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Tongue- and Jaw-Specific Contributions to Vowel Acoustic Changes: Towards a Mechanistic Model of Intelligibility Loss and Recovery in Dysarthria

Award Number: R03DC015075
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

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7. Project Summary/Abstract Although it is well-known that articulators are often differentially impaired in talkers with dysarthria, the articulator-specific contributions to speech intelligibility loss are poorly understood. Particularly knowledge about tongue- and jaw-specific contributions to vowel acoustic contrast, a strong speech acoustic predictor of intelligibility change in dysarthria, is still lacking. This knowledge is critically needed to identify the articulator that contributes most to speech intelligibility loss and needs to be targeted in treatment. Speech modifications (loud, clear, slow speech), which are known to elicit articulator-specific changes in typical talkers, are commonly used in therapeutic interventions to improve speech intelligibility in talkers with dysarthria. However, because specific guidelines for the selection of a specific speech modification are generally lacking, treatment decisions are often based on the talker's response to trial therapy. Knowledge about the articulator-specific mechanisms underlying improved vowel acoustics in response to loud, slow, and clear speech in talkers with dysarthria would provide the required scientific understanding to strategically select the speech modification approach that can precisely target the articulator that is most detrimental to speech intelligibility. Therefore, the long-term goal of this research is to establish a mechanistic model of speech intelligibility loss and recovery that addresses articulator-specific contributions to speech acoustic and, ultimately, speech intelligibility changes in talkers with dysarthria. As a logical first step, the objective of this research proposal is to identify the tongue- and jaw-specific contribution to changes in acoustic vowel contrast in talkers with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson's disease (PD). These two clinical groups are particularly well-suited because some literature about disease- and speech modification-related articulatory and speech acoustic changes has already been established and allow the formulation of theoretically-driven research hypotheses. Based on these studies, the central hypothesis is tested that disease- and cued speech modification-related changes in tongue and jaw articulatory performance and their contributions to vowel acoustic contrast will differ between these two groups. 3D electromagnetic articulography will be used to directly record tongue and jaw displacements during diphthong productions embedded in sentence utterances. Vowel acoustic analyses will examine the speech acoustic consequences of tongue and jaw displacements. This proposal is highly innovative because it directly compares the articulator-specific mechanisms of three frequently used behavioral treatment approaches for dysarthria in two clinical groups with distinctly different articulatory impairment profiles [tongue-dominant (ALS), jaw-dominant (PD) articulatory impairment types]. Such insights can be used in the future to identify articulator-specific impairment types in more heterogeneous etiologies (TBI, stroke) to aid clinical decisions. New findings therefore have the potential to transform clinical practice by providing a basis for scientifically-guided treatment selection, not only for ALS and PD, but also for many other etiologies.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = -$2,803 )
2022	2018	VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY	110 21ST AVE S	NASHVILLE	TN	37203	DAVIDSON	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	3	12/6/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$2,803
														Subtotal = -$2,803

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2020	2018	VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY, THE	2301 VANDERBILT PL	NASHVILLE	TN	37235	DAVIDSON	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	3	5/14/2020	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2018 ( Subtotal = $158,000 )
2018	2018	VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY, THE	2301 VANDERBILT PL	NASHVILLE	TN	37235	DAVIDSON	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	3	6/20/2018	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$158,000
														Subtotal = $158,000

Issue Date FY: 2017 ( Subtotal = $158,000 )
2017	2017	VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY, THE	211 KIRKLAND HALL	NASHVILLE	TN	37240	DAVIDSON	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	2	6/29/2017	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$158,000
														Subtotal = $158,000

Issue Date FY: 2016 ( Subtotal = $158,000 )
2016	2016	VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER	1161 21ST AVE S STE D3300 MCN	NASHVILLE	TN	37232	DAVIDSON	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	1	6/27/2016	NEW	$158,000
														Subtotal = $158,000

Grand Total All Awards = $471,197

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Tongue- and Jaw-Specific Contributions to Vowel Acoustic Changes: Towards a Mechanistic Model of Intelligibility Loss and Recovery in Dysarthria

Award Number: R03DC015075

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

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