bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Constancy of Relative Timing for Stutterers and Nonstutterers
Authors: Prosek Robert A. , Montgomery Allen A. , Walden Brian E.
Published: July 2014

Fifteen stutterers and 15 nonstutterers read a 120-word passage five times in succession. From the stutterers' readings, sentences were selected for analysis that were produced fluently in the first and the fifth reading. The sentences surrounding the target utterance in the first reading, however, contained instances of stuttering although the surrounding sentences in the fifth reading were fluent. The same utterances were selected from the first and fifth readings produced by the nonstutterers, but the surrounding sentences were fluent for both samples. Four separate relative timing ratios were defined by measuring an acoustic period and an acoustic latency and dividing the period by the latency. Analysis of the ratios revealed no significant differences between the groups in spite of the rate changes that occurred between the readings. The data indicate that not all aspects of a stutterer's speech are affected by the stuttering, and that relative timing may be a critical parameter for the production of fluent utterances.
The Emergence of Phonetic Segments
Authors: Nittrouer Susan , Studdert-Kennedy Michael , McGowan Richard S.
Published: July 2014

A variety of evidence, including the speech errors of normal and aphasic speakers, and the metalinguistic skills of literate individuals, demonstrates that speech has an underlying phonemic organization. However, we know little about how this organization develops in the child. The purpose of the present study was to test the hypothesis that phoneme-sized phonetic segments emerge as functional units of perceptuomotor control from the child's gradual reorganization of the gestures forming its early words or syllables. We investigated the acoustic structure of syllables produced by young children and adults. Fricative-vowel syllables spoken by 40 subjects (eight adults and eight children at each of the ages 3, 4, 5, and 7 years) were analyzed acoustically to determine how well different syllables-initial fricatives were contrasted and how strongly they were affected by vocalic context. Results indicated two independent developmental trends: The extent to which speakers differentiated between /∫/ and /s/ increased with age, while the extent to which they coarticulated each fricative with its following vowel decreased. The results support the hypothesis that children initially organize their speech gestures over a domain at least the size of the syllable and only gradually differentiate the syllable into patterns of gestures more closely aligned with its perceived segmental components.
Dimensional Thinking in Language Impaired Children
Authors: Johnston Judith R. , Smith Linda B.
Published: July 2014

This study investigated the dimensional knowledge evidenced by language impaired (LI) preschoolers. Ten LI and 10 language normal (LN) children, aged 3:6 to 5:9, were asked to solve verbal and nonverbal problems requiring color and size judgments. There were no group differences on the verbal task, but the LI children performed less well than the LN children on the nonverbal task. Much of this difference stemmed from their difficulty with size items. The ordinal nature of the size dimension implies greater cognitive processing demands than are inherent in nominal dimensions such as color. Given the known processing limitations of language impaired children, this complexity apparently can lead to erroneous judgment even when requisite knowledge is present. It may also contribute to delays in the initial construction of dimensional knowledge.
An Analysis of Velopharyngeal Timing in Normal Adult Speakers Using a Microcomputer Based Photodetector System
Authors: Keefe Michael J. , Dalston Rodger M.
Published: July 2014

Using a microcomputer interface and dedicated software, a photodetector was employed to collect data on the timing of velopharnygeal movements during the production of speech by 10 normally speaking adult subjects. The duration of velopharnygeal closing gestures varied consistently across productions of /m/, /n/ and /n/ in both normal and fast speech. Velopharyngeal opening movements also appeared to be affected by the nasal consonant that was produced. These phenomena are explained in terms of biomechanical constraints known to act upon the velopharyngeal mechanism.
Children's Categorization of Consonants by Manner and Place Characteristics
Authors: Tomes Lucrezia , Shelton Ralph L.
Published: July 2014

Ten normal-speaking 5-year-olds and 10 normal-speaking 7-year-olds were required to categorize consonants as "dripping" (stop) or "flowing" (fricative) and as "tongue" (lingual place of articulation) or "lip" (labial place of articulation). Both groups of children performed more accurately than would be expected on the basis of chance alone. However, 5-year-olds performed more poorly than did 7-year-olds, primarily because 5-year-olds were significantly less accurate than 7-year-olds in categorizing according to manner. Children's ability to categorize was evaluated as an indicator of their awareness of feature characteristics of consonants. Their performance does not unambiguously reflect feature awareness but may be related to other variables such as their use of response strategies or the nature of the task.
The Importance of Consonant-Vowel Intensity Ratio in the Intelligibility of Voiceless Consonants
Authors: Freyman Richard L. , Nerbonne G. Patrick
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent to which variations in the consonant-vowel (C-V) intensity ratio could account for variations in speech intelligibility among the productions of 10 talkers. Fifty normal-hearing individuals listened in noise to syllables consisting of voiceless consonants followed by the vowel // under three conditions in which: (a) C-V ratio varied naturally as produced by the talkers, and the stimuli were calibrated according to vowel intensity; (b) C-V ratios were increased and equated via digital signal processing; and (c) C-V ratios were unmodified, but the syllables were calibrated according to consonant level rather than vowel level. Results indicated that variations in C-V ratio explained a great deal of the variation in the intelligibility of some consonants (/s, ∫, t∫/) but not others (the voiceless stops). This difference may well be due to differences in audibility between the two groups of consonants when they are presented at similar consonant-to-noise ratios. The majority of the data suggest that the importance of C-V ratio is related to the intensity of consonants but is independent of the ratio per se between consonant and vowel levels.
Synthetic and Natural Speech Preferences of Males and Females in Four Age
Authors: Mirenda P. , Eicher D. , Beukelman D.
Published: July 2014

Mirenda, P., Eicher, D., & Beukelman, D. (1989). Synthetic and natural speech preferences of males and females in four age groups. March, 175-183.
On the Nature of Phonological Development
Authors: Hoffman Paul R. , Norris Janet A.
Published: July 2014

Spelling errors of 45 elementary school children were analyzed for phonological process patterns. A considerable proportion of errors involved both syllabic reduction and feature changes similar to those seen in normal speech development. Results are discussed with respect to application of phonological constructs to the study of development of speech production. An alternative psychological model of development is proposed in outline.
Speech Rate Reduction and "Nasality" in Normal Speakers
Authors: Brancewicz Therese M. , Reich Alan R.
Published: July 2014

This study explored the effects of reduced speech rate on nasal/voice accelerometric measures and nasality ratings. Nasal/voice accelerometric measures were obtained from normal adults for various speech stimuli and speaking rates. Stimuli included three sentences (one obstruent-loaded, one semivowel-loaded, and one containing a single nasal), and /p/ syllable trains. Speakers read the stimuli at their normal rate, half their normal rate, and as slowly as possible. In addition, a computer program paced each speaker at rates of 1, 2, and 3 syllables per second. The nasal/voice accelerometric values revealed significant stimulus effects but no rate effects. The nasality ratings of experienced listeners, evaluated as a function of stimulus and speaking rate, were compared to the accelerometric measures. The nasality scale values demonstrated small, but statistically significant, stimulus and rate effects. However, the nasality percepts were poorly correlated with the nasal/voice accelerometric measures.
Performance of Some of the Better Cochlear-Implant Patients
Authors: Tyler Richard S. , Moore Brian C. J. , Kuk Francis K.
Published: July 2014

The main purpose of this study was to provide an independent corroboration of open-set word recognition in some of the better cochlear-implant patients. These included the Chorimac, Nucleus (one group from the U.S.A. and one group from Hannover, Germany), Symbion, Duren/Cologne and 3M/Vienna implants. Three experiments are reported: (1) word recognition in word lists and in sentences; (2) environmental sound perception, and (3) gap detection. On word recognition, the scores of 6 Chorimac patients averaged 2.5% words and 0.7% words in sentences correct in the French tests. In the German tests, the scores averaged 17% words and 10% words in sentences for 10 Duren/Cologne patients, 15% words and 16% words in sentences for 9 3M/Vienna patients, and 10% words and 16% words in sentences (3% to 26%) for 10 Nucleus/Hannover patients. In the English tests, the scores averaged 11% words and 29.6% words in sentences for l0 Nucleus-U.S.A. patients, and 13.7% words and 35.7% words in sentences for the 9 Symbion patients.

The ability to recognize recorded environmental sounds was measured with a closed set of 18 sounds. Performance averaged 23% correct for Chorimac patients, 41% correct for 3M/Vienna patients, 44% correct for Nucleus/Hannover patients, 21% correct for Duren/Cologne patients, 58% correct for Nucleus/U.S.A. patients, and 83% correct for Symbion patients. A multidimensional scaling analysis suggested that patients were, in part, utilizing information about the envelope and about the periodic/aperiodic nature of some of the sounds.

Gap detection thresholds with a one-octave wide noise centered at 500 Hz varied widely among patients. Typically, patients with gap thresholds less than 40 ms showed a wide range of performance on speech perception tasks, whereas patients with gap-detection thresholds greater than 40 ms showed poor word recognition skills.
Peer-Related Communicative Competence of Preschool Children
Authors: Guralnick Michael J. , Paul-Brown Diane
Published: July 2014

The peer-related communicative interactions of nonhandicapped 3- and 4-year-old children as well as a group of 4-year-old mildly developmentally delayed children were investigated in a cross-sectional descriptive study. Adjustments of speakers to companions varying in terms of chronological age and developmental status were of interest, as were comparisons among the three groups. All three groups made adjustments in communicative functions (directives and information statements), interactive style (strong and joint directives), and communications involving affect (disagreements), but only to mildly delayed children. Adjustments to mildly delayed children were more closely related to interpersonal and social status factors than to children's developmental levels. The communicative interactions of mildly delayed children were highly similar to the developmentally matched nonhandicapped group on all measures except for a lower level of speech complexity. Significant differences between 3- and 4-year-old nonhandicapped children were obtained only for measures of speech complexity.
Acquisition of Correct Vowel Production
Authors: Davis Barbara L. , MacNeilage Peter F.
Published: July 2014

There have been relatively few studies of the course of acquisition of correct vowel production. The present study suggests this gives an illusory impression that vowels are acquired easily and are of little theoretical interest. Despite a relatively precocious rate of vocabulary acquisition over the period from 14 to 20 months, the subject studied produced less than 60% of her vowels correctly according to evidence from phonetic transcriptions. A complex pattern of vowel preferences and errors was only partially related to typical prespeech babbling preferences, but was strongly related to word structure variables (monosyllabic vs. disyllabic) including stress patterns of disyllabic words, as reflected in patterns of relative frequencies of vowels in stressed and unstressed syllables. Consonant-vowel interdependence was observed, in both the favoring of high front vowels in the environment of alveolar consonants, and a reciprocal relation between vowel reduplication and consonant reduplication in disyllabic words.
Temporal Effects in Simultaneous Masking by Vowel and Consonant-Vowel Maskers
Authors: Bacon Sid P. , Blake Patricia E.
Published: July 2014

Temporal effects in simultaneous masking were studied using synthetic vowel (V) and consonant-vowel (CV) maskers. For the steady-state V maskers (/i,a,u/), signals were presented at the beginning or in the temporal center of the masker. The masking patterns generally reflected the formant differences among the vowels, and the formant structure of each V masker was more clearly revealed when the signal was presented in the temporal center of the masker. For the CV maskers (/bi, gi/), signals were presented at the beginning of the (consonant portion of the) masker, at the beginning of the vowel portion of the masker, or in the temporal center of the masker. The second-formant difference between the maskers (observed acoustically at their onset) was generally revealed in the masking patterns when the signal was presented at the beginning of the consonant; this difference in the masking patterns was also present, to a lesser extent, when the signal was presented at the beginning of the vowel, where the two maskers were
identical acoustically
. The masking patterns for the two CV maskers were virtually identical when the signal was presented in the temporal center of the masker. These data extend previous tone-on-tone masking data and suggest that the auditory system requires a certain amount of time to represent most accurately the acoustic spectrum of both steady-state and dynamic complex maskers.
School-Age Children’s Metalinguistic Awareness of Grammaticality in Verb Form
Authors: Sutter Judith C. , Johnson Cynthia J.
Published: July 2014

This study investigated 6-, 7-, and 8-year-old children’s ability to monitor grammaticality in the past progressive, perfect progressive, and perfect verb forms. The children achieved a significantly higher rate of accurate judgments monitoring grammatical forms that ungrammatical forms. Age was a significant factor in error identification. Eight-year-olds were substantially better at identifying ungrammatical forms than were their younger schoolmates. Verb form, in conjunction with type of anomaly, significantly varied with respect to ease of identification. Errors of the auxiliary and suffix were easier for children to identify than an adverbial error which required a sentence analysis to determine the incompatibility. The context surrounding ungrammatical verb forms significantly affected monitoring ability. Anomalous forms in unrelated sentences were easier to identify as ungrammatical than anomalous forms in sentences taken from a story the children had just heard. It appears that school-age children prefer to maintain the semantic intent of the message rather than critically search for grammatical errors.
Miniature Language System Acquisition by Children with Different Learning Proficiencies
Authors: Johnston Judith , Blatchley Mary , Olness Gloria Streit
Published: July 2014

Sixteen children, aged 7:8 to 9:10, learned two miniature languages while playing a communication game. Both languages expressed Action (Agent, Patient) meanings and incorporated a Patient suffix. They differed in word order: VSO (Language I) versus SOV (Language II). Children found the SOV language easier; they also made more suffix errors and fewer word order errors in this language. The results suggest that the perceptual salience of an utterance-final particle may hinder grammatical analysis, at least if capacity limits and perseverative learning strategies intervene.
Using Simultaneous Nasometry and Standard Audio Recordings to Detect the Acoustic Onsets and Offsets of Speech
Authors: Seaver Earl J. , Dalston Rodger M.
Published: July 2014

Simultaneously collected nasometric and standard audio recording data were compared to determine the extent to which the acoustic onsets and offsets of speech could be determined from Nasometric signals. Three male and 2 female subjects produced six repetitions of 12 utterances that were initiated and terminated by vowels and consonants of differing phonetic features. The onset of Nasometer output typically followed output from the standard audio recording system by an average of 29 ms (
SD
= 36.1 ms). A greater temporal discrepancy was observed for signal offsets (mean Nasometer lag = 100 ms;
SD
= 83.3 ms). Large differences between the two instruments seemed due to differences in their overall sensitivities. The results suggest that the Nasometer may be of limited value in determining the acoustic onsets and offsets of speech. The Nasometer was not designed to sense the acoustic events studied here, and the current results have no bearing whatsoever on the validity of this instrument in providing information concerning nasal resonance.
Estimating Respiratory Volumes from Rib Cage and Abdominal Displacements During Ventilatory and Speech Activities
Authors: Reich Alan R. , McHenry Monica A.
Published: July 2014

This methodological study examined the predictive strength associated with modeling respiratory volumes from chest-wall movements during selected ventilatory and speech activities. A linearized magnetometry system transduced the anterior-posterior diameters of the rib cage and abdomen, supplying kinematic data that were used to estimate respiratory volumes. Kinematic and airflow measures were acquired during (a) tidal ventilation, (b) vital capacity maneuvers, (c) Rainbow Passage reading at customary loudness, (d) Rainbow Passage reading at twice-customary loudness, (e) extemporaneous speech, and (f) /α/ prolongation. Multiple-regression statistics were applied to the body surface and integrated airflow data to obtain (a) intercepts, (b) volume-motion coefficients for the rib cage and abdomen, and (c) coefficients of determination. Volumes estimated by applying regression-derived intercepts and volume-motion coefficients to the respiratory kinematic data were then compared to integrated airflow signals. Two magnetometer-based, volume-estimation strategies were contrasted for the speech tasks, one based on volume-motion coefficients derived from that particular speech activity and one based on volume-motion coefficients derived from tidal ventilation. Regression-derived intercepts and volume-motion coefficients for the abdomen varied significantly across subjects but not tasks. Volume-motion coefficients for the rib cage varied significantly across both subjects and tasks. Coefficients of determination for the magnetometer-based volume estimates were affected significantly by subjects and tasks but not by volume-estimation strategies. The calibration, use, and potential limitation of respiratory kinematic devices for speech research are discussed.
Preferred Insertion Gain of Hearing Aids in Listening and Reading-Aloud Situations
Authors: Kuk Francis K.
Published: July 2014

Nine hearing-impaired subjects with primarily high-frequency hearing loss (Group A) and 8 hearing-impaired subjects with hearing loss in both the high- and low-frequency regions (Group B) participated in the experiment. Subjects wore binaural programmable multimemory hearing aids and selected the preferred amount of insertion gain while they listened to discourse passages read by a male speaker (listen). Subjects also selected the preferred amount of gain while they listened to themselves as they were reading the same passages (read-aloud). Subjects’ word-recognition performances and their subjective impressions of the hearing aids determined in listen and read-aloud conditions were examined on subsequent listening and reading tasks. Hearing-impaired subjects preferred more insertion gain in the listen condition than in the read-aloud condition. Different insertion gains led to different objective and subjective performances. Hearing-aid responses selected for a particular condition (listening vs. reading aloud) yielded the best performance in that condition. Assuming the primary purpose of a hearing aid is for amplifying the speech of others, these findings suggest that one should not adjust the gain of a hearing aid using one’s own voice as the reference. In addition, one should be careful in soliciting subjective comments from hearing-impaired patients during hearing-aid fittings to avoid underamplifying those individuals in the low frequencies. Multimemory hearing aids may be necessary for some hearing-impaired patients to use their hearing aids satisfactorily in listening and speaking conditions.
Magnitude Estimation and Cross-Modal Matching of Auditory and Lingual Vibrotactile Sensation by Normal Speakers and Stutterers
Authors: Harris Daniel , Fucci Donald , Petrosino Linda
Published: July 2014

The present experiment was a preliminary attempt to employ the psychophysical scaling methods of magnitude estimation and cross-modal matching to investigate suprathreshold auditory and lingual vibrotactile sensation magnitude responses for normal-speaking young adults (
N
= 20) and young adult stutterers (
N
= 7). A 1000-Hz binaural auditory stimulus and a 250-Hz lingual vibrotactile stimulus were employed for both procedures. Results indicated that the stutterers tended to use more restricted response ranges than the normal speakers for auditory magnitude scaling, and lower response ranges than the normal speakers for lingual vibrotactile magnitude scaling.
The Design of CAST (Computer-Aided Speechreading Training)
Authors: Pichora-Fuller Margaret Kathleen , Benguerel André-Pierre
Published: July 2014

The underlying theoretical assumptions, goals, design, and implementation of a Computer-Aided Speechreading Training system (CAST) are described as a case study in program design. This computerized speechreading assessment and training system simulates face-to-face intervention and is designed to be one component of a comprehensive aural rehabilitation program for preretirement adults with acquired mild-to-moderate hearing loss. The interactive, automated course consists of eight training lessons, each focusing on a particular viseme that is practiced by a modified discourse tracking method using viseme-specific texts. Three basic speechreading skills are emphasized: visual speech perception, use of linguistic redundancy, and use of feedback between message sender and receiver. These skills are evaluated separately by means of CAST tracking rate, receiver strategy, and inferred error type. Four example case assessments are provided to illustrate the potential applications of CAST as a standardizable rehabilitative tool. An independent program evaluation is provided in a companion paper (Gagné, Dinon, & Parsons, 1991). Comparisons between CAST, face-to-face tracking procedures, and natural discourse are presented and discussed with reference to theoretical and clinical issues in speechreading and program evaluation.
School-Aged Children With Phonologic Disorders
Authors: Ruscello Dennis M. , St. Louis Kenneth O. , Mason Nancy
Published: July 2014

Subjects in grades 1–12 with phonologic disorders were identified and categorized into either Residual or Delayed groups. Group selection was based on a subject rating system of communicative defectiveness and number and type of phonologic errors. The subjects’ performance was compared with that of normal individuals on a number of speech and language parameters. The results indicated that voice disorders, deficits in expressive language, and hearing problems occurred in persons exhibiting phonologic disorders with a higher frequency than in the normal individuals.
Communication Profiles of Two Types of Gesture Using Nonverbal Persons With Severe to Profound Mental Retardation
Authors: McLean James E. , McLean Lee K. S. , Brady Nancy C. , Etter Rhonda
Published: July 2014

A structured communication sampling procedure was used to measure the form and function characteristics of intentional communication acts produced by nonverbal adults with severe mental retardation. Four “contact” subjects (who communicated only with contact gestures) and 4 “distal” subjects (who used distal as well as contact gestures) participated in this study. All subjects produced communication acts that were coded as initiations, and all subjects produced protoimperative-type communication acts. However, contact subjects produced no protodeclarative-type communication acts, whereas all distal subjects produced some protodeclaratives. Distal subjects lso produced significantly more repair/recast acts than did contact subjects. Other findings included a tendency for distal subjects to communicate at a higher rate, to initiate more communication acts, and to produce more accompanying wordlike vocalizations than contact subjects. These results are discussed in light of Werner and Kaplan’s (1984) concept of distancing as central to symbolization. Implications for future research and for clinical practice are also discussed.
Approaches to the Prediction of Language Abilities in a Sample of Children Who Have Developmental Delays
Authors: Sommers Ronald K.
Published: July 2014

Prediction of the quality of language was explored using planned comparisons of three approaches, one cognitive, one neurodevelopmental, and one a combination of the two. Subjects were 37 children, ages 5–9 years, whose significant developmental delays included language and speech skills. The cognitive predictors were mental age (MA) and IQ from the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale. Neurodevelopmental predictors consisted of fine motor skill quotients (MQs) and dichotic speech processing scores. Chronological age (CA) was also evaluated as a predictor. A composite language ability score constituted the dependent variable.

Results of regression analyses showed that CA and MQ, and MA and MQ, were nearly equal in their predictive strengths and were substantial predictors of composite language scores. Larger multiple correlations (low .8 range) were found when combinations of MA, IQ, and MQ or CA, IQ, and MQ were used as predictors. Statistical control over the 4-year age range revealed that approximately equal amounts of prediction of language scores were attributable to CA and a combination of MA, IQ, and MQ. Each of the latter variables contributed important amounts of unique variance to the language score prediction. Dichotic ear scores did not relate to cognitive or language scores and were ineffectual as predictors in regression analysis. Results indicated that children of the type studied have language and speech delays that show substantial relationships to their verbal cognitive abilities and MQs, in addition to their CAs.
High-Level Psychophysical Tuning Curves
Authors: Nelson David A. , Fortune Todd W.
Published: July 2014

Simultaneous-masked psychophysical tuning curves were measured with narrow-band noise maskers varying in bandwidth from 40 Hz to 800 Hz to determine the masker bandwidths at which combination-band detection cues no longer influence tuning-curve shapes. Tuning curves were obtained at 1000 and 4000 Hz from normal-hearing listeners using high-level (60 dB SPL) probe tones in quiet and in the presence of a broadband background noise to eliminate combination bands and other off-frequency listening cues that exist at high levels. High-level tuning curves revealed notches on the low-frequency sides. Those notches were eliminated with broad-band background noise, which indicates that combination bands can strongly influence the shapes of high-level tuning curves obtained with narrow-band maskers, primarily by steepening the low-frequency and tail slopes. Combination-band detection cues had a stronger influence at 4000 Hz than at 1000 Hz. As masker bandwidth increased, combination bands had less influence on tuning-curve shapes. These results suggest a possible relation between masker bandwidth and auditory critical bandwidth: combination bands affected the lowfrequency sides of the tuning curves only when the masker bandwidth was less than the auditory critical bandwidth.
Acoustic Correlates of Pathologic Voice Types
Authors: Wolfe Virginia , Cornell Richard , Palmer Chester
Published: July 2014

Listeners classified 49 samples of vowels /a/ and /i/ on the basis of four voice types: hoarse, breathy, strained, and normal. The vowels were analyzed acoustically for mean harmonic/noise differences in four spectral regions, average fundamental frequency, natural logarithm of fundamental frequency, and jitter. Discriminant analysis showed that classifications of voice type were made with 80% accuracy using three acoustic parameters: (a) mean harmonic/noise difference factor (1–3.5 kHz), (b) natural log of fundamental frequency, and (c) vowel type. The significance of these particular acoustic parameters for the perception and classification of voice types is discussed.
Scaling and Transcription Measures of Intelligibility for Populations With Disordered Speech
Authors: Tye-Murray Nancy , Barkmeier Julie , Folkins John W.
Published: July 2014

Although Samar and Metz (1988) have addressed significant issues regarding the assessment of the intelligibility of hearing-impaired talkers, we cannot agree with their interpretation of their findings.

Because the transcription and rating-scale measures were performed on different types of speech samples, the two sets of scores cannot be compared. Moreover, transcription and scaling measures may provide fundamentally different estimates of speech performance. Investigators should select which measure to use after considering the appropriate construct validity and the purpose of the measurement.
A Theory of Neuropsycholinguistic Function in Stuttering
Authors: Perkins William H. , Kent Raymond D. , Curlee Richard F.
Published: July 2014

A theory of neurolinguistic function is proposed to explain fluency and the production of stuttered and nonstuttered speech disruptions Central to the theory is the idea that speech involves linguistic and paralinguistic components, each of which is processed by different neural systems that converge on a common output system. Fluent speech requires that these components be integrated in synchrony. When they are dyssynchronous, the result can be either nonstuttered disfluency or stuttering, depending on time pressure. Time pressure is defined as the speaker’s need to begin, continue, or accelerate an utterance. Nonstuttered disfluency results when the linguistic and paralinguistic components are dyssynchronous and the speaker is not under time pressure. Stuttering results when the speaker is under time pressure and is relatively unaware of the cause of dyssynchrony. Both of these factors are necessary for the identification of the phenomenon of stuttering. Stuttering is defined as disruption of speech that is experienced by the speaker as a loss of control The theory presented here accounts for both the disruption and the experienced loss of control.
Automatic and Effortful Processing of Emotional Intonation After Right or Left Hemisphere Brain Damage
Authors: Tompkins Connie A.
Published: July 2014

This study assessed the effects of unilateral right (RHD) or left hemisphere brain damage (LHD) on the knowledge and processing of emotional information imparted by vocal intonation Semantically neutral statements that conveyed a mood through prosody were used as targets in a mood priming task. These targets were preceded by story primes. The events described in the primes were either congruent with the mood conveyed by the intonation of a target phrase, incongruent with target mood, or emotionally neutral. Prime-target pairs were presented in two attention conditions designed to favor either relatively automatic or effortful mental processing. Response time (RT) data were recorded for accurate judgments of target moods. In the automatic condition, there were no qualitative differences between RHD, LHD, or normally aging control subjects. In the effortful condition, RTs for each group were similarly improved by congruent primes (relative to neutral primes), but RHD subjects were disproportionately slower when targets were preceded by Incongruent primes Results indicate that brain-damaged adults retain knowledge of emotional meanings, and use that knowledge to facilitate effective interpretations in some circumstances. Demands for emotional inference revision were not exclusively responsible for RHD adults’ poor performance with incongruent primes, as they successfully revised initial predictions in other conditions. Rather, these subjects’ difficulties arose when increased processing demands converged with decreased availability of mental resources These findings are integrated with those from a related study of lexical metaphor, and are interpreted within a cognitive resource framework
Melodic, Rhythmic, and Timbral Perception of Adult Cochlear Implant Users
Authors: Gfeller Kate , Lansing Charissa R.
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate adult Ineraid and Nucleus cochlear implant (CI) users’ perceptual accuracy for melodic and rhythmic patterns, and quality ratings for different musical instruments. Subjects were 18 postlingually deafened adults with CI experience. Evaluative measures included the Primary Measures of Music Audiation (PMMA) and a Musical Instrument Quality Rating. Performance scores on the PMMA were correlated with speech perception measures, music background, and subject characteristics. Results demonstrated a broad range of perceptual accuracy and quality ratings across subjects. On these measures, performance for temporal contrasts was better than for melodic contrasts independent of CI device. Trends in the patterns of correlations between speech and music perception suggest that particular structural elements of music are differentially accessible to cochlear implant users. Additionally, notable qualitative differences for ratings of musical instruments were observed between Nucleus and Ineraid users
A Comparison of Selected Phonatory Behaviors of Healthy Aged and Young Adults
Authors: Higgins Maureen B. , Saxman John H.
Published: July 2014

Selected phonatory behaviors of healthy aged and young men and women were compared. Inverse-filtered air flow, electroglottograph (EGG), and intraoral air pressure signals were recorded as subjects phonated in each of four conditions: normal, soft, loud, loud/high pitched. Minimum flow offset, flow amplitude, air flow duty cycle, EGG duty cycle, estimated subglottal pressure, and fundamental frequency were derived from the recorded signals and compared among age/gender groups. Males had significantly greater flow amplitude than females regardless of age. Significant Age x Sex interactions were found for fundamental frequency and duty cycle measures. Duty cycles and fundamental frequency increased for males and decreased for females with aging. For the normal phonatory condition, aged men had significantly greater duty cycle measures, flow amplitude, and estimated subglottal pressure than young men. There were significant differences in fundamental frequency and EGG duty cycle between aged and young women during normal phonation. It was concluded that the effects of aging on phonatory behaviors are different in degree and kind for men and women. Fewer significant age-related differences in phonatory measures for women than men were consistent with reports of less age-related laryngeal degeneration in females than males.
Pragmatic and Linguistic Constraints on Message Formulation
Authors: Brown Paula M. , Fischer Susan D. , Janis Wynne
Published: July 2014

This study provides a cross-linguistic replication, using American Sign Language (ASL), of the Brown and Dell (1987) finding that when relaying an action involving an instrument, English speakers are more likely to explicitly mention the instrument if it is atypically, rather than typically, used to accomplish that action. Subjects were 20 hearing-impaired users of English and 20 hearing-impaired users of ASL. Each subject read and retold, in either English or ASL, 20 short stories. Analyses of the stories revealed production decision differences between ASL and English, but no differences related to hearing status. In ASL, there is more explicitness, and importance seems to play a more pivotal role in instrument specification. The results are related to differences in the typology of English and ASL and are discussed with regard to secondlanguage learning and translation
Profile and Stability of Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn
Authors: Walton Joseph P. , Hendricks-Munoz Karen
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this study was to examine the incidence, profile, and stability of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in infants diagnosed with persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN). Over a five-year period, 19 of 51 infants (37%) with PPHN were diagnosed with SNHL: 16 with bilateral and 3 with unilateral impairment. This incidence of SNHL is approximately 25 times greater than observed in graduates of our intensive care nursery. The profile of SNHL in the group of 19 children was typically downward sloping. However, there was considerable variation with respect to degree of loss. In addition, progressive SNHL was identified in 5 children whose hearing worsened an average of 55 dB at 2 to 4 kHz. On retrospective analysis, the perinatal variables associated with PPHN were comparable between hearing-impaired and normal-hearing infants. In contrast, the two groups were significantly different when treatment variables, such as the duration of mechanical ventilation or amikacin, were compared. Children with SNHL were treated for longer durations as compared to normal-hearing infants. Children with SNHL were subdivided into two groups, mild and severe, based on degree of loss and treatment variables, and compared again to the normal-hearing group. Two findings emerged from this analysis. First, the duration of hyperventilation was now the only variable significantly different between children with mild SNHL and children with normal hearing. Second, comparison of the mild with the severe SNHL groups showed that the duration of hyperventilation was similar. The pathophysiology and underlying mechanisms resulting in SNHL in PPHN survivors are discussed.
Masking-Level Differences in the Elderly
Authors: Pichora-Fuller Margaret Kathleen , Schneider Bruce A.
Published: July 2014

Four dichotic thresholds (S
π
N
0
, S
0
N
π
, S
0;
N
τ
, and S
π
N
πτ
,) were measured for young and old subjects using both burst and continuous broadband maskers. Masking-level differences (MLDs) were determined by subtracting dichotic thresholds from homophasic thresholds (S
0
N
0
or S
π
N
π
). The S
0
N
π
thresholds for the old subjects did not differ significantly from those for the young subjects in either the continuous or the burst masking noise conditions. The S
π
N
π
thresholds for the old subjects did not differ significantly from those for the young subjects in the continuous masking noise condition, but there was a significant age effect (3 dB) when burst masking noise was used. Both young and old subjects obtained larger MLDs in continuous masking noise than in burst masking noise. MLDs for old subjects were smaller than MLDs for young subjects by 4.3, 5.0, 2.7, and 1.6 dB in burst masking noise and by 4.9, 3.5, 2.5, and 1.4 dB in continuous masking noise, respectively in the S
π
N
0
, S
π
N
πτ
, S
0
N
τ
, and S
0
N
π
conditions. For young subjects there was a hierarchy n the size of the MLD obtained in the four dichotic conditions, with the MLD being significantly larger in the S
π
N
0
and S
0
N
πτ
, conditions; however, the size of the MLD was the same in all four conditions for the old subjects. Compared to young subjects, the performance of the old subjects was characterized by decreased ability to use homophasic cues In burst masking noise and decreased ability to use interaural difference cues. These findings were observed at four signal frequencies.
Spectral Pattern Discrimination by Children
Authors: Allen Prudence , Wightman Frederic
Published: July 2014

This research measured the ability of 47 children, aged 4– 9 years, to use spectral shape cues to discriminate among random-intensity sounds. The children were tested in forced-choice paradigms that were embedded in a video game format. Two classes of sounds were studied: tonal complexes with sinusoidally rippled amplitude spectra, and synthetic speech sounds (isolated vowels and consonants). The discriminability of the sounds was measured both in quiet and in a background of wide-band noise. Although the intersubject variability in performance was high, especially among the youngest children, the results revealed a substantial age effect. For both classes of sounds, the performance of the younger children was significantly poorer than the performance of an adult control group. However, there was no evidence in the data that the masking effect of the noise was greater for the children than for the adults.
Articulation, Language, Rate, and Fluency Characteristics of Stuttering and Nonstuttering Preschool Children
Authors: Ryan Bruce P.
Published: July 2014

Articulation (Arizona Articulation Proficiency Scale), language (TOLD, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test), and fluency (Fluency Interview) tests were given to 20 stuttering and 20 nonstuttering male and female preschool children to examine potential performance differences between the two groups. Speaking rate was also measured. There were several significant but minor differences between the two groups. The stuttering children scored lower on seven out of eight language measures than the nonstuttering children and slightly lower than the average score for their age group when compared with the tests’ normative samples. Girls demonstrated higher language scores and faster speaking rates. There were no differences between the stuttering and nonstuttering groups on articulation proficiency, although 25% of the stuttering group (all boys) later required articulation treatment. There were few statistically significant correlations between measures of stuttering rate, speaking rate, and language performances within each of the two groups of children, although there were consistent, low-to-moderate negative correlations between stuttering rate and language measures and low positive correlations between speaking rate and language measures. A stepwise regression analysis suggested that selected variables of language proficiency combined with speaking rate were at best moderately predictive (
R
=.52) of stuttering behavior for the total group of children.
Speechreading Performance Under Different Conditions of Video Image, Repetition, and Speech Rate
Authors: IJsseldijk Frans J.
Published: July 2014

Speechreading was assessed under different conditions of video image, repetition, and speech rate in three experiments on children who are deaf. The objective of the experiments was to obtain information for the design of interactive speechreading training programs using an interactive laser videodisc. Results of Experiment 1 showed that three different video images of testers (Entire-Face, 2/3 Profile, and Lips-Only,) did not result in significantly different scores. Experiment 2 assessed which form of repetition (Entire-Face, 2/3 Profile, Lips-Only,) after the first Entire-Face presentation had the biggest effect on improving speechreading performance. The three different forms of repetition appeared to lead to a similar significant improvement. In Experiment 3, various speechreading stimuli were presented at four different speech rates. It appeared that these four speech rates did not significantly influence the speechreading scores. Results suggest that there is a wide range within which speaker-sender variables may vary without affecting the overall speechreading results.
Orienting Attention in Audition and Between Audition and Vision
Authors: Robin Donald A. , Rizzo Matthew
Published: July 2014

This study examined 30 young and 10 elderly subjects to test whether orienting of attention could be measured in audition. Orienting in a mixed-modal condition in which stimuli were either auditory or visual was also tested. The dependent measure was the reaction time (RT) to lateralized targets when the locations were predicted by antecedent arrow cues that were correct (valid), were incorrect (invalid), or provided no lateralizing information (neutral). A comparison between the two groups among the different conditions showed that elderly subjects had longer RTs than the younger participants, but the pattern of results was similar in both groups. In addition, a similar RT pattern was found for each modal condition: Valid trials elicited the fastest responses and invalid trials the slowest. These findings suggest that the mechanisms involved in orienting attention operate in audition and that individuals may allocate their processing resources among multiple sensory pools. Moreover, effects seen in orienting attention in audition were similar to those found in vision and are interpretable with the same types of models. Orienting attention appears to be relatively resistant to the aging process in the sample of subjects tested in this study.
Onset of Stuttering in Preschool Children
Authors: Yairi Ehud , Ambrose Nicoline
Published: July 2014

This investigation provides updated information on the onset of stuttering, explores variations in the onset, and studies possible relationship of stuttering onset to the factors of age, gender, familial history, severity, and stress. Data were obtained for 87 preschool children through parent interviews, using a standardized questionnaire. Interviews were conducted within 12 months after the disorder was first diagnosed. Results for selected items indicated that onset tended to occur at an earlier age than was previously thought and was sudden and/or severe in a substantial number of cases. Physical or emotional stress and familial histories of stuttering were reported for many of the participating children. A significant gender factor was found. About twice as many boys as girls stuttered and girls began stuttering at a significantly earlier age. There was a positive relationship between severe stuttering and sudden onset. Several other tendencies for relationship between factors were either weak or not significant for the present sample size. The findings are discussed with special reference to the possible relationship between stuttering onset and maturational processes and the possible contribution of data on onset to the differentiation of stutterers.
Constancy of Interstress Intervals in the Fluent Speech of People Who Stutter During Adaptation Trials
Authors: Prins David , Hubbard Carol P.
Published: July 2014

The constancy of interstress intervals (ISIs) was studied in the fluent speech of 2 people who stutter during five adaptation trials. Counter to prediction, ISI constancy did not improve as an accompaniment to the reduction of stuttering from Readings 1–5. Overall, the subjects’ ISIs were substantially more variable in duration than those of 2 nonstutterers. This was accounted for by the subjects’ unusually long ISIs in utterances that placed greater demands on speech motor control processes. Implications for impairment source factors in stuttering are discussed.