Speech and pause characteristics in multiple sclerosis: A preliminary study of speakers with high and low neuropsychological test performance

Abstract

This preliminary study investigated how cognitive-linguistic status in multiple sclerosis (MS) is reflected in two speech tasks (i.e. oral reading, narrative) that differ in cognitive-linguistic demand. Twenty individuals with MS were selected to comprise High and Low performance groups based on clinical tests of executive function and information processing speed and efficiency. Ten healthy controls were included for comparison. Speech samples were audio-recorded and measures of global speech timing were obtained. Results indicated predicted differences in global speech timing (i.e. speech rate and pause characteristics) for speech tasks differing in cognitive-linguistic demand, but the magnitude of these task-related differences was similar for all speaker groups. Findings suggest that assumptions concerning the cognitive-linguistic demands of reading aloud as compared to spontaneous speech may need to be re-considered for individuals with cognitive impairment. Qualitative trends suggest that additional studies investigating the association between cognitive-linguistic and speech motor variables in MS are warranted.

Effects of cognitive impairment on prosodic parameters of speech production planning in multiple sclerosis

“…Feenaughty et al . () and Rodgers et al . () reported in both read and spontaneous speech consistent effects of processing demands on articulation rate, which was slower for MS patients with low cognitive ability than for healthy adults.…”

“…Concerning MS, at least three studies investigated speech timing as a function of CI (Arrondo, Sepulcre, Duque, Toledo, & Villoslada, ; Feenaughty, Tjaden, Benedict, & Weinstock‐Guttman, ; Rodgers, Tjaden, Feenaughty, Weinstock‐Guttman, & Benedict, ).…”

Non-fluent speech following stroke is caused by impaired efference copy

“…A speech run was defined as a stretch of speech bound by a silent pause greater than 200 ms (Tjaden & Wilding, 2004). Standard acoustic criteria were used to identify run onsets and offsets (for details see Feenaughty, Tjaden, Benedict, & Weinstock-Guttman, 2013). For each participant, the number of syllables for each speech run was tallied.…”

“…Average absolute measurement and standard deviation were used to index reliability. Pearson product correlation coefficients were also obtained (see Feenaughty et al, 2013). For intra-judge reliability, the absolute average measurement error and standard deviations were .10 syll s −1 (.12 syll s −1 , where syll = syllable), .05 syll s −1 (.05 syll s −1 ), and .08 s (.15 s) for articulatory rate, speech rate, and mean silent pause duration, respectively.…”

The pausative pattern of speakers with and without high-functioning autism spectrum disorder from long silences

“…Research on silence in oral interaction has used heterogeneous approaches and has assumed a more psychological, sociological or linguistic direction according to the objectives of each study. In the field of clinical linguistics, the study of pauses in spontaneous speech has a long tradition and has dealt with different pathologies (Beltrame et al 2011;Feenaughty et al 2013;Nordness et al 2010;Rosen et al 2010;Spitzer et al 1994;Tapia-Ladino 2003;Tjaden and Wilding 2011;Wingate 1984). It is well-known that high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD) is characterized, among other aspects, by prosodic alterations (Diehl and Paul 2013;Heikkinen et al 2010;Niemi 2008;Rodríguez-Muñoz 2009a, 2013aShriberg et al 2001;Thurber and Tager-Flusberg 1993).…”