Innovative Speech Articulation Tools for Neuroscience Research

描述(由申请人提供)：语音清晰度的变化可伴随许多生物医学障碍和影响语言神经控制的条件。从历史上看，通过声学分析来测量这些变化需要费力的手工测量或计算机编程技能。作为以前工作的一部分，我们为一些具体的研究开发了基于声学里程碑的快速自动计算机程序。这些程序极大地简化了获取和分析语音产生数据的过程。在多次合作中，我们发现，我们开发的产生这些程序的方法在广泛分离的神经学兴趣领域产生了显著和有用的结果。然而，到目前为止，这些程序的制定是针对个别项目的特殊需要而进行的，并没有系统地满足外部用户的需要。为了响应PA 08-114，我们将把我们的程序库扩展为一个方便的软件工具SpeechMark，供有或没有语音研究背景的科学家更广泛地使用。SpeechMark的模块将作为具体措施的菜单呈现，并将以插件(端口)的形式提供给现有的分析软件工具 如WaveSurfer、R统计分析系统、MatLab和Excel。它们将为这些措施以及我们认为是人口或条件之间存在言语差异的可靠指标的其他综合措施提供汇总统计数据。此外，SpeechMark将被设置为报告来自单个音频文件或标准表格格式的音频文件组的数据，以便轻松输入到统计或其他分析软件中。我们计划在中开发一种有组织的方法，一个通用软件开发工具包(SDK)，作为每个SpeechMark端口的基础。这将使我们能够维护现有的港口并开发新的港口，以应对用户社区不断变化的需求。正如PA 08-114所设想的那样，这些工具的可用将在广泛的神经学重要研究领域“启动”语音产生分析的使用。 公共卫生相关性：健康状况和说话条件的变化通常会影响讲话的清晰度。由于缺乏强大的、用户友好的软件工具来快速、自动地测量语音声学，阻碍了对这些变化的科学调查。软件开发的目的是使专注于发音的声学里程碑检测软件以WaveSurfer、MatLab和Excel等现有分析软件工具的附加组件的形式提供给更广泛的科学家社区。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Changes in speech articulation can accompany many biomedical disorders and conditions that affect neurological control of speech. Historically, measuring these changes by acoustic analysis has required either laborious hand measurement or computer programming skill. As part of the output of previous work, we have developed fast automatic computer procedures based on acoustic landmarks for a number of specific studies. These procedures considerably streamline the process of acquiring and analyzing speech production data. In multiple collaborations we have found that the method we have developed to produce these procedures yields significant and useful results in widely separated areas of neurological interest. However, development of these procedures has thus far proceeded in response to the particular needs of individual projects and has not systematically addressed the needs of outside users. In response to PA 08-114, we will expand our library of procedures into a convenient software tool, SpeechMark, for wider use by scientists with or without a background in speech research. SpeechMark's modules will be presented as a menu of specific measures and will be provided in the form of plug-ins ("ports") to existing analysis software tools such as WaveSurfer, the R statistical-analysis system, MATLAB, and Excel. They will offer summary statistics for the measures as well as for additional composite measures that we have found to be reliable indicators of the existence of speech differences between populations or conditions. Further, SpeechMark will be set up to report data from a single audio file, or groups of audio files in a standard table format, for easy input to statistical or other analysis software We plan to develop an organized methodology in, a common Software Development Kit (SDK) as a foundation for every SpeechMark port. This will enable us to maintain existing ports and develop new ones in response to the changing needs of the user community. As envisioned by PA 08-114, the availability of such tools will "jump-start" the use of speech production analysis across a wide range of neurologically important areas of research. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Changes in health status and speaking condition often affect the articulation of speech. Scientific investigation of these changes has been handicapped by lack of access to robust, user-friendly software tools for fast, automatic measurement of speech acoustics. The software development is aimed at making acoustic landmark-detection software, which is focused on articulation, available to a wider community of scientists in the form of add-ons to existing analysis software tools such as WaveSurfer, MATLAB, and Excel.