Singing and Speaking Ability in Parkinson's Disease and Spinocerebellar Ataxia.
Yoonji Kim, Diana Sidtis, John J Sidtis
PMID 36608288WHAT IT FOUND
For Parkinson's disease, singing improves speech intelligibility.
For cerebellar ataxia, it does not; singing is rated significantly worse in ataxia. Providing a written model to read improves intelligibility in both groups, but singing only helps Parkinson's.
Key findings
01Listeners understood sung utterances from speakers with Parkinson's disease significantly better than their spontaneous speech, but this benefit was not seen in speakers with cerebellar ataxia.
02Musically trained listeners rated the pitch and rhythm of familiar songs as significantly more impaired in speakers with cerebellar ataxia than in those with Parkinson's disease.
03Reading a written model (external cueing) improved intelligibility for both Parkinson's and cerebellar ataxia speakers compared to spontaneous speech.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study used a small sample size (12 per group). Dysarthria severity was rated by a single examiner rather than a panel. Intelligibility was measured only by transcription, not by scaled perceptual ratings of naturalness or effort. Some participants had amateur choir experience, which may have influenced singing performance.
Declared interests
Funded by NYU Steinhardt Doctoral Research and Travel Grant and NIH (NIDCD). The first author was a doctoral student at NYU. No commercial conflicts of interest were declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume singing is a universal treatment for dysarthria. This study shows singing benefits intelligibility in Parkinson's disease but not in cerebellar ataxia, where singing was rated as more impaired than speech.