VOICE ACOUSTIC ANALYSIS OF TAIWANESE ADULTS WITH DYSARTHRIAFOLLOWING STROKE

摘要

Stroke is probably the most common cause of motor speech disorders, especially dysarthrias (Duffy, 2005). Although perceptual voice analysis for speakers with stroke-related dysarthria is still the most commonly used method in clinical settings, physiologic or acoustic voice analysis can provide a complementary objective evaluation of voice dysfunction in these speakers. Among the acoustic voice analysis tools, the Multi-Dimensional Voice Program (MDVP) (Kay, 1993) is commercially available and very easy-to-use. MDVP was reported to have fairly good suitability and reliability for the analysis of voice dysfunction in dysarthria (Biddle, Watson, & Hooper, 2002; Kent, Vorperian, & Duffy, 1999). However, as Kent et al. (1999) indicated 'Single trials may not be sufficient for the identification of voice dysfunction, and it appears that at least two trials are needed (p. 135)'. Moreover, the number of trials of vowel prolongation required to yield a reliable MDVP analysis for healthy speakers and speakers with dysarthria has not been determined. Investigating the discrepancy of MDVP values across trials for different populations could provide insight into this issue. Studies related to voice dysfunction in speakers with stroke-related dysarthria are still limited. It seems that objective acoustic analysis could detect voice abnormalities in dysarthrias following stroke and that group comparisons could delineate the voice profile in speakers with stroke-related dysarthria.