Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque (Drs Neel, Richardson, and Arenas and Ms Krasilshchikova); Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute, Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, Newport Beach, California (Dr Bennett); Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla (Dr Banks); and Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Las Vegas, Nevada (Drs Ritter and Bernick).
J Head Trauma Rehabil. 2023;38(6):458-466. doi: 10.1097/HTR.0000000000000841. Epub 2023 Jan 26.
As part of a larger study dedicated to identifying speech and language biomarkers of neurological decline associated with repetitive head injury (RHI) in professional boxers and mixed martial artists (MMAs), we examined articulation rate, pausing, and disfluency in passages read aloud by participants in the Professional Athletes Brain Health Study.
A large outpatient medical center specializing in neurological care.
PARTICIPANTS, DESIGN, AND MAIN MEASURES: Passages read aloud by 60 boxers, 40 MMAs, and 55 controls were acoustically analyzed to determine articulation rate (the number of syllables produced per second), number and duration of pauses, and number and duration of disfluencies in this observational study.
Both boxers and MMAs differed from controls in articulation rate, producing syllables at a slower rate than controls by nearly half a syllable per second on average. Boxers produced significantly more pauses and disfluencies in passages read aloud than MMAs and controls.
Slower articulation rate in both boxers and MMA fighters compared with individuals with no history of RHI and the increased occurrence of pauses and disfluencies in the speech of boxers suggest changes in speech motor behavior that may relate to RHI. These speech characteristics can be measured in everyday speaking conditions and by automatic recognition systems, so they have the potential to serve as effective, noninvasive clinical indicators for RHI-associated neurological decline.
作为一项旨在确定与职业拳击手和综合格斗运动员（MMA）重复头部损伤（RHI）相关的神经退行性变化的言语和语言生物标志物的大型研究的一部分，我们检查了职业运动员大脑健康研究参与者朗读时的发音速度、停顿和不流畅。
一家专门从事神经护理的大型门诊医疗中心。
参与者、设计和主要措施：在这项观察性研究中，通过声学分析，对 60 名拳击手、40 名 MMA 运动员和 55 名对照者朗读的段落进行了分析，以确定发音速度（每秒产生的音节数）、停顿的数量和持续时间以及不流畅的数量和持续时间。
拳击手和 MMA 运动员的发音速度均与对照组不同，平均每分钟比对照组慢近半个音节。与没有 RHI 病史的个体相比，拳击手在朗读的文章中产生了更多的停顿和不流畅，而 MMA 运动员产生的停顿和不流畅比对照组更多。
与无 RHI 病史的个体相比，拳击手和 MMA 运动员的发音速度较慢，以及拳击手的言语中停顿和不流畅的发生率增加，表明言语运动行为发生了变化，这可能与 RHI 有关。这些言语特征可以在日常说话条件下和通过自动识别系统进行测量，因此它们有可能成为与 RHI 相关的神经退行性变化的有效、非侵入性临床指标。
