Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY.
College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, Tempe.
Am J Speech Lang Pathol. 2022 May 10;31(3):1354-1367. doi: 10.1044/2022_AJSLP-21-00195. Epub 2022 Apr 8.
This study investigated the effects of intensive voice treatment on subjective and objective measures of speech production in Mandarin speakers with hypokinetic dysarthria.
Nine Mandarin speakers with hypokinetic dysarthria due to Parkinson's disease received 4 weeks of intensive voice treatment (4 × 60 min per week). The speakers were recorded reading a passage before treatment (PRE), immediately after treatment (POST), and at 6-month follow-up (FU). Listeners ( = 15) rated relative ease of understanding (EOU) of paired speech samples on a visual analogue scale. Acoustic analyses were performed. Changes in EOU, vocal intensity, global and local fundamental frequency ( ) variation, speech rate, and acoustic vowel space area (VSA) were examined.
Increases were found in EOU and vocal intensity from PRE to POST and from PRE to FU, with no change found from POST to FU. Speech rate increased from PRE to POST, with limited evidence of an increase from PRE to FU and no change from POST to FU. No changes in global or local variation or in VSA were found.
Intensive voice treatment shows promise for improving speech production in Mandarin speakers with hypokinetic dysarthria. Vocal intensity, speech rate, and, crucially, intelligibility, may improve for up to 6 months posttreatment. In contrast, variation and VSA may not increase following the treatment.
本研究旨在探讨强化嗓音治疗对帕金森病所致运动迟缓型构音障碍患者言语产生的主观和客观测量指标的影响。
9 名因帕金森病导致运动迟缓型构音障碍的汉语使用者接受了 4 周的强化嗓音治疗（每周 4 次，每次 60 分钟）。在治疗前（PRE）、治疗后即刻（POST）和 6 个月随访时（FU），研究对象分别朗读一篇短文。15 名听众使用视觉模拟量表对配对的言语样本进行相对可懂度（EOU）评分。同时进行声学分析。检查 EOU、发声强度、整体和局部基频（ ）变化、言语速率和声学元音空间面积（VSA）的变化。
从 PRE 到 POST 和从 PRE 到 FU，EOU 和发声强度均增加，而从 POST 到 FU 则无变化。从 PRE 到 POST，言语速率增加，从 PRE 到 FU 增加的证据有限，而从 POST 到 FU 则无变化。未发现整体或局部 变化或 VSA 有变化。
强化嗓音治疗有望改善运动迟缓型构音障碍的汉语使用者的言语产生。发声强度、言语速率，以及至关重要的可懂度，在治疗后长达 6 个月的时间内可能会有所改善。相比之下， 变化和 VSA 可能不会在治疗后增加。
