Air pressure regulation during speech production

Vocal tract pressures during speech tend to be maintained in the face of airway leaks that might be encountered by individuals with repaired palatal clefts. This study tested the hypothesis that such constant pressures can be explained as a consequence of constant pressure source characteristics of the respiratory system during speech production. This conceptualization differs from pressure regulation theories [e.g., D. Warren, Cleft Palate J. 23, 251-260 (1986)] which posit that active reflexive compensatory responses occur to regulate air pressure during speech. Four experiments were conducted to (a) confirm the distinction between constant flow versus constant pressure sources using a plastic vocal tract model, (b) compare air pressure and flow patterns associated with airway leaks in normal speakers to model data, (c) study the effects of gas density in the vocal tract model on air pressure and air flow patterns predicted by a nonreflexive constant pressure source hypothesis, and (d) compare air pressure and air flow patterns associated with airway leaks obtained from normal speakers using different gas densities to model data. Overall, observed flow and pressure patterns suggest the possible influence of constant pressure source characteristics of the respiratory system during speech on maintenance of intraoral air pressure.