Abstract
Weakness and fatigue in the orofacial system often are presumed to contribute to the dysarthria associated with neuromotor disorders, although previous research findings are equivocal. In this study, tongue strength, endurance, and stability during a sustained submaximal effort were assessed in 16 persons with mild to severe Parkinson disease (PD) and a perceptible speech disorder. The same measures were taken from one hand for comparison. Only tongue endurance was found to be significantly lower in these participants than in neurologically normal control participants matched for sex, age, weight, and height. Analyses of data from a larger sample comprising the present and retrospective data revealed lower-than-normal tongue strength and endurance in participants with PD. No significant correlations were found between tongue strength and endurance, interpause speech rate, articulatory precision, and overall speech defectiveness for the present and previously studied participants with PD, bringing into question the influence of modest degrees of tongue weakness and fatigue on perceptible speech deficits.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 256-267 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research |
Volume | 43 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 2000 |
Keywords
- Dysarthria
- Endurance
- Parkinson disease
- Strength
- Tongue
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Language and Linguistics
- Linguistics and Language
- Speech and Hearing