[Non-linear model of glottic vibration. Potential clinical implications]

Glottic vibration is governed by a certain number of physical laws which in general correspond, as far as myo-elastic theory is concerned, with the laws of passive vibration of an elastic body under the influence of the expired air. Some of these laws are non-linear, especially those that deal with the exchange of energy between the expired air and the vocal folds. This non-linearity is specially important when it comes to the key concepts of the phonatory threshold and the passive synchronisation of the vocal cords. Based on their experimental work, which has been presented previously, the authors propose a mixed model, which is both linear and non-linear, like the oscillators of Van der Pool. This model is known as Slip-Stick.