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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Construction and Characterization of a Novel Vocal Fold Bioreactor
Published on: August 1, 2014
Interference between normal vibrato and artificial stimulation of laryngeal muscles at near-vibrato rates
I R Titze1, N P Solomon, E S Luschei
1Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City 52242.
Abstract:
A stabilized tremor hypothesis for vocal vibrato is investigated. The stabilizer is assumed to be a mechanical oscillator that may contain reflex loops. Artificial stimulation of the cricothyroid muscle in one subject showed a well-defined resonance curve of this peripheral oscillator at approximately 5.0 Hz. Combined artificial stimulation with natural vibrato showed that the vibrato could be entrained by a peripheral stimulus, provided the two frequencies are separated by no more than approximately +/- 0.5 Hz. This suggests that vibrato frequencies are not "hard-wired" centrally, even though a collection of centrally generated tremors may serve as excitation to the peripheral oscillator.
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