Impact of pallidotomy on physiological articulation function and speech intelligibility in Parkinsons disease

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of posteroventral pallidotomy on perceptual and physiological measures of articulatory function and speech intelligibility in Parkinson disease (M). The study examined 11 participants with M who underwent posteroventral pallidotomy Physiological measures of hp and tongue function. and perceptual measures of speech intelligibility were obtained prepallidotomy and 3 months postpallidotomy. The participants with PD were also assessed on the Unified Parkinsons Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS Part III) In addition, the study included a group of 16 participants with PD who did not undergo pallidotomy and a group of 30 nonneurologically impaired participants. Analyses of physiological articulatory function and speech intelligibility did not reveal corresponding improvements in motor speech function as observed in general limb motor function postpallidotomy. Overall, individual reliable change analyses revealed that the majority of surgical PD participants demonstrated no reliable change on perceptual and physiological measures of articulation. The cur rent study revealed preliminary evidence that articulatury function and speech intelligibility did not change following posteroventral pallidotomy in a group of individuals with PD.

Speech production in Parkinson's disease: II. Acoustic and electropalatographic investigation of sentence, word and segment durations

Previous investigations employing electropalatography (EPG) have identified articulatory timing deficits in individuals with acquired dysarthria. However, this technology is yet to be applied to the articulatory timing disturbance present in Parkinson's disease (PD). As a result, the current investigation aimed to use EPG to comprehensively examine the temporal aspects of articulation in a group of nine individuals with PD at sentence, word and segment level. This investigation followed on from a prior study (McAuliffe, Ward and Murdoch) and similarly, aimed to compare the results of the participants with PD to a group of aged (n=7) and young controls (n=8) to determine if ageing contributed to any articulatory timing deficits observed. Participants were required to read aloud the phrase I saw a ___ today'' with the EPG palate in-situ. Target words included the consonants /1/, /s/ and /t/ in initial position in both the /i/ and /a/ vowel environments. Perceptual investigation of speech rate was conducted in addition to objective measurement of sentence, word and segment duration. Segment durations included the total segment length and duration of the approach, closure/constriction and release phases of EPG consonant production. Results of the present study revealed impaired speech rate, perceptually, in the group with PD. However, this was not confirmed objectively. Electropalatographic investigation of segment durations indicated that, in general, the group with PD demonstrated segment durations consistent with the control groups. Only one significant difference was noted, with the group with PD exhibiting significantly increased duration of the release phase for /1a/ when compared to both the control groups. It is, therefore, possible that EPG failed to detect lingual movement impairment as it does not measure the complete tongue movement towards and away from the hard palate. Furthermore, the contribution of individual variation to the present findings should not be overlooked.

Can parents and teachers provide a reliable and valid report of behavioral inhibition?

Reliability and validity of parent and teacher report of behavioral inhibition (BI) was examined among children aged 3 to 5 years. Confirmatory factor analysis supported 6 correlated factors reflecting specific BI contexts, each loading on a single, higher order factor of BI. Internal consistency was acceptable, with moderate stability over 1 year and strong correlation with a brief inhibition subscale from a temperament questionnaire. Children who were rated by mothers and teachers as high BI took longer to initiate contact with a stranger, spoke less often and for shorter periods, and required more prompting to elicit speech compared with low-BI peers in a simulated stranger interaction task. Father report of BI was significantly associated with mean duration of speech and eye gaze.

Nonlinear dynamics of a satellite with deployable solar panel arrays

The multibody dynamics of a satellite in circular orbit, modeled as a central body with two hinge-connected deployable solar panel arrays, is investigated. Typically, the solar panel arrays are deployed in orbit using preloaded torsional springs at the hinges in a near symmetrical accordion manner, to minimize the shock loads at the hinges. There are five degrees of freedom of the interconnected rigid bodies, composed of coupled attitude motions (pitch, yaw and roll) of the central body plus relative rotations of the solar panel arrays. The dynamical equations of motion of the satellite system are derived using Kane's equations. These are then used to investigate the dynamic behavior of the system during solar panel deployment via the 7-8th-order Runge-Kutta integration algorithms and results are compared with approximate analytical solutions. Chaotic attitude motions of the completely deployed satellite in circular orbit under the influence of the gravity-gradient torques are subsequently investigated analytically using Melnikov's method and confirmed via numerical integration. The Hamiltonian equations in terms of Deprit's variables are used to facilitate the analysis. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The origin of the difference in the superconducting critical temperatures of the beta(H) and beta(L) phases of (BEDT-TTF)(2)I-3

Incommensurate lattice fluctuations are present in the beta(L) phase (T-c similar to 1.5 K) of ET2I3 (where ET is BEDT-TTF - bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene) but are absent in the beta(H) phase (T-c similar to 7 K). We propose that the disorder in the conformational degrees of freedom of the terminal ethylene groups of the ET molecules, which is required to stabilise the lattice fluctuations, increases the quasiparticle scattering rate and that this leads to the observed difference in the Superconducting critical temperatures, T-c, of the two phases. We calculate the dependence of T-c on the interlayer residual resistivity. Our theory has no free parameters. Our predictions are shown to be consistent with experiment. We describe experiments to conclusively test our hypothesis.

Processing of English words with fine acoustic contrasts and simple tones: A mismatch negativity study

The purpose of this study was to compare the robustness of the event-related potential (ERP) response, called the mismatch negativity (MMN), when elicited by simple tone stimuli (differing in frequency, duration, or intensity) and speech stimuli (CV nonword contrast /de:/ vs. /ge:/ and CV word contrast /deI/ vs. /geI/). The study was conducted using 30 young adult subjects (Groups A and B; n = 15 each). The speech stimuli were presented to Group A at a stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) of 610 msec and to Group B at an SOA of 900 msec. The tone stimuli were presented to both groups at an SOA of 610 msec. MMN responses were elicited by the simple tone stimuli (66.7%-96.7% of subjects with MMN "present," or significantly different from zero, p < 0.05) but not the speech stimuli (10% subjects with MMN present for nonwords, 10% for words). The length of the SOA (610 msec or 900 msec) had no effect on the ability to obtain consistent MMN responses to the speech stimuli. The results indicated a lack of robust MMN elicited by speech stimuli with fine acoustic contrasts under carefully controlled methodological conditions. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to conflicting reports in the literature of speech-elicited MMNs, and the importance of appropriate methodological design in MMN studies investigating speech processing in normal and pathological populations.

Visual-auditory integration during speech imitation in autism

Children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) may have poor audio-visual integration, possibly reflecting dysfunctional 'mirror neuron' systems which have been hypothesised to be at the core of the condition. In the present study, a computer program, utilizing speech synthesizer software and a 'virtual' head (Baldi), delivered speech stimuli for identification in auditory, visual or bimodal conditions. Children with ASD were poorer than controls at recognizing stimuli in the unimodal conditions, but once performance on this measure was controlled for, no group difference was found in the bimodal condition. A group of participants with ASD were also trained to develop their speech-reading ability. Training improved visual accuracy and this also improved the children's ability to utilize visual information in their processing of speech. Overall results were compared to predictions from mathematical models based on integration and non-integration, and were most consistent with the integration model. We conclude that, whilst they are less accurate in recognizing stimuli in the unimodal condition, children with ASD show normal integration of visual and auditory speech stimuli. Given that training in recognition of visual speech was effective, children with ASD may benefit from multi-modal approaches in imitative therapy and language training. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The epidemiology of dysphagia: Describing the problem - are we too late?

The assessment and management of dysphagia is a rapidly growing part of speech pathology clinical practice for both adult and paediatric populations, yet there is limited information available regarding the epidemiology of dysphagia. Very few studies have defined the characteristics of the disorder, its incidence/prevalence in various populations, the natural history of the disorder or the relative risks, comorbidities and outcomes associated with dysphagia. The current paper will identify some fundamental questions that as yet remain unanswered and highlight areas of future research that are required in order for us to have a better understanding of dysphagia and inform assessment and management. In conclusion, the authors propose an epidemiological framework and highlight information needs in the field of dysphagia. This framework urges future dysphagia research to be informed and underpinned by sound epidemiological principles.

Articulatory function in hypokinetic dysarthria: An electropalatographic examination of two cases

The present study employed electropalatography (EPG) and a nonspeech measure of lingual function to examine, in detail, the articulatory production deficits of two individuals with Parkinson disease (PD) and hypokinetic dysarthria. Participants read 10 repetitions of CV words contained within the carrier phrase I saw a _ today while wearing an EPG artificial palate. Target consonants included the alveolar stop /t/, lateral approximant /l/, and the alveolar fricative /s/ in the /a/ vowel environment. The results of the two participants were compared to an age-matched control group. Examination of the perceptual features of articulatory production, lingual strength, fine force control and endurance, tongue-palate contact patterns, and segment durations were conducted. Results of the study revealed quite different articulatory deficits in the two participants. Specifically, the articulation of Participant One (P1) was characterized by a fast rate of speech, undershooting of articulatory targets, and reduced duration of consonant closures. In contrast, Participant Two (P2) demonstrated tongue-palate contact patterns indicative of impaired lingual control in the presence of both normal and increased articulatory segment durations. Potential reasons for the differing articulatory deficits were hypothesized. The current study demonstrated that assessment with EPG identified potential causes of consonant imprecision in two individuals with hypokinetic dysarthria. Directions for speech pathology intervention, salient from the results of the study, were also noted.

Use of electropalatography in the treatment of disordered articulation following traumatic brain injury: A case study

Electropalatography (EPG) was used as a biofeedback tool in a case study of a 30-year-old male with disordered articulation following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Based on qualitative measures of the participant's intelligibility, improved articulation of the fricatives /s/ and /integral/ were selected as treatment targets. Therapy was administered three times a week for 5 weeks. Results showed that word and sentence intelligibility increased approximately 10%, and error patterns for lingual articulation indicated that fricative -> stop and other fricative errors decreased considerably. EPG measures for /s/ exhibited a significantly more anterior main focus of articulatory contact post therapy. Consonant durations were significantly longer during weeks 3 and 4, and this finding was associated with the emergence of an articulatory contact pattern with a groove rather than complete closure. This articulatory pattern appeared inconsistently and was found to vary across articulations of /s/ but also within a single consonant production. For /integral/, the amount of contact was significantly reduced post therapy and an increase in duration was noted during week 4, similar to that occurring in the production of /s/. Spatial and timing measures were more variable than in normal speakers of English and indicated a general increase in variability across weeks for both /s/ and /integral/. It was concluded that, although the correct fricative patterns appeared only intermittently during production of the consonants, there seemed to be sufficient information for the listener to be able to classify the sound as a fricative. As a part of an intervention program, visual EPG biofeedback therapy would appear to have a definite role in assisting dysarthric speakers exhibiting difficulties with lingual articulation in understanding their errors, learning how to exploit kinesthetic, and acoustic sources of feedback, and how to make appropriate adjustments in tongue articulation to increase the level of speech intelligibility.

Aphasia websites: An examination of their quality and communicative accessibility

Background: Studies have examined Internet use as a source of information by various populations, however no study has examined the quality and accessibility of websites for people with aphasia, or their use of such sites. Aims: This study aimed to describe the quality, communicative accessibility, and readability of a sample of aphasia websites and to determine whether sites preferred by people with aphasia were those rated highly on measures of accessibility and quality. The perceptions of people with aphasia regarding the accessibility of the sites were compared with those of speech pathologists. The relationship between the quality and communicative accessibility of websites was analysed. Factors that may influence use of the Internet by people with aphasia and speech pathologists were explored. Methods & Procedures: Tools for measuring quality and communicative accessibility were developed and a sample of five websites was selected. Two participant groups (18 speech pathologists and 6 people with aphasia) assessed aphasia websites in terms of communicative accessibility. Speech pathologists also rated website quality. Spearman's rho was used to determine levels of agreement between variables. Outcomes & Results: People with aphasia and speech pathologists showed minimal agreement on their perceptions of communicative accessibility. However, when the preferences of websites (Aphasia Help and Speakability) were of a very high standard. There was a weak relationship between quality and communicative accessibility, however it was not statistically significant. Conclusions: Accessible websites are not necessarily of high quality, and quality websites are not guaranteed to be easily accessible. People with aphasia did not agree with speech pathologists as to what makes a good aphasia website. Therefore, people with aphasia should be involved in the design of aphasia websites since they are often the intended users. If Internet use by people with aphasia increases in line with other health populations, speech pathologist need to have the skills and confidence to recommend appropriate sites to their clients.

Predestination and freedom in Milton's 'Paradise lost'

John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost (1667) offers a highly creative seventeenth-century reconstruction of the doctrine of predestination, a reconstruction which both anticipates modern theological developments and sheds important light on the history of predestinarian thought. Moving beyond the framework of post-Reformation controversies, the poem emphasises both the freedom and the universality of electing grace, and the eternally decisive role of human freedom in salvation. The poem erases the distinction between an eternal election of some human beings and an eternal rejection of others, portraying reprobation instead as the temporal self-condemnation of those who wilfully reject their own election and so exclude themselves from salvation. While election is grounded in the gracious will of God, reprobation is thus grounded in the fluid sphere of human decision. Highlighting this sphere of human decision, the poem depicts the freedom of human beings to actualise the future as itself the object of divine predestination. While presenting its own unique vision of predestination, Paradise Lost thus moves towards the influential and distinctively modern formulations of later thinkers like Schleiermacher and Barth.

Top-down influences on lexical selection during spoken word production: A 4T fMRI investigation of refractory effects in picture naming

Spoken word production is assumed to involve stages of processing in which activation spreads through layers of units comprising lexical-conceptual knowledge and their corresponding phonological word forms. Using high-field (4T) functional magnetic resonance imagine (fMRI), we assessed whether the relationship between these stages is strictly serial or involves cascaded-interactive processing, and whether central (decision/control) processing mechanisms are involved in lexical selection. Participants performed the competitor priming paradigm in which distractor words, named from a definition and semantically related to a subsequently presented target picture, slow picture-naming latency compared to that with unrelated words. The paradigm intersperses two trials between the definition and the picture to be named, temporally separating activation in the word perception and production networks. Priming semantic competitors of target picture names significantly increased activation in the left posterior temporal cortex, and to a lesser extent the left middle temporal cortex, consistent with the predictions of cascaded-interactive models of lexical access. In addition, extensive activation was detected in the anterior cingulate and pars orbitalis of the inferior frontal gyrus. The findings indicate that lexical selection during competitor priming is biased by top-down mechanisms to reverse associations between primed distractor words and target pictures to select words that meet the current goal of speech.

The Constitutional (In)Validity of Religious Vilification Laws: Implications for Their Interpretation

A study is conducted to determine whether religious vilification laws are contrary to the implied freedom of political communication affirmed in the High Court's decision in Lange v Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He feels that to the extent that religious vilification laws are interpreted with principles, they are likely to leave sufficient place for freedom of religious discussion that happens to be relevantly political, at the same time the implied freedom of political means that the prohibitions imposed by religious vilification laws need to be interpreted narrowly and the exceptions construed widely, in order to leave room for political communication.

Treating the speech disorder in Parkinson's Disease Online

The Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT) has been shown to be highly effective in treating the speech disorder in Parkinson's Disease (PD). However, patient access to this treatment remains limited in Australia, due to availability of speech pathologists, patient mobility and distance issues. We have investigated the feasibility and effectiveness of an Internet-based telerehabilitation application (eREHAB) for the delivery of the LSVT to persons with PD and disordered speech. Ten participants with PD and dysarthria were treated online with the LSVT for a total of 16 sessions. There were significant improvements in sound pressure levels for vowel prolongation, reading and conversational monologue (P < 0.01), pitch range (P < 0.05) and in perceptual features of pitch and loudness variability, loudness level (P < 0.01) and breathiness (P < 0.05). A participant satisfaction questionnaire indicated that 70% of participants expressed overall satisfaction with the online treatment. Telerehabilitation was feasible and effective in delivering the LSVT to people with PD.