Toward standardizing perceptual voice quality measures

描述（由申请人提供）：病理语音质量的感知在临床语音评估中至关重要，但充分量化人的语音仍然存在问题。上一个供资期间完成的研究数据表明，目前衡量语音质量的许多困难来自质量的定义和衡量方式。我们建议开发一个心理声学模型的整体语音质量作为替代传统的收视率和声学分析协议。该心理声学模型将指定一组感知上重要的声学参数，这些参数联合收割机进行复制，从而量化语音的总体整体质量。我们将首先确定产生任何声音的合成副本所需的最小声学参数集，以便听众判断合成副本与原始声音的质量相匹配。这一组将构成语音质量的初步心理声学模型。然后，我们将通过仅使用这些模型参数合成自然声音的副本来改进和验证这个心理声学模型。在听众判断自然和合成标记完全匹配的程度上，心理声学模型将被认为是有效的。将对不匹配进行分析，以确定应向模型中添加或从模型中减去哪些参数。我们将评估声学值的变化与声音偏离正常程度的变化之间的关系。这将提供一个解释性的模型，说明声学参数如何联合收割机和相互作用的感知，以确定任何声音样本的位置沿着连续从“更好”到“更差”。“最后，我们将研究感知上重要的声学、频谱变化与声门构型相关改变之间的联系。这些知识可以确定在治疗期间最有可能改善声音的补救目标。 公共卫生相关性：嗓音质量的测量是嗓音障碍患者管理中的主要关注点，但现有的收集此类测量的程序存在可靠性和有效性问题。拟议的研究将建立一个有效的，可靠的，理论上的动机替代目前的系统测量语音质量。通过使用验证性方法来建立声学变量和感知语音质量之间的因果关系，拟议的研究将提高我们对语音信号和它所引起的感知反应之间关系的理解，从而为临床使用提供标准化，感知验证，客观的协议。此外，这些措施将使我们能够生成和测试初步假设声门配置的变化，导致感知重要的变化，在声乐，从而提供了一些第一个实验证据连接到生产的看法。通过建立生理学，声学和感知之间的联系，这项研究可能会显着推进临床实践。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Perception of pathological voice quality is centrally important in clinical voice evaluation, but adequately quantifying the sound of a person's voice remains problematic. Data from studies completed during the previous funding period indicate that many difficulties associated with current measures of voice quality derive from the way in which quality is defined and measured. We propose the development of a psychoacoustic model of overall voice quality as an alternative to traditional ratings and acoustic analysis protocols. This psychoacoustic model will specify a set of perceptually-important acoustic parameters that combine to replicate and thereby quantify the overall, integral quality of a voice. We will first determine the minimal set of acoustic parameters required to produce a synthetic copy of any voice, such that listeners judge that the synthetic copy matches the quality of the original voice. This set will constitute a preliminary psychoacoustic model of voice quality. We will then refine and validate this psychoacoustic model by synthesizing copies of natural voices using only these model parameters. To the extent that listeners judge that the natural and synthetic tokens match exactly, the psychoacoustic model will be considered valid. Mismatches will be analyzed to determine what parameters should be added to or subtracted from the model. We will assess the relationship between changes in acoustic values and changes in the extent to which a voice deviates from normal. This will provide an explanatory model specifying how acoustic parameters combine and interact perceptually to determine the location of any voice sample along a continuum from "better" to "worse." Finally, we will investigate the link between perceptually-important acoustic, spectral changes and the associated alterations in glottal configuration. Such knowledge could identify targets for remediation that have the highest likelihood of producing vocal improvement during treatment. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Measurement of voice quality is a prime concern in management of patients with voice disorders, but problems of reliability and validity persist for existing procedures for gathering such measures. The proposed research will establish a valid, reliable, theoretically-motivated alternative to current systems for measuring voice quality. By using confirmatory methods to establish causal links between acoustic variables and perceived voice quality, the proposed studies will enhance our understanding of the relationship between a voice signal and the perceptual response it evokes, leading to a standardized, perceptually-validated, objective protocol for clinical use. Further, these measures will enable us to generate and test preliminary hypotheses regarding the changes in glottal configuration that cause perceptually-important changes in vocal acoustics, thus providing some of the first experimental evidence linking perception to production. By establishing links among physiology, acoustics, and perception, this research may significantly advance clinical practice.