Lingual-Alveolar Contact Pressure During Speech in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Preliminary Findings.
This preliminary study on lingual-alveolar contact pressures (LACP) in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) had several aims: (a) to evaluate whether the protocol induced fatigue, (b) to compare LACP during speech (LACP-Sp) and during maximum isometric pressing (LACP-Max) in people with ALS (PALS) versus healthy controls, (c) to compare the percentage of LACP-Max utilized during speech (%Max) for PALS versus controls, and (d) to evaluate relationships between LACP-Sp and LACP-Max with word intelligibility.



Thirteen PALS and 12 healthy volunteers produced /t, d, s, z, l, n/ sounds while LACP-Sp was recorded. LACP-Max was obtained before and after the speech protocol. Word intelligibility was obtained from auditory-perceptual judgments.



LACP-Max values measured before and after completion of the speech protocol did not differ. LACP-Sp and LACP-Max were statistically lower in the ALS bulbar group compared with controls and PALS with only spinal symptoms. There was no statistical difference between groups for %Max. LACP-Sp and LACP-Max were correlated with word intelligibility.



It was feasible to obtain LACP-Sp measures without inducing fatigue. Reductions in LACP-Sp and LACP-Max for bulbar speakers might reflect tongue weakness. Although confirmation of results is needed, the data indicate that individuals with high word intelligibility maintained LACP-Sp at or above 2 kPa and LACP-Max at or above 50 kPa.
Hearing and Speech Department, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City.
Jeff
J
Searl
Hearing and Speech Department, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City.
Stephanie
S
Knollhoff
Department of Neurology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City.
Richard J
RJ
Barohn
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000539:Alveolar Process / Q000503:physiopathology; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007537:Isometric Contraction; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D018763:Muscle Fatigue; D010700:Phonetics; D011312:Pressure; D013018:Sound Spectrography; D013060:Speech / Q000502:physiology*; D013068:Speech Production Measurement; D014059:Tongue / Q000503:physiopathology*