The effect of a concurrent task on Parkinsonian speech

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Speech-Language Pathology
• Neurology

Background:

• Parkinson's disease (PD) is known to impair skeletal motor control during dual-tasking.
• The impact of attention deficits on speech motor control in PD patients remains less understood.
• Speech production involves complex motor sequencing and control, potentially vulnerable to attentional demands.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of attention in the speech motor control of individuals with Parkinson's disease.
• To compare speech performance in PD patients and controls under single-task and dual-task conditions.

Main Methods:

• A dual-task paradigm was employed, involving speech tasks (conversation, recitation) and a visuo-manual tracking task.
• Fifteen idiopathic PD patients and matched controls participated.
• Volumetric and temporal speech parameters were analyzed, alongside performance on the visuo-motor task.

Main Results:

• PD patients exhibited reduced speech volume and increased progressive volume decay during the concurrent task.
• Speech initiation time and pause time increased, while speech rate decreased in PD patients under dual-task conditions.
• Visuo-motor task performance was comparable between PD patients and controls, but speech control deteriorated significantly.

Conclusions:

• Reduced attentional resources negatively impact speech motor control in PD patients.
• The findings indicate a Parkinsonian disadvantage in speech control, similar to skeletal movement control.
• Both speech and skeletal motor control in PD are likely affected by higher-order frontostriatal impairments.