Voice and speech characteristics of persons with Parkinson's disease pre- and post-pallidotomy surgery: preliminary findings.
Pallidotomy surgery, lesioning the globus pallidus internal, has been performed to alleviate Parkinsonian symptoms and drug-induced dyskinesias. Improvements in limb motor function have been reported in recent years following pallidotomy surgery. The purpose of this preliminary study was to determine the effect of pallidotomy surgery on select voice and speech characteristics of 6 patients with Parkinson's disease. Acoustic measures were analyzed pre-pallidotomy surgery and again at 3 months following surgery. Preliminary findings indicated that all participants demonstrated positive changes in at least one acoustic measure; 2 of the participants consistently demonstrated positive changes in phonatory and articulatory measures, whereas 3 participants did not consistently demonstrate positive changes postsurgery. The results are discussed relative to the differential effects observed across participants.
Schulz
G M
GM
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611-7420, USA. schulz@csd.ufl.edu
Peterson
T
T
Sapienza
C M
CM
Greer
M
M
Friedman
W
W
D000368:Aged; D004401:Dysarthria / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D005917:Globus Pallidus / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications*; D010700:Phonetics; D011182:Postoperative Care; D011300:Preoperative Care; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013061:Speech Acoustics; D013238:Stereotaxic Techniques; D014832:Voice Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*