bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Genome-Wide Association Study of Receptive Language Ability of 12-Year-Olds
Authors: Harlaar Nicole , Meaburn Emma L. , Hayiou-Thomas Marianna E. ,   Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium 2, Davis Oliver S. P. , Docherty Sophia , Hanscombe Ken B. , Haworth Claire M. A. , Price Thomas S. , Trzaskowski Maciej , Dale Philip S. , Plomin Robert
Published: April 2014

Purpose

Researchers have previously shown that individual differences in measures of receptive language ability at age 12 are highly heritable. In the current study, the authors attempted to identify some of the genes responsible for the heritability of receptive language ability using a
genome-wide association
approach.

Method

The authors administered 4 Internet-based measures of receptive language (vocabulary, semantics, syntax, and pragmatics) to a sample of 2,329 twelve-year-olds for whom DNA and genome-wide genotyping were available. Nearly 700,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 1 million imputed SNPs were included in a genome-wide association analysis of receptive language composite scores.

Results

No SNP associations met the demanding criterion of genome-wide significance that corrects for multiple testing across the genome (
p
< 5 × 10
−8
). The strongest SNP association did not replicate in an additional sample of 2,639 twelve-year-olds.

Conclusions

These results indicate that individual differences in receptive language ability in the general population do not reflect common genetic variants that account for more than 3% of the phenotypic variance. The search for genetic variants associated with language skill will require larger samples and additional methods to identify and functionally characterize the full spectrum of risk variants.

Supplemental Material

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.6170411
A Differential Item Functioning (DIF) Analysis of the Communicative Participation Item Bank (CPIB): Comparing Individuals With Parkinson's Disease From the United States and New Zealand
Authors: Baylor Carolyn , McAuliffe Megan J. , Hughes Louise E. , Yorkston Kathryn , Anderson Tim , Kim Jiseon , Amtmann Dagmar
Published: April 2014

Purpose

To examine the cross-cultural applicability of the Communicative Participation Item Bank (CPIB) through a comparison of respondents with Parkinson's disease (PD) from the United States and New Zealand.

Method

A total of 428 respondents—218 from the United States and 210 from New Zealand—completed the self-report CPIB and a series of demographic questions. Differential item functioning (DIF) analyses were conducted to examine whether response bias was present across the 2 groups.

Results

No items were identified as having statistically significant DIF across the U.S. and N.Z. cohorts.

Conclusion

The current CPIB items and scoring parameters are also suitable for use with respondents from New Zealand.
Do Adults With Cochlear Implants Rely on Different Acoustic Cues for Phoneme Perception Than Adults With Normal Hearing?
Authors: Moberly Aaron C. , Lowenstein Joanna H. , Tarr Eric , Caldwell-Tarr Amanda , Welling D. Bradley , Shahin Antoine J. , Nittrouer Susan
Published: April 2014

Purpose

Several acoustic cues specify any single phonemic contrast. Nonetheless, adult, native speakers of a language share weighting strategies, showing preferential attention to some properties over others. Cochlear implant (CI) signal processing disrupts the salience of some cues: In general, amplitude structure remains readily available, but spectral structure less so. This study asked how well speech recognition is supported if CI users shift attention to salient cues not weighted strongly by native speakers.

Method

Twenty adults with CIs participated. The /bɑ/-/wɑ/ contrast was used because spectral and amplitude structure varies in correlated fashion for this contrast. Adults with normal hearing weight the spectral cue strongly but the amplitude cue negligibly. Three measurements were made: labeling decisions, spectral and amplitude discrimination, and word recognition.

Results

Outcomes varied across listeners: Some weighted the spectral cue strongly, some weighted the amplitude cue, and some weighted neither. Spectral discrimination predicted spectral weighting. Spectral weighting explained the most variance in word recognition. Age of onset of hearing loss predicted spectral weighting but not unique variance in word recognition.

Conclusion

The weighting strategies of listeners with normal hearing likely support speech recognition best, so efforts in implant design, fitting, and training should focus on developing those strategies.
Perception of Speech Produced by Native and Nonnative Talkers by Listeners with Normal Hearing and Listeners with Cochlear Implants
Authors: Ji Caili , Galvin John J. , Chang Yi-ping , Xu Anting , Fu Qian-Jie
Published: April 2014

Purpose

The aim of this study was to evaluate the understanding of English sentences produced by native (English) and nonnative (Spanish) talkers by listeners with normal hearing (NH) and listeners with cochlear implants (CIs).

Method

Sentence recognition in noise was measured in adult subjects with CIs and subjects with NH, all of whom were native talkers of American English. Test sentences were from the Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) database and were produced in English by four native and eight nonnative talkers. Subjects also rated the intelligibility and accent for each talker.

Results

The speech recognition thresholds in noise of subjects with CIs and subjects with NH were 4.23 dB and 1.32 dB poorer with nonnative talkers than with native talkers, respectively. Performance was significantly correlated with talker intelligibility and accent ratings for subjects with CIs but only correlated with talker intelligibility ratings for subjects with NH. For all subjects, performance with individual nonnative talkers was significantly correlated with talkers' number of years of residence in the United States.

Conclusion

CI users exhibited a larger deficit in speech understanding with nonnative talkers than did subjects with NH, relative to native talkers. Nonnative talkers' experience with native culture contributed strongly to speech understanding in noise, intelligibility ratings, and accent ratings of both listeners with NH and listeners with CIs.
A Demonstration of Improved Precision of Word Recognition Scores
Authors: Schlauch Robert S. , Anderson Elizabeth S. , Micheyl Christophe
Published: April 2014

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate improved precision of word recognition scores (WRSs) by increasing list length and analyzing phonemic errors.

Method

Pure-tone thresholds (frequencies between 0.25 and 8.0 kHz) and WRSs were measured in 3 levels of speech-shaped noise (50, 52, and 54 dB HL) for 24 listeners with normal hearing. WRSs were obtained for half-lists and full lists of Northwestern University Test No. 6 (Tillman & Carhart, 1966) words presented at 48 dB HL. A resampling procedure was used to derive dimensionless effect sizes for identifying a change in hearing using the data. This allowed the direct comparison of the magnitude of shifts in WRS (%) and in the average pure-tone threshold (dB), which provided a context for interpreting the WRS.

Results

WRSs based on a 50-word list analyzed by the percentage of correct phonemes were significantly more sensitive for identifying a change in hearing than the WRSs based on 25-word lists analyzed by percentage of correct words.

Conclusion

Increasing the number of items that contribute to a WRS significantly increased the test's ability to identify a change in hearing. Clinical and research applications could potentially benefit from a more precise word recognition test, the only basic audiologic measure that estimates directly the distortion component of hearing loss and its effect on communication.
Development of a Self-Report Tool to Evaluate Hearing Aid Outcomes Among Chinese Speakers
Authors: Wong Lena L. N. , Hang Na
Published: April 2014

Purpose

This article reports on the development of a self-report tool—the Chinese Hearing Aid Outcomes Questionnaire (CHAOQ)—to evaluate hearing aid outcomes among Chinese speakers.

Method

There were 4 phases to construct the CHAOQ and evaluate its psychometric properties. First, items were selected to evaluate a range of culturally relevant outcomes. These procedures provided evidence for face and content validity. Second, items with inappropriate psychometric properties were eliminated. Items related to listening performance were subjected to exploratory factor analysis to identify the factor structure, which was later confirmed via a confirmatory factor analysis in Phase III. These procedures also ensured content and discriminant validity. Internal consistency reliability was evaluated, and normative data were obtained. Finally, test–retest reliability was evaluated, and construct validity was established by comparing results with corresponding items from the International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids.

Results

The final 26-item CHAOQ contains (a) 3 scales evaluating speech understanding in situations in which communication is relatively more difficult or easy or includes reduced listening cues; (b) a scale evaluating listening comfort; (c) a scale measuring negative responses; and (d) an item measuring overall satisfaction.

Conclusion

The CHAOQ possesses good reliability and validity.
Gap Detection in School-Age Children and Adults: Effects of Inherent Envelope Modulation and the Availability of Cues Across Frequency
Authors: Buss Emily , Hall Joseph W. , Porter Heather , Grose John H.
Published: April 2014

Purpose

The present study evaluated the effects of inherent envelope modulation and the availability of cues across frequency on behavioral gap detection with noise-band stimuli in school-age children.

Method

Listeners were 34 normal-hearing children (ages 5.2–15.6 years) and 12 normal-hearing adults (ages 18.5–28.8 years). Stimuli were continuous bands of noise centered on 2000 Hz, either 1000- or 25-Hz wide. In addition to Gaussian noise at these bandwidths, there were conditions using 25-Hz-wide noise bands modified to either accentuate or minimize inherent envelope modulation (staccato and low-fluctuation noise, respectively).

Results

Within the 25-Hz-wide conditions, adults' gap detection thresholds were highest in the staccato, lower in the Gaussian, and lowest in the low-fluctuation noise. Similar trends were evident in children's thresholds, although inherent envelope modulation had a smaller effect on children than on adults. Whereas adults' thresholds were comparable for the 1000-Hz-wide Gaussian and 25-Hz-wide low-fluctuation stimulus, children's performance converged on adults' performance at a younger age for the 1000-Hz-wide Gaussian stimulus.

Conclusions

Results are consistent with the idea that children are less susceptible to the disruptive effects of inherent envelope modulation than adults when detecting a gap in a narrow-band noise. Further, the ability to use spectrally distributed gap detection cues appears to mature relatively early in childhood.
Simulating the Effects of Common and Specific Abilities on Test Performance: An Evaluation of Factor Analysis
Authors: McFarland Dennis J.
Published: April 2014

Purpose

Factor analysis is a useful technique to aid in organizing multivariate data characterizing speech, language, and auditory abilities. However, knowledge of the limitations of factor analysis is essential for proper interpretation of results. The present study used simulated test scores to illustrate some characteristics of factor analysis.

Method

Linear models were used to simulate test scores that were determined by multiple latent variables. These simulated test scores were evaluated with principal components analysis and, in certain cases, structural equation modeling. In addition, a subset of simulated individuals characterized by poor test performance was examined.

Results

The number of factors recovered and their identity do not necessarily correspond to the structure of the latent variables that generated the test scores. The first principal component may represent variance from multiple uncorrelated sources. Practices such as correction or control for general cognitive ability may produce misleading results.

Conclusions

Inferences from the results of factor analysis should be primarily about the structure of test batteries rather than the structure of human mental abilities. Researchers and clinicians should consider multiple sources of evidence to evaluate hypotheses about the processes generating test results.
Contributions of Children's Linguistic and Working Memory Proficiencies to Their Judgments of Grammaticality
Authors: Noonan Nicolette B. , Redmond Sean M. , Archibald Lisa M. D.
Published: April 2014

Purpose

The authors explored the cognitive mechanisms involved in language processing by systematically examining the performance of children with deficits in the domains of working memory and language.

Method

From a database of 370 school-age children who had completed a grammaticality judgment task, groups were identified with a co-occurring language and working memory impairment (LI–WMI;n= 18) or specific language impairment (SLI) with typical working memory skills (n= 60) and matched control groups. Correct and incorrect use of grammatical markers occurred either early or late in sentence stimuli, imposing a greater working memory load for late-marker sentences.

Results

Children with SLI showed a lower preference for grammatical items than typically developing controls, regardless of error marker position. Children with LI–WMI demonstrated a performance pattern modulated by error marker position: Their preference for grammatical items was lower than typically developing controls for late but not early marker sentences.

Conclusion

This pattern of results suggests that there are distinct and dissociable impacts of working memory and linguistic skills on metalinguistic functioning through a grammatical judgment task.
Effect of Phonotactic Probability and Neighborhood Density on Word-Learning Configuration by Preschoolers With Typical Development and Specific Language Impairment
Authors: Gray Shelley , Pittman Andrea , Weinhold Juliet
Published: April 2014

Purpose

In this study, the authors assessed the effects of phonotactic probability and neighborhood density on word-learning configuration by preschoolers with specific language impairment (SLI) and typical language development (TD).

Method

One hundred thirty-one children participated: 48 with SLI, 44 with TD matched on age and gender, and 39 with TD matched on vocabulary and gender. Referent identification and naming were assessed in a computer-based learning context.

Results

For referent identification, preschoolers with TD benefited from high phonotactic probability, and the younger group also benefited from low neighborhood density. In contrast, the SLI group benefited only from high neighborhood density. For naming, older preschoolers with TD benefited most from low-density words, younger preschoolers with TD benefited most from words with high phonotactic probability, and the SLI group showed no advantage.

Conclusion

Phonotactic probability and neighborhood density had different effects on each group that may be related to children's ability to store well-specified word forms and to the size of their extant lexicon. The authors argue that cross-study comparisons of word learning are needed; therefore, researchers should describe word, referent, and learner characteristics and the learning context and should situate their studies in a triggering → configuration + engagement model of word learning.
Associations Between Toddler-Age Communication and Kindergarten-Age Self-Regulatory Skills
Authors: Aro Tuija , Laakso Marja-Leena , Määttä Sira , Tolvanen Asko , Poikkeus Anna-Maija
Published: April 2014

Purpose

In this study, the authors aimed at gaining understanding on the associations of different types of early language and communication profiles with later self-regulation skills by using longitudinal data from toddler age to kindergarten age.

Method

Children with early language profiles representing expressive delay, broad delay (i.e., expressive, social, and/or symbolic), and typical language development were compared in domains of kindergarten-age executive and regulative skills (attentional/executive functions, regulation of emotions and behavioral activity, and social skills) assessed with parental questionnaires.

Results

Children with delay in toddler-age language development demonstrated poorer kindergarten-age self-regulation skills than children with typical early language development. Broad early language delays were associated with compromised social skills and attentional/executive functions, and early expressive delays were associated with a generally lower level of kindergarten-age executive and regulative skills. Regression analyses showed that both earlier and concurrent language had an effect especially on the attentional/executive functions.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that different aspects of toddler-age language have differential associations with later self-regulation. Possible mechanisms linking early language development to later self-regulative development are discussed.
Children With Differing Developmental Trajectories of Prelinguistic Communication Skills: Language and Working Memory at Age 5
Authors: Määttä Sira , Laakso Marja-Leena , Tolvanen Asko , Ahonen Timo , Aro Tuija
Published: April 2014

Purpose

In this article, the authors examine the developmental continuity from prelinguistic communication to kindergarten age in language and working memory capacity.

Method

Following work outlining 6 groups of children with different trajectories of early communication development (ECD; Määttä, Laakso, Tolvanen, Ahonen, & Aro, 2012), the authors examined their later development by psychometric assessment. Ninety-one children first assessed at ages 12–21 months completed a battery of language and working memory tests at age 5;3 (years;months).

Results

Two of the ECD groups previously identified as being at risk for language difficulties continued to show weaker performance at follow-up. Seventy-nine percent of the children with compromised language skills at follow-up were identified on the basis of the ECD groups, but the number of false positives was high. The 2 at-risk groups also differed significantly from the typically developing groups in the measures tapping working memory capacity.

Conclusions

In line with the dimensional view of language impairment, the accumulation of early delays predicted the amount of later difficulties; however, at the individual level, the prediction had rather low specificity. The results imply a strong link between language and working memory and call for further studies examining the early developmental interaction between language and memory.
Triadic Gaze Intervention for Young Children With Physical Disabilities
Authors: Olswang Lesley B. , Dowden Patricia , Feuerstein Julie , Greenslade Kathryn , Pinder Gay Lloyd , Fleming Kandace
Published: April 2014

Purpose

This randomized controlled study investigated whether a supplemental treatment designed to teach triadic gaze (TG) as a signal of coordinated joint attention would yield a significantly greater increase in TG in the experimental versus control group.

Method

Eighteen 10- to 24-month-old children with severe motor impairments were randomly assigned to an experimental (
n
= 9) or control group (
n
= 9). For approximately 29 sessions over 17 weeks, experimental participants received TG treatment twice weekly with a speech-language pathologist in addition to standard practice. Control participants received only standard practice from birth-to-three therapists. Coders who were masked to group assignment coded TG productions with an unfamiliar speech-language pathologist at baseline, every 3 weeks during the experimental phase, and at the final measurement session.

Results

TG increased across groups from baseline to final measurement, with the experimental group showing slightly greater change. Performance trends were examined using experimental phase moving averages. Comparisons revealed significant differences between groups at 2 time points (at 12 weeks,
r
= .30, a medium effect, and at the end of the phase,
r
= .50, a large effect).

Conclusion

The results suggest the promise of a short-term, focused treatment to teach TG as a behavioral manifestation of coordinated joint attention to children with severe physical disabilities.
A Comparison of Pragmatic Language in Boys With Autism and Fragile X Syndrome
Authors: Klusek Jessica , Martin Gary E. , Losh Molly
Published: April 2014

Purpose

Impaired pragmatic language (i.e., language use for social interaction) is a hallmark feature of both autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most common known monogenic disorder associated with ASD. However, few cross-population comparisons of ASD and FXS have been conducted, and it is unclear whether pragmatic language profiles in these conditions overlap.

Method

The authors used seminaturalistic and standardized assessment methods to characterize pragmatic language abilities of 29 school-aged boys with idiopathic ASD, 38 with FXS and comorbid ASD, 16 with FXS without ASD, 20 with Down syndrome, and 20 with typical development.

Results

Similar severity of pragmatic language deficits was observed in both of the groups with ASD (idiopathic and fragile X-associated). ASD comorbidity had a detrimental effect on the pragmatic language skills of the boys with FXS. Some different patterns emerged across the two pragmatic assessment tools, with more robust group differences observed in pragmatics assessed in a seminaturalistic conversational context.

Conclusion

These findings have implications for pragmatic language assessment and intervention, as well as for understanding the potential role of the fragile X gene,Fragile X Mental Retardation-1, in the pragmatic language phenotype of ASD.
Test–Retest Stability of Word Retrieval in Aphasic Discourse
Authors: Boyle Mary
Published: April 2014

Purpose

This study examined the test–retest stability of select word-retrieval measures in the discourses of people with aphasia who completed a 5-stimulus discourse task.

Method

Discourse samples across 3 sessions from 12 individuals with aphasia were analyzed for the stability of measures of informativeness, efficiency, main concepts, noun and verb retrieval, word-finding difficulty, and lexical diversity. Values for correlation coefficients and the minimal detectable change score were used to assess stability for research and clinical decision making.

Results

Measures stable enough to use in group research studies included the number of words; the number of correct information units (CIUs); the number of accurate-complete, accurate-incomplete, and absent main concepts; the percentage of T-units that had word-finding behaviors of any kind; the percentage of T-units that contained empty words; and a lexical diversity measure. Words per minute, CIUs per minute, and the percentage of T-units that contained time fillers or delays were sufficiently stable to use when making clinical decisions about an individual.

Conclusion

Although several of the measures demonstrated acceptable stability for group research studies, relatively few were sufficiently stable for making clinical decisions about individuals on the basis of a single administration.
The Filtered Words Test and the Influence of Lexicality
Authors: Arnott Wendy , Goli Tara , Bradley Andrew , Smith Andrew , Wilson Wayne
Published: April 2014

Purpose

In the present study, the authors aimed to investigate the language confounds of filtered words tests by examining the repetition of real words versus nonsense words as a function of level of filtering.

Method

Fifty-five young, native-English-speaking women with normal hearing were required to repeat 80 real-word and 80 nonsense-word monosyllables that were matched for phonemic content and low-pass filtered. Thirty participants were tested using a harsher filter range of 2000 to 500 Hz, and 25 participants were tested using a milder filter range of 3000 to 1500 Hz.

Results

Paired-sample
t
tests compared accuracy (percentage of phonemes correct) for word and nonsense-word stimuli at each filter level. At filter levels between 3000 and 1750 Hz, performance for word stimuli was significantly better than for nonsense-word stimuli. Conversely, at filter levels between 500 and 1250 Hz, performance was significantly better for nonsense words.

Conclusions

The linguistic content of real-word stimuli benefits performance on low-pass filtered speech tests at filter levels above 1500 Hz. Caution must be taken when using real-word stimuli in low-pass filtered speech tests as part of an auditory processing diagnostic test battery, because language ability will impact on performance.
Preliminary Results on the Influence of Engineered Artificial Mucus Layer on Phonation
Authors: Döllinger Michael , Gröhn Franziska , Berry David A. , Eysholdt Ulrich , Luegmair Georg
Published: April 2014

Purpose

Previous studies have confirmed the influence of dehydration and an altered mucus (e.g., due to pathologies) on phonation. However, the underlying reasons for these influences are not fully understood. This study was a preliminary inquiry into the influences of mucus architecture and concentration on vocal fold oscillation.

Method

Two excised human larynges were investigated in an in vitro setup. The oscillations of the vocal folds at various airflow volume rates were recorded through the use of high-speed imaging. Engineered mucus containing polymers (interconnected polymers and linear polymers) was applied to the vocal folds. From the high-speed footage, glottal parameters were extracted through the use of objective methods and were compared to a gold standard (physiological saline solution).

Results

Variations were found for all applications of mucus. Fundamental frequency dropped and the oscillatory behavior (speed quotient [SQ], closing quotient [CQ]) changed for both larynges. The 2 applied mucus architectures displayed different effects on the larynges. The interconnected polymer displayed clear low-pass filter characteristics not found for the linear polymer. Increase of polymer concentration affected parameters to a certain point.

Conclusion

The data confirm results found in previous studies. Furthermore, the different effects—comparing architecture and concentration—suggest that, in the future, synthetic mucus can be designed to improve phonation.
Characterizing Vibratory Kinematics in Children and Adults With High-Speed Digital Imaging
Authors: Patel Rita , Dubrovskiy Denis , Döllinger Michael
Published: April 2014

Purpose

The aim of this study is to quantify and identify characteristic vibratory motion in typically developing prepubertal children and young adults using high-speed digital imaging.

Method

The vibrations of the vocal folds were recorded from 27 children (ages 5–9 years) and 35 adults (ages 21–45 years), with high speed at 4,000 frames per second for sustained phonation. Kinematic features of amplitude periodicity, time periodicity, phase asymmetry, spatial symmetry, and glottal gap index were analyzed from the glottal area waveform across mean and standard deviation (i.e., intercycle variability) for each measure.

Results

Children exhibited lower mean amplitude periodicity compared to men and women and lower time periodicity compared to men. Children and women exhibited greater variability in amplitude periodicity, time periodicity, phase asymmetry, and glottal gap index compared to men. Women had lower mean values of amplitude periodicity and time periodicity compared to men.

Conclusion

Children differed both spatially but more temporally in vocal fold motion, suggesting the need for the development of children-specific kinematic norms. Results suggest more uncontrolled vibratory motion in children, reflecting changes in the vocal fold layered structure and aero-acoustic source mechanisms.
Cognitive–Perceptual Examination of Remediation Approaches to Hypokinetic Dysarthria
Authors: McAuliffe Megan J. , Kerr Sarah E. , Gibson Elizabeth M. R. , Anderson Tim , LaShell Patrick J.
Published: April 2014

Purpose

To determine how increased vocal loudness and reduced speech rate affect listeners' cognitive–perceptual processing of hypokinetic dysarthric speech associated with Parkinson's disease.

Method

Fifty-one healthy listener participants completed a speech perception experiment. Listeners repeated phrases produced by 5 individuals with dysarthria across habitual, loud, and slow speaking modes. Listeners were allocated to habitual (
n
= 17), loud (
n
= 17), or slow (
n
= 17) experimental conditions. Transcripts derived from the phrase repetition task were coded for overall accuracy (i.e., intelligibility), and perceptual error analyses examined how these conditions affected listeners' phonemic mapping (i.e., syllable resemblance) and lexical segmentation (i.e., lexical boundary error analysis).

Results

Both speech conditions provided obvious perceptual benefits to listeners. Overall, transcript accuracy was highest in the slow condition. In the loud condition, however, improvement was evidenced across the experiment. An error analysis suggested that listeners in the loud condition prioritized acoustic–phonetic cues in their attempts to resolve the degraded signal, whereas those in the slow condition appeared to preferentially weight lexical stress cues.

Conclusions

Increased loudness and reduced rate exhibited differential effects on listeners' perceptual processing of dysarthric speech. The current study highlights the insights that may be gained from a cognitive–perceptual approach.
Articulatory and Acoustic Correlates of Contrastive Focus in Congenitally Blind Adults and Sighted Adults
Authors: Ménard Lucie , Leclerc Annie , Tiede Mark
Published: April 2014

Purpose

The role of vision in speech representation was investigated in congenitally blind speakers and sighted speakers by studying the correlates of contrastive focus, a prosodic condition in which phonemic contrasts are enhanced. It has been reported that the lips (visible articulators) are less involved in implementing the rounding feature for blind speakers. If the weight of visible gestures in speech representation is reduced in blind speakers, they should show different strategies to mark focus-induced prominence.

Method

Nine congenitally blind French speakers and 9 sighted French speakers were recorded while uttering sentences in neutral and contrastive focus conditions. Internal lip area, upper lip protrusion, and acoustic values (formants, fundamental frequency, duration, and intensity) were measured.

Results

In the acoustic domain, both groups signaled focus by using comparable values of fundamental frequency, intensity, and duration. Formant values in sighted speakers were more affected by the prosodic condition. In the articulatory domain, sighted speakers significantly altered lip geometry in the contrastive focus condition compared with the neutral condition, whereas blind speakers did not.

Conclusion

These results suggest that implementation of prosodic focus is affected by congenital visual deprivation. The authors discuss how these findings can be interpreted in the framework of the perception-for-action-control theory.
Voice Onset Time in Consonant Cluster Errors: Can Phonetic Accommodation Differentiate Cognitive From Motor Errors?
Authors: Pouplier Marianne , Marin Stefania , Waltl Susanne
Published: April 2014

Purpose

Phonetic accommodation in speech errors has traditionally been used to identify the processing level at which an error has occurred. Recent studies have challenged the view that noncanonical productions may solely be due to phonetic, not phonological, processing irregularities, as previously assumed. The authors of the present study investigated the relationship between phonological and phonetic planning processes on the basis of voice onset time (VOT) behavior in consonant cluster errors.

Method

Acoustic data from 22 German speakers were recorded while eliciting errors on sibilant-stop clusters. Analyses consider VOT duration as well as intensity and spectral properties of the sibilant.

Results

Of all incorrect responses, 28% failed to show accommodation. Sibilant intensity and spectral properties differed from correct responses irrespective of whether VOT was accommodated.

Conclusions

The data overall do not allow using (a lack of) accommodation as a diagnostic as to the processing level at which an error has occurred. The data support speech production models that allow for an integrated view of phonological and phonetic processing.
Cross-Language Perception of Japanese Vowel Length Contrasts: Comparison of Listeners From Different First Language Backgrounds
Authors: Tsukada Kimiko , Hirata Yukari , Roengpitya Rungpat
Published: April 2014

Purpose

The purpose of this research was to compare the perception of Japanese vowel length contrasts by 4 groups of listeners who differed in their familiarity with length contrasts in their first language (L1; i.e., American English, Italian, Japanese, and Thai). Of the 3 nonnative groups, native Thai listeners were expected to outperform American English and Italian listeners, because vowel length is contrastive in their L1. Native Italian listeners were expected to demonstrate a higher level of accuracy for length contrasts than American English listeners, because the former are familiar with consonant (but not vowel) length contrasts (i.e., singleton vs. geminate) in their L1.

Method

A 2-alternative forced-choice AXB discrimination test that included 125 trials was administered to all the participants, and the listeners' discrimination accuracy (d′) was reported.

Results

As expected, Japanese listeners were more accurate than all 3 nonnative groups in their discrimination of Japanese vowel length contrasts. The 3 nonnative groups did not differ from one another in their discrimination accuracy despite varying experience with length contrasts in their L1. Only Thai listeners were more accurate in their length discrimination when the target vowel was long than when it was short.

Conclusion

Being familiar with vowel length contrasts in L1 may affect the listeners' cross-language perception, but it does not guarantee that their L1 experience automatically results in efficient processing of length contrasts in unfamiliar languages. The extent of success may be related to how length contrasts are phonetically implemented in listeners' L1.
Multiple Factors Are Involved in the Dysarthria Associated With Parkinson's Disease: A Review With Implications for Clinical Practice and Research
Authors: Sapir Shimon
Published: April 2014

Purpose

Motor speech abnormalities are highly common and debilitating in individuals with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD). These abnormalities, collectively termed hypokinetic dysarthria (HKD), have been traditionally attributed to hypokinesia and bradykinesia secondary to muscle rigidity and dopamine deficits. However, the role of rigidity and dopamine in the development of HKD is far from clear. The purpose of the present study was to offer an alternative view of the factors underlying HKD.

Method

The authors conducted an extensive, but not exhaustive, review of the literature to examine the evidence for the traditional view versus the alternative view.

Results

The review suggests that HKD is a highly complex and variable phenomenon including multiple factors, such as scaling and maintaining movement amplitude and effort; preplanning and initiation of movements; internal cueing; sensory and temporal processing; automaticity; emotive vocalization; and attention to action (vocal vigilance). Although not part of the dysarthria, nonmotor factors, such as depression, aging, and cognitive-linguistic abnormalities, are likely to contribute to the overall speech symptomatology associated with IPD.

Conclusion

These findings have important implications for clinical practice and research.
Safety Behaviors and Speech Treatment for Adults Who Stutter
Authors: Helgadottir Fjola Dogg , Menzies Ross G. , Onslow Mark , Packman Ann , O'Brian Sue
Published: April 2014

Purpose

Those with anxiety use safety behaviors when attempting to prevent negative outcomes. There is evidence that these behaviors contribute to the persistence of anxiety disorders. Safety behaviors have been prominent in the cognitive behavior therapy literature during the last decade, particularly with social phobia management. However, nothing is known of safety behavior use by those who stutter. This is surprising given the high prevalence of social phobia in the stuttering population who seek clinical help.

Method

Clinical psychologists and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) created a list of safety behaviors that might be used by adults during treatment for stuttering. Participants were 160 SLPs who were asked whether they advised adults who stutter to use any of these safety behaviors.

Results

SLPs commonly recommend safety behaviors during stuttering management. Factor structures were found for the following 5 safety behavior categories: (a) general safety behaviors, (b) practice and rehearsal, (c) general avoidance, (d) choosing safe and easy people, and (e) control-related safety behaviors.

Conclusions

There is a need to determine the frequency with which adults who receive stuttering treatment follow these clinician recommendations. In addition, there is a need to experimentally determine whether following such recommendations prevents fear extinction at long-term follow-up.
Hybridizing Conversational and Clear Speech to Investigate the Source of Increased Intelligibility in Speakers With Parkinson's Disease
Authors: Tjaden Kris , Kain Alexander , Lam Jennifer
Published: April 2014

Purpose

A speech analysis-resynthesis paradigm was used to investigate segmental and suprasegmental acoustic variables explaining intelligibility variation for 2 speakers with Parkinson's disease (PD).

Method

Sentences were read in conversational and clear styles. Acoustic characteristics from clear sentences were extracted and applied to conversational sentences, yielding 6 hybridized versions of sentences in which segment durations, short-term spectrum, energy characteristics, or fundamental frequency characteristics for clear productions were applied individually or in combination to conversational productions. Listeners (
N
= 20) judged intelligibility in transcription and scaling tasks.

Results

Intelligibility increases above conversation were more robust for transcription, but the pattern of intelligibility improvement was similar across tasks. For 1 speaker, hybridization involving only clear energy characteristics yielded an 8.7% improvement in transcription intelligibility above conversation. For the other speaker, hybridization involving clear spectrum yielded an 18% intelligibility improvement, whereas hybridization involving both clear spectrum and duration yielded a 13.4% improvement.

Conclusions

Not all production changes accompanying clear speech explain its improved intelligibility. Suprasegmental adjustments contributed to intelligibility improvements when segmental adjustments, as inferred from vowel space area, were not robust. Hybridization can be used to identify acoustic variables explaining intelligibility variation in mild dysarthria secondary to PD.

Supplemental Material

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.6170453
Absolute and Relative Reliability of Percentage of Syllables Stuttered and Severity Rating Scales
Authors: Karimi Hamid , O’Brian Sue , Onslow Mark , Jones Mark
Published: April 2014

Purpose

Percentage of syllables stuttered (%SS) and severity rating (SR) scales are measures in common use to quantify stuttering severity and its changes during basic and clinical research conditions. However, their reliability has not been assessed with indices measuring both relative and absolute reliability. This study was designed to provide such information. Relative reliability deals with the rank order of participants in a sample, whereas absolute reliability measures the closeness of scores to one other and to a hypothetical true score.

Method

Eighty-seven adult participants who stutter received a 10-min unscheduled telephone call. Three experienced judges measured %SS and also used a 9-point SR scale to measure stuttering severity from recordings of the telephone calls.

Results

Relative intrajudge and interjudge reliability were satisfactory for both scales. However, absolute intrajudge and interjudge reliability were not satisfactory. Results showed that paired-judge SR and %SS procedures improved absolute reliability compared with single-judge measures. Additionally, the paired-judge procedure improved relative reliability from high to very high levels.

Conclusion

Measurement of group changes of stuttering severity can be done in research contexts using either %SS or SR. However, for detecting changes within individuals using such measures, a paired-judge procedure is a more reliable method.
Use of an Anatomical Scalar to Control for Sex-Based Size Differences in Measures of Hyoid Excursion During Swallowing
Authors: Molfenter Sonja M. , Steele Catriona M.
Published: April 2014

Purpose

Traditional methods for measuring hyoid excursion from dynamic videofluoroscopy recordings involve calculating changes in position in absolute units (mm). This method shows a high degree of variability across studies but agreement that greater hyoid excursion occurs in men than in women. Given that men are typically taller than women, the authors hypothesized that controlling for participant size might neutralize apparent sex-based differences in hyoid excursion.

Method

Hyoid excursion in 20 young (<45) healthy volunteers (10 male), stratified by height, was measured in a tightly controlled videofluoroscopic protocol.

Results

The study identified an anatomical scalar (C2–C4 length), visible on the videofluoroscopic image, correlated with participant height. This scalar differed significantly between men and women. By incorporating the anatomical scalar as a continuous covariate in repeated measures mixed-model analyses of variance of hyoid excursion, apparent sex-based differences were neutralized. Transforming measures of hyoid excursion into anatomically scaled units achieved the same result, reducing variation attributable to sex-based differences in participant size.

Conclusions

Hyoid excursion during swallowing is dependent on a person's size. If measurements do not control for this source of variation, apparent sex differences in hyoid excursion are seen.
Effects of Phonetic Context on Relative Fundamental Frequency
Authors: Lien Yu-An S. , Gattuccio Caitlin I. , Stepp Cara E.
Published: April 2014

Purpose

The effect of phonetic context on relative fundamental frequency (RFF) was examined, in order to develop stimuli sets with minimal within-speaker variability that can be implemented in future clinical protocols.

Method

Sixteen speakers with healthy voices produced RFF stimuli. Uniform utterances consisted of 3 repetitions of the same voiced sonorant-voiceless consonant-voiced sonorant speech sequence; moderately variable sentences contained speech sequences with a single voiceless phoneme (/f/, /s/, /ʃ/, /p/, /t/, or /k/); highly variable sentences were loaded with speech sequences using multiple phonemes. Effects of stimulus type (uniform, moderately variable, and highly variable) and phoneme identity (/f/, /s/, /ʃ/, /p/, /t/, and /k/) on RFF means and standard deviations were determined.

Results

Stimulus type and the interaction of vocal cycle and stimulus type were significant for RFF means and standard deviations but with small effect sizes. Phoneme identity and the interaction of vocal cycle and phoneme identity on RFF means and standard deviations were also significant with small to medium effect sizes.

Conclusions

For speakers with healthy voices, uniform utterances with /f/ and /ʃ/ have the lowest standard deviations and thus are recommended for RFF-based assessments. Future work is necessary to extend these findings to disordered voices.
Mechanisms of Airway Protection During Chin-Down Swallowing
Authors: Macrae Phoebe , Anderson Cheryl , Humbert Ianessa
Published: April 2014

Purpose

This study examined the effects of chin-down swallowing on laryngeal vestibule closure. It also investigated the technique's rehabilitative impact, by assessing the stability of effects across multiple trials and aftereffects in neutral swallows on cessation of the technique.

Method

Duration of laryngeal vestibule closure (dLVC) was measured with videofluoroscopy in 16 healthy participants (mean = 33.2 years, 9 men). Participants swallowed 40 times: 5 head-neutral swallows (N1), then 30 chin-down swallows, followed by 5 head-neutral swallows (N2). The first 5 chin-down swallows were categorized as early posture swallows (P1) and the last 5 as late posture swallows (P2). Within-participant comparisons determined the effects of the maneuver on dLVC during and after execution.

Results

The study found that dLVC increased during chin-down swallows (N1 to P1,
p
= .018). This increase remained stable throughout 30 repetitions (P1 to P2,
p
= .994). On return to neutral, dLVC returned to baseline (N1 to N2,
p
= .875).

Conclusions

This study demonstrated increased dLVC during chin-down swallowing, offering a possible mechanism responsible for previously reported reduced aspiration during the technique. As aftereffects were not evident after multiple chin-down swallows, the maneuver appears to offer more compensatory benefit than rehabilitative value for patients with dysphagia.
Vocal Fold Epithelial Barrier in Health and Injury: A Research Review
Authors: Levendoski Elizabeth Erickson , Leydon Ciara , Thibeault Susan L.
Published: April 2014

Purpose

Vocal fold epithelium is composed of layers of individual epithelial cells joined by junctional complexes constituting a unique interface with the external environment. This barrier provides structural stability to the vocal folds and protects underlying connective tissue from injury while being nearly continuously exposed to potentially hazardous insults, including environmental or systemic-based irritants such as pollutants and reflux, surgical procedures, and vibratory trauma. Small disruptions in the epithelial barrier may have a large impact on susceptibility to injury and overall vocal health. The purpose of this article is to provide a broad-based review of current knowledge of the vocal fold epithelial barrier.

Method

A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted. Details of the structure of the vocal fold epithelial barrier are presented and evaluated in the context of function in injury and pathology. The importance of the epithelial-associated vocal fold mucus barrier is also introduced.

Results/Conclusions

Information presented in this review is valuable for clinicians and researchers as it highlights the importance of this understudied portion of the vocal folds to overall vocal health and disease. Prevention and treatment of injury to the epithelial barrier is a significant area awaiting further investigation.