RESUMEN
@#Dysarthria is collective name for motor speech disorders resulting from disturbance in the speech control mechanism due to the damage to the central or peripheral nervous systems. The speech intelligibility (SI) and communication ability of dysarthric patient are affected, impacting quality of life. Evaluation of dysarthric speech involves subjective and objective measurement which contains electrolaryngoscope, glottograph, electropalatography, nasalance evaluation, acoustic analysis including sonogram，spectrogram, perturbation and noise measurements. Multi-Dimensional Voice Program (MDVP) is a commonly used quantitative acoustic analysis of dysarthric speech. However, in the mainland of China, it is applied in researches on voice of normal people and patients with laryngological diseases and researches on voice characteristics of patients with Parkinson disease or cerebral palsy. To date, no study on the acoustic analysis using MDVP for dysarthric patients with cerebrovascular disease or traumatic brain injury is reported.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: A number of studies have found that anatomic and physiological changes of the larynx with advancing age result in reduced control of the phonatory mechanism in elderly individuals. Although vocal signs of senescence are a small reflection of involution, it is important to understand the effects of normal aging on voice by differentiating changes precipitated by aging from those precipitated by physical abnormalities. The purposes of this study are to investigate the characteristics and examine the normative reference of the acoustic parameters with aging in Koreans. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The acoustic measurements in 300 normal persons of all age groups without laryngeal and audiological problems were assessed by multi-dimensional voice program (MDVP) 4305, KAY Elemetrics Corp., NJ, USA), and the changes due to advancing age were analysed. RESULTS: Fundamental frequency in women decreased with advanced age but it was noted with stability in men as they aged. Frequency stability decreased with advanced age in Koreans; amplitude stability decreased in men but not in woman. The normative reference of acoustic parameters in all age groups was also discussed. CONCLUSION: It may be suggested that the different normal thresholds for evaluating acoustic parameter in normal voice should be adjusted in different age groups in Korean.