From Speech Function to Communicative Participation in Dysarthria

项目总结 肌萎缩侧索硬化症(ALS)是一种破坏性的神经退行性疾病，患病率超过5 每10万人中就有病例。患有肌萎缩侧索硬化症(PAL)的人通常会在整个 疾病的病程，通常会导致构音障碍，这是一种言语执行的神经运动障碍。构音障碍 通过降低可理解性来干扰成功的交流互动，增加 让听者理解语音信号，降低语音的自然度。我们对这一问题认识上的差距 促成交际参与的潜在言语产生因素是阻碍交际参与的重要因素 确定治疗目标，确定交流参与限制的开始，并进行监测 进步。为了解决这些差距，更好地理解构音障碍的声学和知觉属性 降低交流参与度是至关重要的。这个项目的目的是确定因果关系。 在言语声学特征、知觉言语特征和交际参与之间。在目标1中，我们 检验这样一种假设，即听者的努力和讲话的自然性将与交际密切相关 使用双变量相关和多元线性回归的参与度。在目标2中，我们测试假设 (1)与语言清晰度相关的声学特征将与听者的努力密切相关，以及(2) 代表韵律的声学特征将与语音自然度密切相关，使用双变量 相关性和多元线性回归。在目标3中，我们测试了语音声学将预测的假设 交流参与，这种关系将主要通过临床印象 使用中介分析的听者努力程度和言语自然度。拟议研究的长期目标 是最大限度地参与交流，从而提高朋友的生活质量。结果将通知 通过以下方式进行治疗：(1)指导循证临床工具的使用(例如，听者的努力和自然度评级 量表)与沟通参与有关的评估和监测，以及(2)确定 支持交流参与的具体处理目标(例如，发音精度、语音韵律)。 该项目属于NIDCD在语音、语音和语言研究方面的优先领域3，因为它调查了 可支持对有语言障碍的个体进行诊断、治疗和进展监测的因果框架 减损。此外，这项工作符合NIDCD的使命，即增进我们的知识和 对沟通障碍的理解。

PROJECT SUMMARY Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease with a prevalence of over 5 cases per 100,000 people. People with ALS (PALS) typically develop bulbar motor symptoms throughout the course of the disease, often leading to dysarthria, a neuromotor disorder of speech execution. Dysarthria interferes with successful communicative interactions by reducing intelligibility, increasing the effort required by listeners to understand the speech signal, and reducing speech naturalness. Gaps in our understanding of the underlying speech production factors contributing to communicative participation are significant barriers to identifying treatment targets, identifying the onset of communicative participation restrictions, and monitoring progress. To address these gaps, a better understanding of the acoustic and perceptual attributes of dysarthria that degrade communicative participation is critical. The purpose of this project is to identify causal links between speech acoustic features, perceptual speech features, and communicative participation. In Aim 1, we test the hypothesis that listener effort and speech naturalness will be strongly associated with communicative participation using bivariate correlations and multiple linear regression. In Aim 2, we test the hypotheses that (1) acoustic features related to speech clarity will be strongly associated with listener effort, and (2) that acoustic features representing prosody will be strongly associated with speech naturalness, using bivariate correlations and multiple linear regression. In Aim 3, we test the hypothesis that speech acoustics will predict communicative participation and that this relationship will be primarily mediated through clinical impressions of listener effort and speech naturalness using a mediation analysis. The long-term goal of the proposed research is to maximize communicative participation, and thereby improve the quality of life of PALS. Results will inform treatment by (1) guiding the use of evidence-based clinical tools (e.g., listener effort and naturalness rating scales) that are associated with communicative participation for assessment and monitoring, and (2) identifying specific treatment (e.g., articulatory precision, speech prosody) targets to support communicative participation. This project falls under NIDCD’s Priority Area 3 in Voice, Speech, and Language Research, as it investigates a causal framework that could support diagnosis, treatment, and progress monitoring in individuals with speech impairments. Furthermore, this work is in line with NIDCD’s mission to further our knowledge and understanding of communication disorders.