Vocalization Subsystem Responses to a Temporarily Induced Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis.

Vocalization Subsystem Responses to a Temporarily Induced Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis.

J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2018 Feb 27;:1-17

Authors: Croake DJ, Andreatta RD, Stemple JC

Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to quantify the interactions of the 3 vocalization subsystems of respiration, phonation, and resonance before, during, and after a perturbation to the larynx (temporarily induced unilateral vocal fold paralysis) in 10 vocally healthy participants. Using dynamic systems theory as a guide, we hypothesized that data groupings would emerge revealing context-dependent patterns in the relationships of variables representing the 3 vocalization subsystems. We also hypothesized that group data would mask important individual variability important to understanding the relationships among the vocalization subsystems.
Method: A perturbation paradigm was used to obtain respiratory kinematic, aerodynamic, and acoustic formant measures from 10 healthy participants (8 women, 2 men) with normal voices. Group and individual data were analyzed to provide a multilevel analysis of the data. A 3-dimensional state space model was constructed to demonstrate the interactive relationships among the 3 subsystems before, during, and after perturbation.
Results: During perturbation, group data revealed that lung volume initiations and terminations were lower, with longer respiratory excursions; airflow rates increased while subglottic pressures were maintained. Acoustic formant measures indicated that the spacing between the upper formants decreased (F3-F5), whereas the spacing between F1 and F2 increased. State space modeling revealed the changing directionality and interactions among the 3 subsystems.
Conclusions: Group data alone masked important variability necessary to understand the unique relationships among the 3 subsystems. Multilevel analysis permitted a richer understanding of the individual differences in phonatory regulation and permitted subgroup analysis. Dynamic systems theory may be a useful heuristic to model the interactive relationships among vocalization subsystems.
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PMID: 29486490 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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