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SIG 19 Speech Science
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15 April 2019

Exploration of Metrics for Quantifying Formant Space: Implications for Clinical Assessment of Parkinson Disease

Publication: Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups
Volume 4, Number 2
Pages 402-410

Abstract

Purpose

Speakers with Parkinson disease (PD) often exhibit hypokinetic dysarthria, which affects speech articulation. Vowel space metrics based on formant frequencies have been used to examine vowel articulation in speakers with PD. Although data from a number of studies suggest that speakers with PD exhibit smaller acoustic vowel space areas than control speakers, a handful of studies did not observe differences in vowel space area between speakers with and without PD. One potential factor explaining the inconsistent performance of traditional vowel space metrics is that these point-based metrics undersample the formant space to adequately capture between-groups and within-group differences in articulation. This article discusses recent advances in vowel space assessment that augment traditional vowel space metrics by examining the distribution of the entire formant frequency trace.

Conclusion

A general approach to obtaining these metrics is discussed along with clinical implications for vowel space assessment in speakers with PD.

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References

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Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups
Volume 4Number 215 April 2019
Pages: 402-410

History

  • Received: Jul 29, 2018
  • Revised: Dec 17, 2018
  • Accepted: Feb 27, 2019
  • Published online: Apr 1, 2019
  • Published in issue: Apr 15, 2019

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Authors

Affiliations

Jason A. Whitfield
Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders, Bowling Green State University, OH

Notes

Disclosures
Financial: Jason A. Whitfield has no relevant financial interests to disclose.
Nonfinancial: Jason A. Whitfield has no relevant nonfinancial interests to disclose.
Correspondence to Jason A. Whitfield: [email protected]
Editor: Alison Behrman

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Citing Literature

  • Automated Vowel Articulation Analysis in Connected Speech Among Progressive Neurological Diseases, Dysarthria Types, and Dysarthria Severities, Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 10.1044/2023_JSLHR-22-00526, 66, 8, (2600-2621), (2023).
  • The Relationship Between Acoustic and Kinematic Vowel Space Areas With and Without Normalization for Speakers With and Without Dysarthria, American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 10.1044/2023_AJSLP-22-00158, 32, 4S, (1923-1937), (2023).
  • Speech Rate Mediated Vowel and Stop Voicing Distinctiveness in Parkinson's Disease, Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 10.1044/2021_JSLHR-21-00160, 64, 11, (4096-4123), (2021).

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