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ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between tongue strength and rate of articulation in 2 speech tasks, diadochokinetic rates and reading aloud, in healthy men and women between 20 and 78 years of age.
Diadochokinetic rates were measured for the syllables /p/, /t/, /k/, and /ptk/, and articulation rates were calculated for a reading of the Rainbow Passage for 57 adult volunteers. The Iowa Oral Performance Instrument (LLC Northwest) was used to obtain maximum tongue pressure, tongue pressure exerted during production of /t/, and tongue endurance. Correlation analyses were performed to determine the relation among articulation rate and tongue pressure and endurance measures.
Maximum tongue pressure, the pressure used to produce /t/, the proportion of maximum pressure used to produce /t/, and tongue endurance were poor predictors of diadochokinetic rates and articulation rate in reading for healthy speakers. Discussion Focus must remain on factors beyond strength, such as movement precision and coordination, to improve researchers' understanding of normal and disordered speech production in adults.
Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research 12/2011; 55(1):235-46. · 1.88 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: This prospective investigation evaluates oral weakness and its impact on swallow function, weight, and quality of life in patients with oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD).
Intraoral pressure, swallow pressure, and endurance were measured using an Iowa Oral Performance Instrument in participants with OPMD and matched controls. Timed water swallow, weight, and quality of life were also assessed.
Participants with OPMD were weaker than controls. Oral weakness impacted strength, swallow pressure, swallow capacity, swallow volume, swallow time, and quality of life. Tongue endurance was not affected by oral weakness.
This investigation provides further insight into the swallow function of patients with myopathic disease. Muscle fiber loss leads to weakness, which results in reductions in swallow function and quality of life. Weight and endurance are not greatly altered.
Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research 12/2010; 53(6):1567-78. · 1.88 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: In this study, identification of vowels produced by Michigan speakers by listeners of two dialects, Michigan (Inland North) and New Mexico (Western) was examined. New Mexico listeners identified sets of ten vowels (i, I, e, epsilon, ae, a, o, , U, u) from 30 speakers in the Hillenbrand et al. (1995) database. Their results were compared to the results from the Michigan listeners in the original study. Preliminary results from ten New Mexico listeners show that overall identification rates across the 30 speakers did not differ significantly between dialects. However, NM and MI listeners differed on identification rates for individual speakers and particular vowels. They agreed on the worst speaker but differed by as much as 11 percentage points for others. NM listeners performed worse on epsilon and a but slightly better on than MI listeners. To determine the nature of cross-dialect differences in perception, acoustic data such as vowel space area, formant dynamics, and duration characteristics will be examined, and the relation of acoustic data to identification scores will be presented.
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 05/2009; 125(4):2697. · 1.55 Impact Factor
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Amy T Neel
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ABSTRACT: In the two experiments in this study, the author examined the effects of increased vocal effort (loud speech) and amplification on sentence and word intelligibility in speakers with Parkinson disease (PD). Methods Five talkers with PD produced sentences and words at habitual levels of effort and using loud speech techniques. Amplified sets of sentences and words were created by increasing the intensity of habitual stimuli to the level of loud stimuli. Listeners rated the intelligibility of the 3 sets of sentences on a 1-7 scale and transcribed the 3 sets of words.
Both loud speech and amplification significantly improved intelligibility for sentences and words. Loud speech resulted in greater intelligibility improvement than amplification.
By comparing loud and amplified scores, about one third to one half of intelligibility improvement with loud speech could be attributed to increases in audibility or signal-to-noise ratio. Thus, factors other than increased intensity must be partly responsible for the loud speech benefit. Changes in articulation appear to play a relatively small role: Initial/h/was the only consonant to consistently show improvement with loud speech. Phonatory changes such as improvements in F(0) and spectral tilt may account for improved speech intelligibility using loud speech techniques.
Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research 11/2008; 52(4):1021-33. · 1.88 Impact Factor
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Amy T Neel
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ABSTRACT: To examine the relation between vowel production characteristics and intelligibility.
Acoustic characteristics of 10 vowels produced by 45 men and 48 women from the J. M. Hillenbrand, L. A. Getty, M. J. Clark, and K. Wheeler (1995) study were examined and compared with identification accuracy. Global (mean f0, F1, and F2; duration; and amount of formant movement) and fine-grained measures (vowel space area; mean distance among vowels; f0, F1, and F2 ranges; duration ratio between long and short vowels; and formant movement ratio between dynamic and static vowels) were used to predict identification scores. Acoustic measures of the most frequently confused pairs (/ae/-/epsilon/ and /a/-/inverted v/) were compared.
Global and fine-grained measures accounted for less than 1/4 of variance in identification scores: Vowel space area alone accounted for 9%-12% of variance. Differences in vowel identification were largely due to poor identification of /ae/, /epsilon/, /a/, or /inverted v/. Well-identified vowels were distinctive in formant frequencies, duration, and amount of formant movement over time.
Distinctiveness among neighboring vowels is more important in determining vowel intelligibility than vowel space area. Acoustic comparison of confused vowels may be more useful in studying intelligibility of normal and disordered speech than in measuring vowel space area.
Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research 07/2008; 51(3):574-85. · 1.88 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: A sour bolus has been used as a modality in the treatment of oropharyngeal dysphagia based on the hypothesis that this stimulus provides an effective preswallow sensory input that lowers the threshold required to trigger a pharyngeal swallow. The result is a more immediate swallow onset time. Additionally, the sour bolus may invigorate the oral muscles resulting in stronger contractions during the swallow. The purpose of this investigation was to compare the intramuscular electromyographic activity of the mylohyoid, geniohyoid, and anterior belly of the digastric muscles during sour and water boluses with regard to duration, strength, and timing of muscle activation. Muscle duration, swallow onset time, and pattern of muscle activation did not differ for the two bolus types. Muscle activation time was more tightly approximated across the onsets of the three muscles when a sour bolus was used. A sour bolus also resulted in a stronger muscle contraction as evidenced by greater electromyographic activity. These data support the use of a sour bolus as part of a treatment paradigm.
Dysphagia 02/2005; 20(3):210-7. · 1.39 Impact Factor
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Amy T. Neel
Acoustics Research Letters Online. 10/2004; 5:125-125.
