Control of speech and nonspeech respiratory, phonatory and oral movements: clinical studies

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The proposed project is an extension of our current study of the neural and functional organisation of speech movements. During the first research period of the project we were able to collect a data set that is exceptional for its sample size, its high standard of investigation procedures as well as the comprehensiveness of the analysed features. These data allow for a thorough description of the voluntary skills of the motor speech apparatus under different speech and non-speech task conditions, both in neurologically healthy adults of all ages (N > 120) and in individuals with neurological movement disorders (N > 100).The extension project proposed here comprises three studies that pursue the following objectives:(i) Using advanced statistical analyses we aim to investigate the factorial structures of the speech and non-speech tasks and to validate the (speech and non-speech) factors for their predictive value regarding the communicative variables intelligibility, naturalness and (temporal) efficiency. The results of these analyses will enable us to implement classificatory procedures for the automatic acoustic detection of a dysarthric disorder and specific dysarthric features, respectively. (Study 1)(ii) As patients with primary dystonia and Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) of the Globus pallidus internus (GPi) were included in the first research period, we are now afforded the opportunity to extend our research paradigm to a constellation, which is of particular interest from a neurophysiological perspective. In comparing Stim-ON and Stim-OFF conditions we will be able to test a hypothesis currently discussed, according to which well-learned, automatic and new, non-habitual motor sequences involve different basal ganglia control circuits. (Study 2)(iii) We will finally expand our core research question to address a further, theoretically and clinically interesting case: we will test the hypothesis that the production of single (isolated) speech sounds relies on non-speech motor control mechanisms and therefore corresponds to the requirement profiles of non-speech tasks. The results of this experiment will have important implications both for our theoretical understanding of speech sounds as core units in speech production and for the well-established clinical practice to use single speech sounds in the assessment and treatment of speech sound disorders (apraxia of speech, phonological output disorders in aphasia). (Study 3).