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. 2011:2011:897494.
doi: 10.4061/2011/897494. Epub 2011 Aug 23.

Effect of LSVT on Lexical Tone in Speakers with Parkinson's Disease

Tara L Whitehill  1 , Lorinda Kwan, Flora P-H Lee, Mia M-N Chow
Affiliations

Effect of LSVT on Lexical Tone in Speakers with Parkinson's Disease

Tara L Whitehill et al. Parkinsons Dis. 2011.

Abstract

Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT) has well-documented treatment efficacy for individuals with hypokinetic dysarthria associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). Positive changes have been noted after treatment not only for vocal loudness but also for many other speech dimensions, including intonation (monotonicity). There have been few studies investigating the effect of LSVT on lexical tone which, like intonation, is controlled by variations in fundamental frequency. This study involved 12 Cantonese speakers with idiopathic PD who were enrolled in a standard LVST treatment protocol. Speech data were collected 3-4 days before treatment and 1 day after treatment. A wide variety of perceptual and acoustic variables were analyzed. The results showed significant improvements in loudness and intonation after treatment, but no significant changes in lexical tone. These results have theoretical implications for the relationship between tone and intonation and for models of the physiological control of fundamental frequency.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Standard deviation of fundamental frequency (SDF0), in semitones, for individual participants.
Figure 2
Figure 2
F0 pattern of six lexical tones produced by a 60-year-old male, WSH. The normative data are from Whitehill et al. [21, 22], cited in Whitehill and Wong [10].
Figure 3
Figure 3
F0 pattern of six lexical tones produced by a 78-year-old female, HYH. The normative data are from Whitehill et al. [21, 22], cited in Whitehill and Wong [10].
Figure 4
Figure 4
F0 pattern of six lexical tones produced by a 56-year-old male, CWY. The normative data are from Whitehill et al. [21, 22], cited in Whitehill and Wong [10].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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