Multidimensional observation of articulatory dynamics and its clinical application

语音产生的过程包括神经指令层、发音运动层和声学层三个不同的层次。为了了解语音产生的整个过程，有必要从这三个不同的层面分析不同种类的生理信号。一般来说，发音器可以被认为是将神经指令转换为声学事件的装置。肌电图作为神经指令的表征信号，作为最终输出进行记录和分析，同时对声信号进行分析。基于这一共识，本研究项目得以实施。1)音高控制的生理机制：记录分析环甲肌和胸骨舌骨肌肌电图，观察不同重音模式的生理机制。从这项研究可以得出结论，基频的降低是由胸骨舌骨肌的贡献控制的。对于唱歌的声音，胸甲肌的作用不同于说话的声音。可以得出结论，为了达到相同的声学效果，不同的发声方式和不同的说话者可以采用不同的策略。2)语速的影响：在本研究项目中，从声学参数和发音器运动两个方面考察了语速的影响。综上所述，实现目标音素的策略多种多样，策略的选择取决于说话人。3)临床应用：对同一病理病例进行多维记录和分析。分析结果在记录时反馈给患者。实验证明，“多维”分析可以作为语音训练工具。

The process of the speech production consists of three different levels such as the neural command level, the level of the articulatory movement and the acoustic level. In order to understand the whole process of speech production, it is essential to analyze the different kind of physiological signals from these three different levels.In general, the articulators can be assumed to be devices which transform the neural commands to the acoustic events.As the representing signals of the neural commands, electromyography was recorded and analyzed as the final output, the acoustic signals were also analyzed.Depending on this consensus, this research program has been performed.1) Physiological mechanism of pitch control: EMG from the cricothyroid and sternohyoid muscles were recorded and analyzed to observe the physiological mechanism of the different accent patterns. From this study, it can be concluded that the lowering of the fundamental frequency is controlled by the contribution of the sternohyoid muscle. For the singing voice, the role of the sternothyroid muscle is different from that of the speaking voice. It may be concluded that to achieve the same acoustic effect, there can be different strategies for different mode of phonation and also different speakers.2) The effects of the speaking rate: In this research program, the effects of the speaking rate was investigated from the aspect of acoustic parameters as well as movements of the articulators. As conclusion, there are various strategies to achieve the target phoneme and the choice of the strategy is dependent on the speaker.3) Clinical applications: Multidimensional recording and analysis were performed on same pathological cases. The results of the analysis was fed back to the patient on time of the recording. It was proved that a "multidimensional" analysis can be used as a speech training tool.