Abstract
It is currently unknown whether speech and limb motor effectors in Parkinson’s disease (PD) are controlled by similar underlying brain processes. Based on computerized objective analysis, the aim of this study was to evaluate potential correlation between speech and mechanical tests of upper limb motor function. Speech and upper limb motor tests were performed in 22 PD patients and 22 healthy controls. Quantitative acoustic analyses of eight key speech dimensions of hypokinetic dysarthria, including quality of voice, sequential motion rates, consonant articulation, vowel articulation, average loudness, loudness variability, pitch variability, and number of pauses, were performed. Upper limb movements were assessed using the motor part of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale, contactless three-dimensional motion capture system, blinded expert evaluation, and the Purdue Pegboard Test. Significant relationships were observed between the quality of voice assessed by jitter and amplitude decrement of finger tapping (r = 0.61, p = 0.003), consonant articulation evaluated using voice onset time and expert rating of finger tapping (r = 0.60, p = 0.003), and number of pauses and Purdue Pegboard Test score (r = 0.60, p = 0.004). The current study supports the hypothesis that speech impairment in PD shares, at least partially, similar pathophysiological processes with limb motor dysfunction. Vocal fold vibration irregularities appeared to be influenced by mechanisms similar to amplitude decrement during repetitive limb movements. Consonant articulation deficits were associated with decreased manual dexterity and movement speed, likely reflecting fine motor control involvement in PD.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ackermann H, Ziegler W (1994) Acoustic analysis of vocal instability in cerebellar dysfunction. Ann Otol Rhinol Layngol 103:98–104
Baker KK, Ramig LO, Luschei ES, Smith ME (1998) Thyroarytenoid muscle activity associated with hypophonia in Parkinson’s disease and aging. Neurology 51:1592–1598
Berardelli A, Rothwell JC, Thompson PD, Hallett M (2001) Pathophysiology of bradykinesia in Parkinson’s disease. Brain 124:2131–2146
Blumin JH, Pcolinsky D, Atkins JP (2004) Laryngeal findings in advanced Parkinson’s disease. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol 113:253–258
Boersma P, Weenink D (2001) PRAAT, a system for doing phonetics by computer. Glot Int 5:341–345
Cantiniaux S, Vaugoyeau M, Robert D, Horrelou-Pitek C, Mancini J, Witjas T, Azulay JP (2010) Comparative analysis of gait and speech in Parkinson’s disease: hypokinetic or dysrhythmic disorders? J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 81:177–184
Defazio G, Guerrieri M, Liuzzi D, Gigante AF, di Nicola V (2016) Assessment of voice and speech symptoms in early Parkinson’s disease by the Robertson dysarthria profile. Neurol Sci 37:443–449
Eichards M, Marder K, Cote L, Mayeux R (1994) Interrater reliability of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale motor examination. Mov Disord 9:89–91
Goberman AM (2005) Correlation between acoustic speech characteristics and non-speech motor performance in Parkinson disease. Med Sci Monit 11:109–116
Goetz CG, Stebbins GT (2004) Assuring interrater reliability for the UPDRS motor section: utility of the UPDRS teaching tape. Mov Disord 19:1453–1456
Hallett M, Khoshbin S (1980) A physiological mechanism of bradykinesia. Brain 103:301–314
Ho AK, Iansek R, Marigliani C, Bradshaw J, Gates S (1999) Speech impairment in large sample of patients with Parkinson’s disease. Behav Neurol 11:131–137
Ho AK, Bradshaw JL, Iansek R (2008) For better or worse: the effect of levodopa on speech in Parkinson’s disease. Mov Disord 23:575–580
Iansek R, Huxham F, McGinley J (2006) The sequence effect and gait festination in Parkinson disease: contributors to freezing of gait? Mov Disord 21:1419–1424
Krupicka R, Szabo Z, Viteckova S, Ruzicka E (2014) Motion capture system for finger movement measurement in parkinson disease. Radioeng 23:659–664
Ling H, Massey LA, Lees AJ, Brown P, Day BL (2012) Hypokinesia without decrement distinguishes progressive supranuclear palsy from Parkinson’s disease. Brain 135:1141–1153
Logemann JA, Fisher HB, Boshes B, Blonsky ER (1978) Frequency and cooccurrence of vocal tract dysfunction in the speech of a large sample of Parkinson patients. J Speech Hear Disord 43:47–57
Maillet A, Krainik A, Debu B, Tropres I, Lagrange C, Thobois S, Pollak P, Pinto S (2012) Levodopa effects on hand and speech movements in patients with Parkinson’s disease: a FMRI study. PLoS One 7:e46541
Marsden CD (1989) Slowness of movement in Parkinson’s disease. Mov Disord Suppl 1:S26–S37
Martinez-Martin P, Forjaz MJ (2006) Metric attributes of the unified Parkinson’s disease rating scale 3.0 battery: Part I, feasibility, scaling assumptions, reliability, and precisions. Mov Disord 21:1182–1188
Midi I, Dogan M, Koseoglu M, Can G, Sehitoglu MA, Gunal DI (2008) Voice abnormalities and their relation with motor dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease. Acta Neurol Scand 117:26–34
Moreau C, Ozsancak C, Blatt JL, Derambure P, Destee A, Defebvre L (2007) Oral festination in Parkinson’s disease: biomechanical analysis and correlation with festination and freezing of gait. Mov Disord 22:1503–1506
Novotny M, Rusz J, Cmejla R, Ruzicka E (2014) Automatic evaluation of articulatory disorders in Parkinson’s disease. IEEE/ACM Trans Audio Speech Lang Process 22:1366–1378
Park HK, Yoo JY, Kwon M, Lee JH, Lee SJ, Kim SR, Kim MJ, Lee MC, Lee SM, Chung SJ (2014) Gait freezing and speech disturbance in Parkinson’s disease. Neurol Sci 35:357–1336
Pinto S, Mancini L, Jahanshahi M, Thornston JS, Tripoliti E, Yousry TA, Limousin P (2011) Functional magnetic resonance imaging exploration of combined hand and speech movements in Parkinson’s disease. Mov Disord 26:2212–2219
Rektorova I, Mekyska J, Janousova E, Kostalova M, Eliasova I, Mrackova M, Berankova D, Necasova T, Smekal Z, Marecek R (2016) Speech prosody impairment predicts cognitive decline in Parkinson’s disease. Parkinsonism Relat Disord 29:90–95
Robertson LT, Hammerstadt JP (1996) Jaw movement dysfunction related to Parkinson’s disease and partially modified by levodopa. J Neurol Neurosurg Psyhiatry 60:41–50
Roy N, Nissen SL, Dromey C, Sapir S (2009) Articulatory changes in muscle tension dysphonia: evidence for vowel space expansion following manual circumlaryngeal therapy. J Commun Disord 42:124–135
Rusz J, Cmejla R, Ruzickova H, Ruzicka E (2011) Quantitative acoustic assessment of speech and voice disorders in early untreated Parkinson’s disease. J Acoust Soc Am 129:350–367
Rusz J, Cmejla R, Tykalova T, Ruzickova H, Klempir J, Majerova V, Picmausova J, Roth J, Ruzicka E (2013a) Imprecise vowel articulation as a potential early marker of Parkinson’s disease: Effect of speaking task. J Acoust Soc Am 134:2171–2181
Rusz J, Cmejla R, Ruzickova H, Klempir J, Majerova V, Picmausova J, Roth J, Ruzicka E (2013b) Evaluation of speech impairment in early stages of Parkinson’s disease: a prospective study with the role of pharmacotherapy. J Neural Transm 120:319–329
Rusz J, Tykalova T, Klempir J, Cmejla R, Ruzicka E (2016) Effects of dopaminergic replacement therapy on motor speech disorders in Parkinson’s disease: longitudinal follow-up study on previously untreated patients. J Neural Transm 123:379–387
Ruzicka E, Krupicka R, Zarubova K, Rusz J, Jech R, Szabo Z (2016) Tests of manual dexterity and speed in Parkinson’s disease: Not all measure the same. Parkinsonism Relat Disord 28:118–123
Sapir S (2014) Multiple factors are involved in the dysarthria associated with Parkinson’s disease: a review with implications for clinical practice and research. J Speech Lang Hear Res 57:1330–1343
Skodda S, Schlegel U (2008) Speech rate and rhythm in Parkinson’s disease. Mov Disord 23:985–992
Skodda S, Wenke V, Schlegel U (2010) Short- and long-term dopaminergic effect on dysarthria in early Parkinson’s disease. J Neural Transm 117:2197–2205
Skodda S, Visser W, Schlegel U (2011a) Gender related patterns of dysprosody in Parkinson’s disease and correlation between speech variables and motor symptoms. J Voice 25:76–82
Skodda S, Gronheit W, Schlegel U (2011b) Intonation and speech rate in Parkinson’s disease: general and dynamic aspects and responsiveness to levodopa admission. J Voice 25:e199–e205
Skodda S, Flasskamp A, Schlegel U (2011c) Instability of syllable repetition in Parkinson’s disease—influence of levodopa and deep brain stimulation. Mov Disord 26:728–730
Skodda S, Gronheit W, Schlegel U (2012) Impairment of vowel articulation as a possible marker of disease progression in Parkinson’s disease. PLoS One 7:e32132
Yokoe M, Okuno R, Hamasaki T, Kurachi Y, Akazawa K, Sakoda S (2009) Opening velocity, a novel parameter, for finger tapping test in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Parkinsonism Relat Disord 15:440–444
Zarzur AR, Duprat G, Shinzato G, Eckley CA (2007) Laryngel electromyography in adults with Parkinson’s disease and voice complaints. Laryngoscope 117:831–834
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic, Grant Nos. 15-28038A and 16-28119A. All rights reserved.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rusz, J., Tykalová, T., Krupička, R. et al. Comparative analysis of speech impairment and upper limb motor dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease. J Neural Transm 124, 463–470 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-016-1662-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-016-1662-y