Multidimensional scaling of nasal voice quality.

Listeners judged the dissimilarity of pairs of synthesized nasal voices that varied on 3 dimensions. Separate nonmetric multidimensional scaling (MDS) solutions were calculated for each listener and the group. Similar 3-dimensional solutions were derived for the group and each of the listeners, with the group MDS solution accounting for 83% of the total variance in listeners' judgments. Dimension 1 ("Nasality") accounted for 54% of the variance, Dimension 2 ("Loudness") for 18% of the variance, and Dimension 3 ("Pitch") for 11% of the variance. The 3 dimensions were significantly and positively correlated with objective measures of nasalization, intensity, and fundamental frequency. The results of this experiment are discussed in relation to other MDS studies of voice perception, and there is a discussion of methodological issues for future research.

Quality of life with aphasia.

This article considers quality of life (QOL) with aphasia. The problems surrounding definition and measurement of QOL are reviewed. Dimensions of QOL that have been suggested include elements relating to physical problems, the toxicity dimension, body image and mobility, communication, and psychological, interpersonal, spiritual, and financial issues. These issues are placed in the context of wider dimensions of satisfaction and life quality related to individuality, culture, and philosophical and time elements. Research on the illness experience is related to QOL. Research on QOL after stroke and aphasia is reviewed. Clinical approaches that integrate models of betterment of life quality in aphasia are suggested. Notions of coping and of Aristos, "making the best of a given situation," are considered in the discussion of adjustment and accommodation to life with aphasia.

Working memory and aphasia.

This study investigated the relationship between working memory capacity and reading comprehension in aphasia. A measurement of working memory capacity was obtained using a modified version of Daneman and Carpenter's (1980) Reading Span Task. Sets of sentences ranging in length from one to six words were presented to 22 aphasic subjects who were required to retain the terminal words following each sentence for subsequent recognition. The maximum number of words retrieved was used as an index of working memory capacity. Two versions of the task (listening and reading) were presented depending on the subjects' ability to read. Strong positive correlations were found between working memory capacity, reading comprehension, and language function. These results support the notion that the ability of aphasic individuals to comprehend language is predictable from their working memory capacities.

Auditory vigilance in aphasic individuals: detecting nonlinguistic stimuli with full or divided attention.

Previous research (LaPointe & Erickson, 1991) has shown that aphasic individuals have difficulty, relative to control subjects, in monitoring for spoken words while performing a secondary task. This finding may indicate that aphasics have fundamental deficits in attention or that their linguistic deficits are simply exacerbated by dividing attention. Twenty subjects, 10 nonfluent aphasic and 10 nonaphasic adults, listened to two 10-min series of nonlinguistic acoustic stimuli across conditions of focused and divided attention. Subjects tried to identify target sounds interspersed with nontarget sounds. As in prior research, aphasic subjects performed less accurately on the auditory vigilance task during the divided attention condition, relative to the undivided attention condition and to control subjects. The findings suggest that deficient cognitive processing, intertwined with linguistic deficit, may underlie auditory comprehension deficits in aphasia and may help explain performance variation within aphasic individuals across tasks.

Human bite force discrimination using specific maxillary and mandibular teeth.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether performance differences existed in subjects' self-generated bite force discrimination ability using maxillary and mandibular central incisors, canines, premolars and first molars. Two separate studies were conducted: (i) to assess whether performance differences existed in subjects' bite force discrimination ability using central incisors and premolars; (ii) to compare subjects' performance on bite force discrimination using central incisors, canines and first molars. Assessment of bite force was measured using a specially designed strain gauge scale allowing subjects to visually monitor when their biting force equalled a preset resistance. Resistance forces of 500, 1000 and 3000 g were selected as standards. Subjects were presented with a series of paired resistance settings, one at a time, the first of each pair being the standard and the second being the comparator setting of a predetermined amount. This paired-comparisons procedure was continued until the subjects' difference limen (DL) value (the threshold of discrimination between two forces) could be established. The first study revealed no significant (P greater than 0.05) overall difference in subjects' bite force discrimination ability relative to specific teeth. In contrast, in the second study a significant difference (P less than 0.05) was identified in subjects' performance relative to specific teeth; subjects' performed better using central incisors compared to first molars. In both studies, subjects' performance was significantly better (P less than 0.05) using the 500 g standard compared to the 3000 g standard in the first study, and compared to the 1000 g standard in the second study. No significant differences (P greater than 0.05) were observed between the performance of males and females in either study.

Home treatment for aphasic patients by trained nonprofessionals.

Thirty-seven aphasic men received 8-10 hr of individual treatment each week for 12 weeks from a home therapist (wife, friend, relative) who was trained and directed by a speech pathologist. Treatment was followed by 12 weeks of no treatment. Patients were evaluated at entry and at 6, 12, 18, and 24 weeks after entry with a battery of speech and language measures. The group made substantial progress on all measures during the 12 weeks of treatment and ceased to progress when treatment was discontinued. Progress for the home treatment patients did not differ significantly from that of patients who received 12 weeks of individual treatment from speech pathologists or from that of patients for whom treatment was deferred for 12 weeks. Patient selection, training of the home therapists, and other methodological aspects are described to assist speech pathologists in making decisions about the use of trained volunteers in aphasia treatment.

Lateral and anterior-posterior mandibular position discrimination by normal subjects.

This study examined and compared lateral and anterior-posterior (A-P) mandibular position discrimination for a group of twenty normal subjects (mean age = 26 years). A specially designed and constructed sliding scale required subjects to position their mandible precisely in the horizontal plane and to try to discriminate differences in the control of their mandibular position. The results revealed that subjects are more sensitive in detecting changes in the lateral positioning of their mandible than in the A-P positions. Subjects' difference limen (DL) values (threshold of discrimination between two positions) in detecting changes in mandibular position to the right of centre was 1.59 mm, and to left of centre was 1.41 mm. Subjects' DL values obtained with the mandible forward, and back of, the reference position were 1.39 and 2.61 mm respectively.

Comparison of clinic, home, and deferred language treatment for aphasia. A Veterans Administration Cooperative Study.

Aphasic patients who met stringent selection criteria were assigned randomly to three groups: clinic treatment by a speech pathologist for 12 weeks, followed by 12 weeks of no treatment; home treatment by a trained volunteer for 12 weeks, followed by 12 weeks of no treatment; or deferred treatment for 12 weeks, followed by 12 weeks of treatment by a speech pathologist. At 12 weeks after entry, language measures indicated that the clinic-treatment patients made significantly more improvement than did the deferred-treatment patients, and improvement in home-treatment patients did not differ significantly from either clinic- or deferred-treatment patients. At 24 weeks after entry, after deferred-treatment patients had received clinic treatment, there were no significant differences among the groups. These results suggest that clinic treatment for aphasia is efficacious, and delaying treatment for 12 weeks does not compromise ultimate improvement.

Bite force discrimination by individuals with complete dentures.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether differences existed in interincisor bite force discrimination between a group of subjects wearing complete dentures and a group of dentate individuals. It was hypothesized that biting force is monitored at least in part by the sensory mechanism within the PDL and that the absence of the PDL would result in reduced bite force discrimination. A specially designed strain gauge scale was constructed for the measurement of bite force. Bite force discrimination was assessed at three different standards including 500, 1000, and 3000 gm. Data analysis revealed that, overall, bite force discrimination was not significantly different for the two groups. However, at the lightest standard of 500 gm, the dentate group performed significantly better (p less than .05) than the denture wearers. It is concluded that the sensory system within the PDL plays a role in monitoring bite force discrimination.

Acoustic properties of pathologic reiterative utterances: a case study of palilalia.

Acoustic analyses of the reiterative utterances of one subject demonstrate a high degree of similarity among the members of a repetition train. The acoustic data did not confirm for this patient the published description of palilalia as a reiteration of utterances in a context of increasing rate and decreasing loudness. In fact, the final utterance in a repetition train often had either a longer duration, greater intensity, or more pronounced fundamental frequency change (or any combination of these) than its predecessors. It is suggested that these may be more than one type of pathological reiterative utterance.

Palilalia: a descriptive study of pathological reiterative utterances.

Palilalia is an acquired speech disorder characterized by reiteration of utterances in a context of increasing rate and decreasing loudness. The condition has been associated with bilateral subcortical neuropathological. The relationship of palilalia to other adult disfluency syndromes, aphasia, and motor speech disorders requires a through understanding of the nature of palilalic speech. To date no detailed description of the nature and severity of palilalic reiteration has appeared in the literature. This case report systematically describes seven distinct types of reiteration, frequency (severity) of reiteration relative to seven types of speech tasks, and consistently and adaptation effects observed in a 29-year-old male.

Base-10 programmed stimulation: task specification, scoring, and plotting performance in aphasia therapy.

This report explains and advocates the applicability of time-series designs to document the effects of therapy with aphasic subjects; it describes a measurement system that contributes to organization of therapy, task specification and scoring, and graphic display of change in speech and language behaviors. Examples of patient performances illustrate the application of Base-10 Programmed Stimulation to therapy with aphasic persons.