Spatiotemporal stability of lip movements in older adult speakers

Although the intelligibility of healthy older adults normally seems unimpaired, age-related changes occur in sensorimotor components of the speech system and in such global parameters as speech rate. In order to clarify the effect of these changes on the variability of speech movements, we examined oral peripheral abilities, speech rate, and speech kinematics in a group of 10 adults age 76-83, compared to a group of 10 young adults. Participants repeated a short phrase 15 times at habitual, fast, and slow rates. The resulting lip displacement signals were time- and amplitude-normalized, and successive standard deviations along the movement waveforms were summed to produce a spatiotemporal index (STI) representing individual variability in movement pattern. Participants tended to show greatest variability at slow rate, less variability at fast rate, and least variability at habitual rate. For the older adults, STI at habitual rate was significantly higher (more variable) and speech durations were longer than those of young adults. Perioral strength and tactile acuity were poorer in these older adults than in young adults. We conclude that as sensorimotor abilities change in old age, speakers are less consistent in the spatiotemporal organization of speech movements, reflecting decreased stability of speech motor control.