Effects of Intensive Voice Treatment (the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment [LSVT]) on Vowel Articulation in Dysarthric Individuals With Idiopathic Parkinson Disease: Acoustic and Perceptual Findings Purpose To evaluate the effects of intensive voice treatment targeting vocal loudness (the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment [LSVT]) on vowel articulation in dysarthric individuals with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (PD). Method A group of individuals with PD receiving LSVT (n = 14) was compared to a group of individuals ... Research Article
Research Article  |   August 01, 2007
Effects of Intensive Voice Treatment (the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment [LSVT]) on Vowel Articulation in Dysarthric Individuals With Idiopathic Parkinson Disease: Acoustic and Perceptual Findings
Shimon Sapir, Jennifer L. Spielman, Lorraine O. Ramig, Brad H. Story, and Cynthia Fox
 
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • Shimon Sapir
    University of Haifa, Israel
  • Jennifer L. Spielman
    National Center for Voice and Speech, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Colorado
  • Lorraine O. Ramig
    University of Colorado, Boulder, and National Center for Voice and Speech, Denver Center for the Performing Arts
  • Brad H. Story
    University of Arizona, Tucson
  • Cynthia Fox
    National Center for Voice and Speech, Denver Center for the Performing Arts
  • Contact author: Shimon Sapir, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa 39105, Israel. E-mail: sapir@research.haifa.ac.il.
  • Copyright © 2007 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
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Hearing & Speech Perception / Acoustics / Speech, Voice & Prosody / Speech / Research Articles
Research Article   |   August 01, 2007
Effects of Intensive Voice Treatment (the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment [LSVT]) on Vowel Articulation in Dysarthric Individuals With Idiopathic Parkinson Disease: Acoustic and Perceptual Findings
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, August 2007, Vol. 50, 899-912. doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2007/064)
History: Received March 30, 2006 , Revised September 12, 2006 , Accepted January 22, 2007
 
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, August 2007, Vol. 50, 899-912. doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2007/064)
History: Received March 30, 2006; Revised September 12, 2006; Accepted January 22, 2007
Web of Science® Times Cited: 139

Purpose To evaluate the effects of intensive voice treatment targeting vocal loudness (the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment [LSVT]) on vowel articulation in dysarthric individuals with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (PD).

Method A group of individuals with PD receiving LSVT (n = 14) was compared to a group of individuals with PD not receiving LSVT (n = 15) and a group of age-matched healthy individuals (n = 14) on the variables vocal sound pressure level (VocSPL); various measures of the first (F1) and second (F2) formants of the vowels /i/, /u/, and /a/; vowel triangle area; and perceptual vowel ratings. The vowels were extracted from the words key, stew, and Bobby embedded in phrases. Perceptual vowel rating was performed by trained raters using a visual analog scale.

Results Only VocSPL, F2 of the vowel /u/ (F2u), and the ratio F2i/F2u significantly differed between patients and healthy individuals pretreatment. These variables, along with perceptual vowel ratings, significantly changed (improved) in the group receiving LSVT only.

Conclusion These results, along with previous findings, add further support to the generalized therapeutic impact of intensive voice treatment on orofacial functions (speech, swallowing, facial expression) and respiratory and laryngeal functions in individuals with PD.

Acknowledgments
This research was funded by Grant R01DC0115 from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Portions of the data in this article were presented at the 75th annual convention of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, November 2000, Washington, DC; at the 11th biennial Conference on Motor Speech Disorders, March 2002, Williamsburg, VA; and at the 9th International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders, March 2005, New Orleans, LA. We thank Jenny Maybee for her assistance with data analysis. We also express our gratitude to the individuals who volunteered their time to participate in this study.
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