Speech and articulation rates for Mandarin Speakers with Parkinson`s Disease

What is it about?

In this study, Mandarin speakers with PD exhibited slower speech rates and prolonged pauses during syllable repetition, but faster articulation rates and more perceptual pauses during passage reading, compared to controls. We proposed a descriptive model of speech rate alterations in hypokinetic dysarthria to determine the best candidates and strategies for rate reduction therapy that should focus on increasing articulation time rather than inserting or elongating pauses.

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Why is it important?

Considerable individual variations in speech rates have been observed among English speakers with PD. Our study indicated Mandarin speakers may resemble English speakers with inconsistent speech rates within the population of PD, raising the possibility of subtypes of hypokinetic dysarthria.