bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Perceptual Categorization and Consistency of Synthesized /r-w/ Continua by Adults, Normal Children and /r/-Misarticulating Children
Authors: Ohde Ralph N. , Sharf Donald J.
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this study was to determine if children who misarticulate /r/ differ from normal children and adults in the perception of sound features that are produced correctly and incorrectly. Children with normal articulation, children who produced /r/ misarticulations, and adults listened to synthesized child and adult /r-w/ continua in two separate sessions, and to an adult /b-w/ control continuum in one session. Perception was evaluated on the basis of measures of phonetic boundary location and the consistency of response to each stimulus in a continuum. The /r/-misarticulating children were found to be significantly less consistent than child and adult controls in responding to the /r-w/ stimuli. Moreover, consistency scores were significantly higher for the adult continuum than for the child continuum. The performance of children was different from that of adults. Due to inconsistent performance, boundaries could not be computed for /r/-misarticulating children, but it was found that the boundaries for children in the control group were closer to the /r/-end of the continuum than those for adults. In the case of the /b-w/ continuum, it was found that /r/-misarticulating children were significantly less consistent than adults. The phonetic boundaries of children were significantly closer to the /b/-end of the continuum than the boundary for adults. Thus, the results reveal that variability in stimulus response was influenced primarily by the productive ability of the subjects, whereas differences in stimulus categorization were influenced by the age of the subjects. The perceptual variability was most clearly reflected by responses to stimuli produced incorrectly, whereas categorization differences extended to sounds produced correctly.
Task-Specific Organization of Activity in Human Jaw Muscles
Authors: Moore Christopher A. , Smith Anne , Ringel Robert L.
Published: July 2014

Coordination of jaw muscle activity for speech production sometimes has been modeled using nonspeech behaviors. This orientation has been especially true in representations of mandibular movement in which the synergy of jaw muscles for speech production has been suggested to be derived from the central pattern generator (CPG) for chewing. The present investigation compared the coordination of EMG activity in mandibular muscles over a range of speech and nonspeech tasks. Results of a cross-correlational analysis between EMG signals demonstrated that the muscle synergies of the mandibular system depend on task demands. Contrary to some of the models discussed, continuous speech production yielded activation patterns that were clearly not related to coordinative patterns generated by the chewing CPG.
Laryngeal Configuration and Constriction during Two Types of Whispering
Authors: Solomon Nancy Pearl , McCall Gerald N. , Trosset Michael W. , Gray William C.
Published: July 2014

Laryngeal functioning during the production of whispered speech is not well understood. The efficacy of whispering as a means of voice rest is a common clinical concern that is unresolved. This investigation examined vocal-fold configuration, glottal size, and airway constriction by supraglottal structures during whispering. Ten normally speaking adults produced consonant-vowel syllables with three different vowels while whispering in low-effort and high-effort manners. The larynx was visualized through fiberoptic endonasolaryngoscopy, and the views were recorded on videotape. Analysis and descriptions of the data revealed that low-effort and high-effort whispering were differentiated to a small extent by vocal-fold adjustments and to a somewhat larger degree by supraglottal constriction. However, for each dependent variable, individual subject differences tended to be considerably larger than any systematic effects due to whisper type or vowel.
Idiom Interpretation in Isolation versus Context
Authors: Nippold Marilyn A. , Martin Stephanie Tarrant
Published: July 2014

Idiom interpretation under two different presentation modes, Isolation and Context, was examined developmentally in 475 adolescents ages 14 through 17. Results demonstrated that accuracy was greater for idioms in Context than idioms in Isolation, and that accuracy for both presentation modes slowly improved during the target age range. However, even the oldest subjects had not yet mastered the task in either mode. Qualitative analysis indicated that No Response, Literal, and Unrelated error types were produced most often by the youngest subjects but tended to decrease as subject age increased. In general, more No Response, Literal, Related, and Unrelated error types were produced for idioms in Isolation than in Context, but more Restatement errors were produced for idioms in Context. It was also found that idiom interpretation was significantly correlated to specific measures of literacy in 16-year-olds.
Tetanic Contraction in Vocal Fold Muscle
Authors: Alipour-Haghighi Fariborz , Titze Ingo R. , Perlman Adrienne L.
Published: July 2014

Active properties of canine vocalis muscle tissue were investigated through a series of experiments conducted in vitro. Samples of the vocalis muscle were dissected from dog larynges excised a few minutes before death and kept in Krebs solution at a temperature of 37 ± 1°C and a pH of 7.4 ± 0.05. Isometric and isotonic tetanic responses of the vocalis muscle were obtained electronically with a Dual Servo System (ergometer). Isometric tension was recorded at various levels of elongation and stimulation rate. Isotonic shortening was recorded at various levels of force, and shortening velocity was obtained by numerical analysis of recorded data. It was found that fused tetanus occurred at stimulation rates of about 90 Hz, where the isometric titanic force saturates. Repeated stimulation of the muscle in vitro not only caused nonrecoverable fatigue in the tissue, but also decreased its passive tension. The combined active and passive isometric tension increased with elongation of the muscle. Results of isometric active responses were normalized with respect to average passive response. This normalization allowed for better comparison between tetanic contraction and twitch contraction. It was found that maximum tetanic contraction was 6.4 times greater than maximum twitch contraction obtained in a previous study. A tetanic contraction period was defined and investigated for eight samples of vocalis muscle tissue from different dogs. The tetanic contraction period showed a linear increasing trend with strain.
The Indiana Speech Training Aid (ISTRA) I
Authors: Watson Charles S. , Reed Daniel J. , Kewley-Port Diane , Maki Daniel
Published: July 2014

Experimental comparisons are reported between computer-based and human judgments of speech quality for the same sets of utterances. Speech stimuli were recorded from two normal talkers, who intentionally varied the quality of their speech, and from a hearing-impaired child who was receiving speech therapy on the Indiana Speech Training Aid (ISTRA). The tape recordings were submitted for evaluation to a naive jury, an expert jury, and the ISTRA System, a microcomputer equipped with a speaker-dependent speech recognition board that generated scores representing how well utterance matched a stored template. Correlational analyses of these data indicated that humans were slightly better at judging speech quality than was the computer, but that the computer was much more reliable. These results demonstrate that computer-based speech evaluation may be a reasonable substitute for human judgments for certain types of speech drill.
Memory Scanning Speed in Language-Disordered Children
Authors: Sininger Yvonne S. , Klatzky Roberta L. , Kirchner Diane M.
Published: July 2014

Twelve students from classrooms for children with severe language disorders and 12 age-matched controls were evaluated for short-term memory scanning speed using the Sternberg task. Sets of two, three, and four digits were presented via earphones as memory sets, followed by single-probe digits. Reaction time was measured for a verbal response of "yes" or "no" indicating whether the probe was a member of the initial set. Average per-item scanning speed for the normal children was 66 ms, which was significantly different from the 253-ms average scanning speed of the language-disordered group. Many similarities were noted in the performance of the two groups on the memory scanning task. No differences were found in estimates of encoding and response speed, in percentage of errors or in serial or numerical position effects across groups. Results indicate that children with developmental language disorders may demonstrate reduced processing speed or memory retrieval time, which could contribute to linguistic deficits.
Multisensory Narrative Tracking by a Profoundly Deaf Subject Using an Electrocutaneous Vocoder and a Vibrotactile Aid
Authors: Lynch Michael P. , Eilers Rebecca E. , Oller D. Kimbrough , Urbano Richard C. , Pero Patricia J.
Published: July 2014

A congenitally, profoundly deaf adult who had received 41 hours of tactual word recognition training in a previous study was assessed in tracking of connected discourse. This assessment was conducted in three phases. In the first phase, the subject used the Tacticon 1600 electrocutaneous vocoder to track a narrative in three conditions: (a) lipreading and aided hearing (L+H), (b) lipreading and tactual vocoder (L+TV), and (c) lipreading, tactual vocoder, and aided hearing (L+TV+H), Subject performance was significantly better in the L+TV+H condition than in the L+H condition, suggesting that the subject benefitted from the additional information provided by the tactual vocoder. In the second phase, the Tactaid II vibrotactile aid was used in three conditions: (a) lipreading alone, (b) lipreading and tactual aid (L+TA), and (c) lipreading, tactual aid, and aided hearing (L+TA+H). The subject was able to combine cues from the Tactaid II with those from lipreading and aided hearing. In the third phase, both tactual devices were used in six conditions: (a) lipreading alone (L), (b) lipreading and aided hearing (L+H), (c) lipreading and Tactaid II (L+TA), (d) lipreading and Tacticon 1600 (L+TV), (e) lipreading, Tactaid II, and aided hearing (L+TA+H), and (f) lipreading, Tacticon 1600, and aided hearing (L+TV+H). In this phase, only the Tactaid II significantly improved tracking performance over lipreading and aided hearing. Overall, improvement in tracking performance occurred within and across phases of this study.
Investigation of Tinnitus Induced by Sound and Its Relationship to Ongoing Tinnitus
Authors: George Richard N. , Kemp Simon
Published: July 2014

Tinnitus was temporarily induced by monaurally presented sound, and its level monitored using a dichotic loudness-matching task. The first experiment found no effect of varying the level, bandwidth, or center frequency of an inducing noise on the level or duration of the induced tinnitus; nor was there any difference when tones or different noises were used to induce tinnitus. The rated loudness of the tinnitus, however, increased with the level and decreased with the center frequency of the noise. The second experiment investigated tinnitus induced by a 1-kHz, 95-dB SPL tone in 53 subjects with thresholds in the normal range, but with varying degrees of ongoing tinnitus that ranged from no discernible sound sensation at all, through an apparently normal but usually inaudible noise or ringing, to constant or near-constant tinnitus. Individual differences in induced tinnitus were found that were related to differences in ongoing tinnitus; for example, the levels of induced and ongoing tinnitus were positively correlated. The results suggest that some kinds of ongoing tinnitus may arise from the auditory process responsible for induced tinnitus.
Language and Cognition in Two Children with Williams Syndrome
Authors: Thal Donna , Bates Elizabeth , Bellugi Ursula
Published: July 2014

In this study, aspects of language, single-gesture retrieval, combinatorial play, and visual-spatial cognition are reported in two children with Williams syndrome who were in the single-word stage of language acquisition. Williams syndrome children are of particular interest because, when older (10–15 years), they display an unusual profile of abilities that may include superior linguistic performance compared with other aspects of cognition. The two children in the present study are compared to a group of normal children in the single-word stage of language acquisition with a mean age of 14.8 months, a group of single-word stage children who are 6–18 months delayed, and a group of older normal children with a mean age of 23.5 months. Results are compatible with the unusual cognitive profile displayed by older Williams syndrome children. We discuss the possibility that this profile involves mechanisms that extend beyond the boundaries of language proper.
Phonatory Reaction Times of Rheumatoid Arthritic and Normal Females
Authors: Mathers-Schmidt Barbara , Reich Alan
Published: July 2014

This study examined the degree to which rheumatoid arthritis affects a speaker's ability to accomplish rapid vocal fold adjustments. The phonatory initiation, phonatory termination, and manual reaction times of 14 rheumatoid arthritic (RA) and 14 normal (NL) speakers were compared during a morning and an afternoon session. In addition, electroglottographic (EGG) measures (0 Hz-10 kHz bandwidth and 30 Hz-10 kHz bandwidth) allowed us to explore the components of each subject's reaction times. For two speech reaction-time tasks, temporal measures that reflected primarily mechanical adjustments of the vocal folds were significantly longer in the RA group than in the NL group. The two groups also differed significantly on manual response time, phonatory initiation time, and medial movement initiation time. Neither group displayed evidence of laryngeal morning stiffness.
Some Effects of Variations in Response Time Latency on Speech Rate, Interruptions, and Fluency in Children's Speech
Authors: Newman Linda L. , Smit Ann B.
Published: July 2014

The present study was designed to examine adult-child interactions during conversation with respect to the effects of adult paralinguistic speech variations on the speech production of children. Four 4-year-old children served as subjects. A single-subject A-B-A design with counterbalancing and replication was implemented. Each subject participated in three 15-min conversations with an experimenter. The independent variable was the interspeaker pause time—the response time latency (RTL). During the 15-min conversations, the experimenter used either a 1-s or a 3-s RTL when responding to the child. RTL was measured for each subject in each condition. Data analysis revealed that each child's RTL was significantly longer when the experimenter's RTL was 3 s than when it was 1 s, and all differences between all conditions reached significance for these subjects. Other dependent variables included speech rate, the frequency of disfluencies, and the frequency of interruptions produced by the subjects within each condition. All 4 subjects varied the frequency of disfluencies and interruptions. However, each child varied rate and disfluencies in a highly individualistic manner.
Cognitive Skills Associated with the Onset of Multiword Utterances
Authors: Kelly Charleen A. , Dale Philip S.
Published: July 2014

The relationship between early language and cognition was studied in 20 children between one and two years of age. Linguistically, the subjects were classifed as No Word Users, Single Word Users, Nonproductive Syntax Users, and Productive Syntax Users. Four cognitive areas were tested: Object Permanence, Means-end, Play, and Imitation. When adjacent pairs of linguistic groups were compared in terms of specific cognitive skills demonstrated, several significant differences were found. First, a significant difference in Play was found between No Word Users and Single Word Users. Second, there were significant differences between Single Word Users and Nonproductive Syntax Users in terms of specific cognitive advances in both Imitation and Play. Third, Nonproductive and Productive Syntax Users were significantly different in Means-end skills. In accordance with the Correlational Hypothesis, specific cognitive skills seem temporally associated with some linguistic abilities, although attainment of skills can be evidenced first in language or cognition.
Surface Recordings of Respiratory Muscle Activity during Speech
Authors: McFarland David H. , Smith Anne
Published: July 2014

Bipolar electromyographic (EMG) recordings were made from six chest wall and nasal sites with disk electrodes attached to the skin. Electrode locations were based on previous studies of nonspeech breathing and were designed to sample the activity of both primary and accessory respiratory muscles. EMG activity was sampled while subjects performed a series of speech and nonspeeeh tasks. The results revealed that surface electrodes could sample the activity of respiratory muscles during speech and other ventilatory tasks, particularly during the expiratory phases of the breathing cycle.
A Familial Study of Severe Phonological Disorders
Authors: Lewis Barbara A. , Ekelman Barbara L. , Aram Dorothy M.
Published: July 2014

The present study examined the familial basis for severe phonological disorders. Twenty children with severe phonological disorders and their siblings were compared to 20 normally developing children and their siblings on measures of phonology, language, reading, and motor ability. Results revealed that the siblings of the disordered children performed more poorly than control siblings on phonology and reading measures. Disordered subjects' phonological skills correlated significantly and positively with their siblings', whereas controls' scores did not. Families of disordered children reported significantly more members with speech and language disorders and dyslexia than did families of controls. Sex differences were reflected in the incidence but not the severity or type of disorder present. These findings suggest a familial basis for at least some forms of severe phonological disorders.
Conversational Topics of 4-Year-Olds
Authors: Schober-Peterson Debra , Johnson Cynthia J.
Published: July 2014

Young children's ability to participate in conversation has been of particular interest in the study of pragmatic aspects of language. In this study, topics of conversation were investigated by videotaping 10 dyads of 4-year-old children during play. Ten-minute samples were analyzed according to a number of topic-dependent measures. Results revealed that all dyads evidenced some lengthy topics (13–91 utterances). Longer topics were characterized by three text-level functions: Enacting Scenarios, Describing, and Problem Solving. Nevertheless, three fourths of all dialogues were considered relatively short. Generally, partners contributed equally to dialogue, but in some dyads, 1 child dominated initiation. Findings of the study suggest that 4-year-olds are capable of extended participation in dialogue, at least part of the time. Naturalistic play settings may elicit samples of conversation that are representative of preschoolers' ability.
Listener Experience and Perception of Voice Quality
Authors: Kreiman Jody , Gerratt Bruce R. , Precoda Kristin
Published: July 2014

Five speech-language clinicians and 5 naive listeners rated the similarity of pairs of normal and dysphonic voices. Multidimensional scaling was used to determine the voice characteristics that were perceptually important for each voice set and listener group. Solution spaces were compared to determine if clinical experience affects perceptual strategies. Naive and expert listeners attended to different aspects of voice quality when judging the similarity of voices, for both normal and pathological voices. All naive listeners used similar perceptual strategies; however, individual clinicians differed substantially in the parameters they considered important when judging similarity. These differences were large enough to suggest that care must be taken when using data averaged across clinicians, because averaging obscures important aspects of an individual’s perceptual behavior.
Predicting Voice Quality of Deaf Speakers on the Basis of Glottal Characteristics
Authors: Arends Nico , Povel Dirk-Jan , Os Edward Van , Speth Leo
Published: July 2014

Twenty profoundly deaf and 5 normal-hearing subjects produced 225 sustained vowels /a, i, u/ at different pitch levels and 75 phonetically balanced sentences, while vocal fold vibration was recorded through an electrolaryngograph (ELG). The utterances recorded on audio tape were judged by 10 experienced listeners on general voice quality, breathiness, hoarseness, and laryngeal strain on a 5-point scale. Seven parameters describing time-domain characteristics of the ELG-signal were extracted online by a special purpose computer system. Measurements were made over 500 consecutive vibratory cycles (10-cycle window), yielding a mean and standard deviation for each parameter per utterance. All data were submitted to analysis of variance and multiple regression analyses. Multiple correlations between glottal parameters and judged voice deviations varied between .46 and .70 indicating that overall prediction cannot reliably be based on these parameters, although severe cases of deaf voice deviations may be detectable.
Relationships Between Selected Auditory and Phonatory Latency Measures in Normal Speakers
Authors: Stager Sheila V.
Published: July 2014

Interaction between auditory and phonatory systems was explored in normal speakers by comparing laryngeal reaction time (LRT) with interpeak intervals from the auditory brainstem response (ABR) obtained using high and low stimulus presentation rates. Thirty-four subjects with no history of neurological or speech-language disorders and normal hearing sensitivity participated. Interpeak intervals were derived from ABR’s recorded for each ear at rates of 21.1 and 91.1 clicks/s. LRT responses were obtained by instructing subjects to sustain an /s/ and then phonate an /a/ as fast as possible following visual cues. Two measures of reaction time performance were derived, Mean Laryngeal Reaction Time (MLRT) and Best Laryngeal Reaction Time (BLRT). Linear regression analyses were completed between each measure of reaction time performance and each ABR interpeak interval. Using either LRT measure, two significant (
p
< .05) positive linear relationships were found. One involved the interpeak interval between Waves III and V and the other involved the interpeak interval between Waves I and V. Both were recorded at high stimulus presentation rates. These results support the small body of literature from normal speakers, stutterers, and spasmodic dysphonics suggesting interaction between the auditory and phonatory systems at the brainstem level.
Characteristics of Syntactic Comprehension Deficits Following Closed Head Injury Versus Left Cerebrovascular Accident
Authors: Butler-Hinz Susan , Caplan David , Waters Gloria
Published: July 2014

Two studies examined the ability to assign thematic roles and to coindex referentially dependent noun phrases in closed head injured adults, adult stroke patients, and normal adults. The subjects’ task was to enact target sentences by manipulating toy animals. Closed head injured and stroke patients demonstrated a significant effect of syntactic structure on sentence comprehension, and the patterns of breakdown in the ability to assign thematic roles and coindex referentially dependent noun phrases were strikingly similar in the two groups. These findings suggest that syntactic comprehension disturbances are similar following left cerebral hemisphere infarction and closed head injury.
The Timing of Syllable Repetitions in Developmental Dyslexia
Authors: Wolff Peter H. , Michel George F. , Ovrut Marsha
Published: July 2014

The temporal organization of motor speech was examined in dyslexic dolescents and adults without overt speech difficulties, matched normal readers, and learning disabled adolescents without reading difficulties. Subjects were asked to repeat nonsense two- and three-syllable strings in time to each of four metronome speeds. Speech samples were analyzed for repetition rates, time coherence between prescribed and actual performance, and serial ordering of three-syllable strings. Dyslexic subjects deviated more from the prescribed rate, repeated syllables too slowly at all metronome speeds, and made more speech sequencing errors than normal or learning disabled controls. Repetition rate and syllable sequencing contributed as independent variables to the temporal organization of motor speech. The relevance of motor speech deficits for reading impairment in dyslexia is discussed.
Speech Production Time and Judgments of Disordered Nasalization in Speakers with Cleft Palate
Authors: Jones David L. , Folkins John W. , Morris Hughlett L.
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of production time on the perception of disordered nasalization in children with cleft palate. The subjects with cleft palate included 5 who produced acceptable speech consistently, 5 who produced disordered nasalization consistently, and 10 who were inconsistent in the production of disordered nasalization. We examined a range of production times similar to those for the production of single-word and connected speech tasks. Ten judges used direct magnitude estimation to rate severity of disordered nasalization. An accelerometric ratio technique was used to estimate the extent and timing of nasal acoustic activity. The results showed that reducing the production time did not change perceptible nasalization.
Acoustic Dimensions of Hearing-Impaired Speakers’ Intelligibility
Authors: Metz Dale Evan , Samar Vincent J. , Schiavetti Nicholas , Sitler Ronald W.
Published: July 2014

Regression and principal components analyses were employed to study the relationship between 28 segmental and suprasegmental acoustic parameters of speech production and measures of speech intelligibility for 40 severely to profoundly hearing-impaired persons in an effort to extend the findings of Metz, Samar, Schiavetti, Sitler, and Whitehead (1985). The principal components analysis derived six factors that accounted for 59% of the variance in the original 28 parameters. Consistent with the findings of Metz et al., a subsequent regression analysis using these six factors as predictor variables revealed two factors with strong predictive relationships to speech intelligibility. One factor primarily reflected segmental production processes related to the temporal and spatial differentiation of phonemes, whereas the other primarily reflected suprasegmental production processes associated with contrastive stress. However, the predictive capability of the present factor structure was somewhat reduced relative to the findings of Metz et al. (1985). Data presented indicate that the populations sampled in the two studies may have differed on one or more dimensions of subject characteristics. Considered collectively, the present findings and the findings of Metz et al. support the tractability of employing selected acoustic variables for the estimation of speech intelligibility.
Semantic Memory Deterioration in Alzheimer’s Subjects
Authors: Abeysinghe Sonali C. , Bayles Kathryn A. , Trosset Michael W.
Published: July 2014

The nature of semantic memory impairment in 23 persons with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) was studied using three semantic tasks: word association, definition, and associate rank ordering. Using hierarchical log-linear analysis of the responses to the word association task, DAT subjects were more likely than normal control subjects to give multiword, repetitious, or unrelated responses. Additionally, the ratio of paradigmatic to syntagmatic responses was significantly decreased in DAT subjects. Surprisingly, DAT subjects were able to provide definitions for many stimulus words for which they were unable to provide meaningful associates. This finding suggests the need for caution in interpreting a decrease in the number of paradigmatic responses as indicative of a loss of conceptual knowledge. Results of other analyses demonstrated that DAT subjects had significant impairment in identifying highly related and unrelated semantic associates of words. Taken together, results of this study indicate that one feature of DAT is deterioration in the associative relations between concepts.
Speech and Prosody Characteristics of Adults with Mental Retardation
Authors: Shriberg Lawrence D. , Widder Carol J.
Published: July 2014

Audio-recorded continuous speech samples from forty 20–50-year-old noninstitutionalized persons with mental retardation were selected from a database of 192 samples. Descriptive data on segmental and suprasegmental characteristics were obtained using close phonetic transcription as input to linguistic analyses software. For this sample of adults with mental retardation, speech and prosody status were not statistically associated with gender or gross level of mental retardation, but were associated with estimated probability of independent living. Speech and prosody analyses and content analyses of transcribers’ comments yielded diacritic-level profiles of these speakers’ linguistic and paralinguistic behaviors in continuous speech. Additional analyses of the error data tested alternative sources of processing involvement within a four-stage speech production model. A cognitive capacity constraint, which limits the speaker’s ability to allocate resources to phonological encoding, is proposed as a sufficient explanation for the obtained pattern of token-to-token inconsistency of articulation. An additional sociolinguistic constraint is hypothesized to account for reduced prosodic and paralinguistic competence in continuous discourse. Both constraints are amenable to intervention programming. Findings fail to support the view that the potential for long-term speech prosody competence in individuals with mental retardation is limited by speech-motor constraints. Discussion includes intervention considerations in the context of current trends in special education.
Speech Breathing in Individuals with Cervical Spinal Cord Injury
Authors: Hoit Jeannette D. , Banzett Robert B. , Brown Robert , Loring Stephen H.
Published: July 2014

Ten men with cervical spinal cord injury were studied using magnetometers to record surface motions of the chest wall during speech breathing. Individual speech breathing patterns reflected inspiratory and expiratory muscular sparing. Subjects compensated for expiratory muscle impairment by speaking at large lung volumes, presumably to take advantage of the higher recoil pressures available at those volumes. Similarly, subjects used larger lung volumes to increase loudness. Abnormal chest wall behavior was attributed in large part to loss of abdominal muscle function. Because of this, speech breathing in individuals with cervical spinal cord injury may be improved by the use of abdominal binders.
An Evaluation of CAST
Authors: Gagné Jean-Pierre , Dinon Dianne , Parsons Joanne
Published: July 2014

This study assessed the effectiveness of CAST (Computer-Aided Speechreading Training program). Two groups of 8 normal-hearing adults completed a pretraining visual speech perception test protocol that consisted of a Visual-Consonant Recognition Test, a test of Sentence Understanding Without Context, a test of Sentence Understanding With Context, and a semiautomated modified Continuous Discourse Tracking activity available with CAST. One group completed the CAST program. A posttraining test protocol was administered to the subjects 2 weeks following the maximum time provided to complete the training program (i.e., 10 weeks). Independent
t
tests revealed no differences between the control group and the experimental group in the percentage improvement score obtained on the following measures: viseme recognition score, Sentence Understanding Without Context (key word and total word recognition scores), and Sentence Understanding With Context (key word recognition score). Significant differences between the groups were found for the total word recognition score on the Sentence Understanding With Context test and the CAST modified Continuous Discourse Tracking activity. The results indicate that CAST was most effective in developing aspects of synthetic visual speech perception skills.
Patterns of Early Lexical and Cognitive Development in Premature and Full-Term Infants
Authors: Menyuk Paula , Liebergott Jacqueline , Schultz Martin , Chesnick Marie , Ferrier Linda
Published: July 2014

The linguistic and cognitive development of 26 premature and 27 full-term infants was studied longitudinally over the first 3 years of life. Infants in the premature population included 12 who were below 1500 g in birthweight and an even larger number with “at risk” signs. Language samples were collected in the home approximately every other month, the children were given experimenter-designed tests periodically, and mothers were asked to keep diaries of their children’s lexical development. The children were given standardized tests as they exited the study. Cognitive development was also measured periodically. The patterns of lexical and cognitive development of the prematures did not differ markedly from those of full-term infants. There were no significant differences between the prematures as a whole and the full-term infants on standard language test measures as they exited from the study. There were significant differences between the very low birthweight and full-term infants on two of the exit measures. However, the performance of the very low birthweight infants was well within the range of normal on these two measures. The nature of the study and the factors that might have led to lack of differences between the two groups are discussed.
Spectral Slope of Vowels Produced by Tracheoesophageal Speakers
Authors: Qi Yingyong , Weinberg Bernd
Published: July 2014

Spectra of vowels were analyzed to determine whether differences exist between the spectral slope of vowels produced by tracheoesophageal (TE) speakers and normal speakers and, if so, to quantify such differences. The linear predictive autocorrelation method was used to calculate smoothed spectra and the spectra were normalized with respect to a low frequency component. Comparisons between normalized spectral energy within a selected high frequency range revealed that energy within this frequency range for vowels produced by TE speakers was significantly higher than that produced by normal speakers. A least-square distance matching procedure was used to quantify speaker group differences in the spectral slope of vowels. Average spectra of vowels produced by the normal speakers could be matched to average spectra of vowels produced by the TE speakers by decreasing the spectral slope of their vowels by 2–3 dB/octave.
Reliability and Agreement of Ratings of Ataxic Dysarthric Speech Samples With Varying Intelligibility
Authors: Sheard Christine , Adams Roger D. , Davis Pamela J.
Published: July 2014

Indices of interjudge reliability and inter- and intrajudge agreement were calculated from the ratings made by 15 experienced speech clinicians on five deviant speech dimensions with respect to 15 speakers with ataxic dysarthria. Speakers were chosen to cover a wide range of speech intelligibility (16–97%) as measured by the sentence intelligibility transcriptions of the Assessment of Intelligibility of Dysarthric Speech (Yorkston & Beukelman, 1981). Intraclass correlation coefficients derived from each judge on two occasions were above .6 for imprecise consonants, excess and equal stress, and harsh voice, but below .6 for distorted vowels and below .5 for irregular articulatory breakdown. The last dimension also had the lowest percent agreement for the interjudge and intrajudge comparisons. Poor speech dimension definition seems to be the most likely source of error on irregular articulatory breakdown. Judges agreed equally well in rating dysarthric speech across the range from low to high intelligibility.
Maximum Real-Ear Gain of In-the-Ear Hearing Aids
Authors: Erickson Faye N. , Tasell Dianne J. Van
Published: July 2014

Three hearing aid manufacturers provided custom full-shell in-the-ear hearing aids for each of 3 hearing-impaired subjects. Each manufacturer was instructed that the hearing aids should provide the maximum possible acoustic gain within the limits of hearing aid shell size and available components. Coupler gain, insertion gain, and functional gain were measured for each hearing aid. Gain measures were made with the volume control at either the full-on setting or the highest setting possible before the onset of acoustical feedback. Full-on coupler gain curves were similar across all nine hearing aids. Individual differences in concha/ear canal size and in the fit of the hearing aids produced substantial variance in insertion gain across hearing aids. Peak insertion gain varied from 41 to 58 dB. If 10 dB reserve gain is allowed, the range of estimated peak use gain from these maximum-gain in-the-ear hearing aids is 31–48 dB.
Otoacoustic Emissions in an Adult With Severe Hearing Loss
Authors: Prieve Beth A. , Gorga Michael P. , Neely Stephen T.
Published: July 2014

The present study describes the unexpected finding of evoked otoacoustic emissions (EOAEs) from the left ear of a subject with severe-to-profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. No EOAEs could be measured from the right ear. To ensure that the EOAEs were not artifacts, two different instrumentation systems were used and both provided similar results. It is suggested that the subject may have a group of surviving outer hair cells in some regions of her left cochlea with corresponding inner hair cell or neural damage.
Frequency-Importance and Transfer Functions for Recorded CID W-22 Word Lists
Authors: Studebaker Gerald A. , Sherbecoe Robert L.
Published: July 2014

Frequency-importance and transfer functions for the Technisonic Studios’ recordings of the CID W-22 word test are reported. These functions may be used to calculate Articulation Index (Al) values or to predict scores on the W-22 test. The functions were derived from the word recognition scores of 8 normal-hearing listeners who were tested under 308 conditions of filtering and masking. The importance function for the W-22 test has a broader frequency range and a different shape than the importance function used in the current ANSI standard on the Articulation Index (ANSI, 1969). The transfer function is similar in slope to to the ANSI transfer function for 256 PB-words, but is shifted to the right of that function by 0.05 Al.
Multidimensional Scaling Analysis of Dysphonia in Two Speaker Groups
Authors: Kempster Gail B. , Kistler Doris J. , Hillenbrand James
Published: July 2014

The objective of this research was to identify perceptually relevant features of 30 dysphonic female voices. The perceptual dimensions used by listeners in judging the similarity of the dysphonic voices were derived in two multidimensional scaling (MDS) procedures using ALSCAL Three dimensions were extracted in each MDS solution and accounted for approximately 60% of the total variance in the judgments. The three dimensions were related to measures of intensity, frequency, and perturbation. The results are discussed in relation to how clinicians use perceptual judgments in evaluating dysphonic voices.
Analysis of Topic as Illustrated in a Head-Injured and a Normal Adult
Authors: Mentis Michelle , Prutting Carol A.
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable multidimensional topic analysis that would be sensitive to patterns and problems in topic management. Six conversation and four monologue language samples of a closed-head-injured adult and a matched normal adult were compared. High interjudge reliability was found for all frequently occurring parameters of the analysis. Differences between the two subjects were obtained on a number of the topic introduction and maintenance parameters. The results illustrate the potential of the analysis to reliably identify, quantify, and describe differences between subjects in discourse topic management. The potential of the analysis to provide detailed profiles of topic management and describe the influence of such variables as genre and topic complexity on discourse topic was demonstrated.
Semantic Analyzability in Children’s Understanding of Idioms
Authors: Gibbs Raymond W.
Published: July 2014

This study investigated the role of semantic analyzability in children’s understanding of idioms. Kindergartners and first, third, and fourth graders listened to idiomatic expressions either alone or at the end of short story contexts. Their task was to explain verbally the intended meanings of these phrases and then to choose their correct idiomatic interpretations. The idioms presented to the children differed in their degree of analyzability. Some idioms were highly analyzable or decomposable, with the meanings of their parts contributing independently to their overall figurative meanings. Other idioms were nondecomposable because it was difficult to see any relation between a phrase’s individual components and the idiom’s figurative meaning. The results showed that younger children (kindergartners and first graders) understood decomposable idioms better than they did nondecomposable phrases. Older children (third and fourth graders) understood both kinds of idioms equally well in supporting contexts, but were better at interpreting decomposable idioms than they were at understanding nondecomposable idioms without contextual information. These findings demonstrate that young children better understand idiomatic phrases whose individual parts independently contribute to their overall figurative meanings.
Some Relationships Between Intelligence and Auditory Discrimination
Authors: Watson Betty U.
Published: July 2014

Some of the earliest scientific attempts to understand the nature of intelligence investigated differences in sensory discrimination and reaction time. There is once again interest in the relations between such simple abilities and intelligence, partly as a result of the application of information-processing paradigms to the study of intelligence. Correlations in the range of .3 to .8 have been reported between psychometric measures of intelligence and performance on simple cognitive, sensory, and motor tasks The current study reports correlations between scores on a battery of auditory discrimination tasks and measures of intelligence and academic aptitude in two samples of college students. The correlations between the intellectual and academic aptitude measures and the total percent correct on the auditory battery ranged from .45 to .59. These results are consistent with recent findings of significant relationships between simple sensory, cognitive, and motor abilities and psychometric intelligence as well as with much earlier reports by Spearman (1904) and others of relationships between pitch discrimination and intelligence. An implication of these findings is that intelligence is a potential confounding variable in studies of the auditory perceptual abilities of various clinical populations.
Notched-Noise Measures of Frequency Selectivity in Adults and Children Using Fixed-Masker-Level and Fixed-Signal-Level Presentation
Authors: Hall Joseph W. , Grose John H.
Published: July 2014

Three experiments were performed to examine the development of frequency selectivity and to attempt to separate peripheral versus central contributions to frequency selectivity. In Experiment 1, frequency selectivity was examined in 4-year-old children, 6-year-old children, and adults, using a fixed-masker-level, notched-noise masking method. Thresholds were determined in a no-notch condition and in conditions in which the notchwidth was 0.3 times the center frequency (0.3 x
f
c
) or 0.6 x
f
c
. The results for the adults and 6-year-olds were similar, but the notched-noise functions of the 4-year-old listeners were relatively shallow. These results were consistent with an interpretation that frequency selectivity is relatively poor in 4-year-old listeners; however, the results of the 4-year-old listeners might also be accounted for in terms of poor processing efficiency. For example, the children may require a relatively high level of signal-related excitation in order for detection to occur. If the growth of excitation is steeper in the no-notch condition than in notched-noise conditions, then thresholds in the notched-noise conditions might be elevated because of poor processing efficiency rather than poor frequency selectivity. This interpretation is consonant with past data showing that the growth of loudness of partially masked signals steepens as a function of increasing masker level: The masker level at the output of the auditory filter centered on the signal frequency would be less for the notched-noise masker than for the masker having no notch. In Experiment 2 the growth of loudness was examined for three adult listeners in the no-notch condition and the 0.6 x
f
c
notched noise. Results showed a steeper growth of loudness in the no-notch case. In Experiment 3, a notched-noise measure of frequency selectivity was used in which the signal level was fixed at 15 dB SL and the masker level was varied adaptively. In this method the noise level at the output of the auditory filter centered on the signal should theoretically be constant over the different notch conditions. Adult and 4-year-old listeners were tested. The notched-noise functions were similar between the adult and 4-year-old listeners. This result supports an interpretation that the shallow notched-noise, fixed-masker-level functions of 4-year-old children may be due to poor processing efficiency rather than to poor peripheral frequency selectivity.
The Effects of Visual Barriers Used During Auditory Training on Sound Transmission
Authors: Niday Kimberly J. , Elfenbein Jill L.
Published: July 2014

Clinicians often use barriers such as paper or cardboard to eliminate visual cues during auditory training activities. Comparison of three commonly used barriers revealed substantial differences in the transmission of acoustic signals. A screen made of speaker mesh, the most acoustically transparent of the barriers tested, was judged to be the best option available.
Pitch Effects on Vowel Roughness and Spectral Noise for Subjects in Four Musical Voice Classifications
Authors: Newman Ruth A. , Emanuel Floyd W.
Published: July 2014

This study was designed to investigate the effects of vocal f
o
on vowel spectral noise level (SNL) and perceived vowel roughness for subjects in high- and low-pitch voice categories. The subjects were 40 adult singers (10 each sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses). Each produced the vowel /a/ in isolation at a comfortable speaking pitch, and at each of seven assigned pitches spaced at whole-tone intervals over a musical octave within his or her singing pitch range. The eight /a/ productions were repeated by each subject on a second test day. The SNL differences between repeated test samples (different days) were not statistically significant for any subject group. For the vowel samples produced at a comfortable pitch, a relatively large SNL was associated with samples phonated by the subjects of each sex who manifested the relatively low singing pitch range. Regarding the vowel samples produced at the assigned-pitch levels, it was found that both vowel SNL and perceived vowel roughness decreased as test-pitch level was raised over a range of one octave. The relationship between vocal pitch and either vowel roughness or SNL approached linearity for each of the four subject groups.