An acoustic and perceptual study of spastic dysphonia.
Item
-
Title
-
An acoustic and perceptual study of spastic dysphonia.
-
Identifier
-
AAI9108079
-
identifier
-
9108079
-
Creator
-
Blaustein, Steven H.
-
Contributor
-
Adviser: Katherine Harris
-
Date
-
1990
-
Language
-
English
-
Publisher
-
City University of New York.
-
Subject
-
Health Sciences, Speech Pathology
-
Abstract
-
Adductor Spastic Dysphonia is a debilitating voice disorder characterized perceptually by a choked, effortful, strained-strangled vocal quality. The vocal cords appear normal on direct examination. The purpose of this study was to determine if patients with adductor spastic dysphonia exhibited differences in voice onset time and measures of devoicing when compared to normals. The study also determined whether subjective perceptual ratings for overall severity and strain-strangle quality in spastic dysphonic patients would correlate with objective acoustic measures.;Subjects were six patients each with a confirmed diagnosis of spastic dysphonia and a matched group of control subjects. Samples of spontaneous speech and a reading segment were obtained from each subject.;Data collection consisted of measurements of voice onset times for /p/, /t/, and /k/, and determining devoicing intervals for /s/, /{dollar}\int{dollar}/, and /f/. Measurements were obtained from targeted segments. Samples were also perceptually rated on a 7 point scale by six trained listeners.;Results showed that, as a group, spastic dysphonic subjects demonstrated significantly shorter voice onset time measurements for stops /p/, /t/, and /k/. Significantly shorter devoicing intervals were found for /f/. A tendency was also noted for mean subjective ratings of severity to increase with increases in instances of devoicing failures.;Interjudge reliability measures showed that a reading sample is as reliable as an elicited spontaneous speech sample. Strain-strangle proved to be a more reliable perceptual rating dimension than a less specific judgement of "severity".;Results suggest that measurements of voice onset time and devoicing intervals can be used effectively to distinguish spastic dysphonic from normal subjects. These measures were also found to be effective in objectively specifying differences within the spastic dysphonic population.
-
Type
-
dissertation
-
Source
-
PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
-
degree
-
Ph.D.
