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Changes in normal speech after fatiguing the tongue
1Department of Communication Disorders, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455, USA. Nancy.P.Solomon-1@tc.umn.edu
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research : JSLHR
|February 24, 2001
Summary
Tongue fatigue impairs speech precision and alters acoustic properties in healthy individuals. These effects on speech articulation suggest disrupted tongue control after strenuous exercise.
Area of Science:
- Speech motor control
- Neurology
- Acoustic phonetics
Background:
- Tongue fatigue's impact on speech is poorly understood in healthy individuals.
- Previous assumptions linked fatigue to neuromotor speech disorders.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally investigate the effects of induced tongue fatigue on speech production in neurologically normal adults.
- To analyze perceptual and acoustic changes in speech following sustained maximal voluntary tongue contractions.
Main Methods:
- Induced tongue fatigue through repeated maximal voluntary contractions until 50% strength loss.
- Assessed speech changes perceptually and acoustically, focusing on lingual-palatal consonants.
- Analyzed spectral moments, stop-closure duration, voice onset time, and formant frequencies.
Main Results:
- Statistically significant decline in speech precision post-fatigue, with incomplete recovery.
- Acoustic analysis revealed significant changes in spectral moments, contrary to predictions.
- Observed tendencies for reduced stop-closure duration and altered voice onset time for /t/.
Conclusions:
- Induced tongue fatigue negatively impacts speech precision and articulation in healthy adults.
- Prolonged strenuous tongue exercise disrupts tongue positioning and transitions for consonants.
- Findings highlight the role of tongue motor control in speech integrity.