptual judgments of speech severity, for speakers with MS. Results: Speech timing was significantly slower for speakers with dysarthria compared to speakers with MS without dysarthria. Silent pause durations also significantly differed for speakers with both dysarthria and cognitive impairment compared to MS speakers without either impairment. Significant interactions between dysarthria and cognitive factors revealed comorbid dysarthria and cognitive impairment contributed to slowed speech rates in MS, whereas dysarthria alone impacted perceptual judgments of speech severity. Speech severity was strongly related to pause duration. Conclusions: The findings suggest the nature in which dysarthria and cognitive symptoms manifest in objective, acoustic measures of speech timing and perceptual judgments of severity is complex.

PELATIHAN DETEKSI DINI STROKE “METODE FAST” PADA LANSIA DI NAGARI JAWIJAWI KABUPATEN SOLOK SUMATERA BARAT

Stroke adalah penyakit degeneratif yang banyak terjadi pada lansia. Akibat dari stroke kualitas hidup lansia menjadi rendah, dimana lansia yang mengalami stroke akan menghadapi ketergantungan dalam berbagai aktivitas hidup. Efek fatal dan permanen yang bisa terjadi akibat serangan stroke dapat dihindari jika seseorang yang terkena stroke mendapat pelayanan medis cepat dan tepat dalam 3-5 jam. Biasanya Golden period ini membuat penyakit stroke cepat diatasi dan prognosis menjadi lebih baik FAST adalah salah satu metode deteksi dini stroke yang mudah diajarkan dan dipahami bagi lansia. Singkatan Akronim FAST adalah Face, Arm, Speech, Timing. Pada pelatihan ini akan diajarkan bagaimana peserta mengenal gejala awal stroke dan apa yang harus segera dilakukan jika hal tersebut terjadi menggunakan metode ini. Hasil dari peserta pelatihan adalah tercapainya kemampuan peserta dala, melakukan upaya pencegahan dini stroke dengan metode FAST dengan baik dan benar melalui melalui uji demonstrasi. Dari hasil pelatihan dan edukasi pada peserta lansia ini, mendapat apresiasi dari berbagai pihakterutama para lansia yang berada di nagari jawi-jawi kabupaten Solok, para kader posyandu lansia dan keluarga yang memiliki lansia sebagai anggota keluarga. Peserta pelatihan yang terbanyak adalah lansia wanita berusia 61-75 tahun. Upaya tindak lanjutnya adalah evaluasi program yang akan dilaksanakan oleh tim PKM berkordinasi dengan pemda setempat untuk dilanjutkan oleh para kader posyandu lansia terhadap seluruh lansia di kenagarian Jawi-jawi kabupaten Solok dan diharapkan juga para peserta dapat mensosialisasikan ke lingkungan keluarga dan sekitarnya tentang metode FAST ini