Objective Research is scarce regarding the use of prosodic parameters in the expression of attitudes in Parkinson’s disease (PD). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the parameters used in prosodic expression of attitudes in individuals with idiopathic PD and the effect of levodopa on these parameters. Method We studied the use of levodopa in 10 individuals with idiopathic PD during the “off” and “on” periods, and 10 individuals without neurological abnormalities. Results PD patients showed lower frequency measurements and longer duration measurements. The levodopa caused reduction in the duration parameter. Conclusion PD patients use prosody to express their attitudes in the same way as controls in both off and on periods. However, when attitudes are not taken into account, levodopa is effective in improving the duration parameter.

Objective: Parkinsonian patients usually present speech impairment. The aim of this study was to verify the influence of levodopa and of the adapted Lee Silverman Vocal Treatment 1 method on prosodic parameters employed by parkinsonian patients. Method: Ten patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease using levodopa underwent recording of utterances produced in four stages: expressing attitudes of certainty and doubt and declarative and interrogative modalities. The sentences were recorded under the effect of levodopa (on), without the effect of levodopa (off); before and after speech therapy during the on and off periods. Results: The speech therapy and its association with drug treatment promoted the improvement of prosodic parameters: increase of fundamental frequency measures, reduction of measures of duration and greater intensity. Conclusion: The association of speech therapy to medication treatment is of great value in improving the communication of parkinsonian patients.