Vocalic transitions as markers of speech acoustic changes with STN-DBS in Parkinson's Disease.
Vincent Martel-Sauvageau, Kris Tjaden
PMID 29032347WHAT IT FOUND
Turning STN-DBS on or off, with medication unchanged, did not show a group-level change in glide F2 slope, coarticulation pattern, or intelligibility.
People with Parkinson's had shallower glide F2 slopes and lower intelligibility than controls, with mixed individual responses.
Key findings
01Across the group, turning STN-DBS on or off while medication was unchanged did not produce a significant difference in glide F2 slopes, locus equation distinctiveness, or intelligibility.
02Compared with healthy controls, people with Parkinson's had shallower glide F2 slopes and lower intelligibility, and controls had higher locus equation distinctiveness than PD ON.
03Glide F2 slopes were associated with intelligibility across the group, but locus equation distinctiveness was not.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Only eight people with Parkinson's disease and eight healthy controls were studied, so the findings are limited by small numbers and cannot establish what happens for most patients. The sample was limited to native Quebec-French speakers, so the glide slope and locus equation findings may not apply directly to other languages. No formal hearing evaluation was conducted, although participants were judged to have adequate hearing. The glide slope and locus equation measures came from different speech tasks, which may make them harder to compare. The ON-OFF comparison was made while antiparkinsonian medication was unchanged, so it does not show how stimulation and medication interact.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that STN-DBS has no effect on speech. The group ON versus OFF comparison was null while medication was unchanged, but individual participants changed in both directions, and people with Parkinson's differed from healthy controls on glide slope and intelligibility.