Speech and neuroimaging effects following HiCommunication: a randomized controlled group intervention trial in Parkinson's disease.

Speech, voice and communication changes are common in Parkinson's disease. HiCommunication is a novel group intervention for speech and communication in Parkinson's disease based on principles driving neuroplasticity. In a randomized controlled trial, 95 participants with Parkinson's disease were allocated to HiCommunication or an active control intervention.

"I Just Want People to Think I'm Normal": An Interview Study of Young Swedish Women With Covert Stuttering.

Purpose: Research indicates that there is a tendency for females who stutter, more often than males, to use coping strategies that involve covering their stutter, for example, by avoiding situations that require verbal participation. The aim of the study is to increase knowledge about how covert stuttering develops and its impact on self-image and quality of life for women who stutter.

Method: Eleven young women who stutter covertly were interviewed, and data were subjected to qualitative content analysis.

Longitudinal changes in functional connectivity in speech motor networks in apraxia of speech after stroke.

Objective: The cerebral substrates of apraxia of speech (AOS) recovery remain unclear. Resting state fMRI post stroke can inform on altered functional connectivity (FC) within cortical language networks. Some initial studies report reduced FC between bilateral premotor cortices in patients with AOS, with lowest FC in patients with the most severe AOS.

A Cross-Sectional Investigation of the Impact of Stuttering on Swedish Females and Males in Childhood, Adolescence, and Young Adulthood.

Purpose: We aimed to cross-sectionally describe the impact of stuttering on persons who stutter (PWS): children, adolescents, and young adults. Based on previous research on PWS and psychosocial health in the general population, we hypothesized that (a) the adverse impact of stuttering in PWS would be larger among adolescents than children and young adults and that (b) females, especially adolescent females, would report being more adversely impacted by their stuttering than males.

Method: We pooled samples of Swedish PWS, obtaining 162 individuals (75 females and 87 males), aged 7-30 years.

Characterization of Mild and Moderate Dysarthria in Parkinson's Disease: Behavioral Measures and Neural Correlates.

Purpose: Alterations in speech and voice are among the most common symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD), often resulting in motor speech disorders such as hypokinetic dysarthria. We investigated dysarthria, verbal fluency, executive functions, and global cognitive function in relation to structural and resting-state brain changes in people with PD.

Methods: Participants with mild-moderate PD ( = 83) were recruited within a randomized controlled trial and divided into groups with varying degrees of dysarthria: no dysarthria (noDPD), mild dysarthria (mildDPD), moderate dysarthria (modDPD), and also combined mildDPD and modDPD into one group (totDPD).

Behavioural and neuroplastic effects of a double-blind randomised controlled balance exercise trial in people with Parkinson's disease.

Balance dysfunction is a disabling symptom in people with Parkinson's disease (PD). Evidence suggests that exercise can improve balance performance and induce neuroplastic effects. We hypothesised that a 10-week balance intervention (HiBalance) would improve balance, other motor and cognitive symptoms, and alter task-evoked brain activity in people with PD.

Treatment of Hypophonia in Parkinson's Disease Through Biofeedback in Daily Life Administered with A Portable Voice Accumulator.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the outcome following continuous tactile biofeedback of voice sound level administered, with a portable voice accumulator to individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD).

Method: Nine out of 16 participants with PD completed a 4-week intervention program where biofeedback of voice sound level was administered with the portable voice accumulator VoxLog during speech in daily life. The feedback, a tactile vibration signal from the device, was activated when the wearer used a voice sound level below an individually predetermined threshold level, reminding the wearer to increase voice sound level during speech.

Using Portable Voice Accumulators to Study Transfer of Speech Outcomes Following Intervention - A Feasibility Study.

Objectives: To evaluate the process and scientific feasibility of using a portable voice accumulator (PVA) to study carry-over of treatment effects on speech and voice in people with mild-moderate Parkinson's disease.

Methods: The study was guided by the checklist in Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) 2010 statement: extension to randomized pilot and feasibility trials. Participants with Parkinson's disease were recruited within the context of a randomized controlled trial with random allocation to intervention with either HiCommunication, a program targeting speech and communication, or HiBalance, a program targeting balance and strength.

HiCommunication as a novel speech and communication treatment for Parkinson's disease: A feasibility study.

Introduction: Speech and communication problems are common in Parkinson's disease (PD) and can result in social withdrawal and reduced quality of life. Intervention may improve symptoms but transfer and maintenance remain challenging for many. Access to treatment may also be limited.

Recovery of Apraxia of Speech and Aphasia in Patients With Hand Motor Impairment After Stroke.

Aphasia and apraxia of speech (AOS) after stroke frequently co-occur with a hand motor impairment but few studies have investigated stroke recovery across motor and speech-language domains. In this study, we set out to test the shared recovery hypothesis. We aimed to (1) describe the prevalence of AOS and aphasia in subacute stroke patients with a hand motor impairment and (2) to compare recovery across speech-language and hand motor domains.

Speech Function Following Deep Brain Stimulation of the Caudal Zona Incerta: Effects of Habitual and High-Amplitude Stimulation.

Purpose Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is often successful in alleviating motor symptoms of essential tremor (ET); however, DBS may also induce adverse speech effects. The caudal zona incerta (cZi) is a promising DBS target for tremor, but less is known about the consequences of cZi DBS for speech. This preliminary study examined how habitual cZi DBS and cZi stimulation at high amplitudes may affect speech function in persons with ET.

Intra- and Interjudge Reliability of the Apraxia of Speech Rating Scale in Early Stroke Patients.

Purpose: There is a recognized need for a reliable assessment instrument for apraxia of speech (AOS) diagnosis for post stroke patients. In 2014, Strand and colleagues reported high to excellent intra- and interjudge reliability of the Apraxia of Speech Rating Scale (ASRS) in neurodegenerative speech and language disorders. Excellent interjudge reliability of the ASRS total score has also recently been reported in another study of individuals with chronic AOS after stroke, where the ratings were carried out by two experienced researchers not involved in the development of the instrument.

Larger reported impact of stuttering in teenage females, compared to males - A comparison of teenagers' result on Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering (OASES).

Purpose: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to explore the impact and experience of stuttering, and attitude to communication for female and male teenagers who stutter (TWS) in comparison with teenagers with no stutter (TWNS).

Methods: The Swedish version of the Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering (OASES-T-S), was administered to 56 TWS, 13-17 years old (26 females, 30 males). An adapted version of OASES, Attitude to Speech and Communication (ASC), was administered to 233 TWNS.

Feasibility Aspects of Exploring Exercise-Induced Neuroplasticity in Parkinson's Disease: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Recent studies indicate that exercise can induce neuroplastic changes in people with Parkinson's disease (PwPD). Reports of feasibility outcomes from existing pilot trials however are, of date, insufficient to enable replication by others in larger definitive trials.

Objective: To evaluate trial design for a definitive trial by exploring process and scientific feasibility.

Assessment of speech impairment in patients with Parkinson's disease from acoustic quantifications of oral diadochokinetic sequences.

This investigation aimed at determining whether an acoustic quantification of the oral diadochokinetic (DDK) task may be used to predict the perceived level of speech impairment when speakers with Parkinson's disease (PD) are reading a standard passage. DDK sequences with repeated [pa], [ta], and [ka] syllables were collected from 108 recordings (68 unique speakers with PD), along with recordings of the speakers reading a standardized text. The passage readings were assessed in five dimensions individually by four speech-language pathologists in a blinded and randomized procedure.

Self-Reported Changes in Cognition, Communication and Swallowing in Multiple Sclerosis: Data from the Swedish Multiple Sclerosis Registry and from a National Survey.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate self-reported cognition, speech, communication and swallowing changes in a large sample of individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Sweden. A second aim was to update information about speech and language pathology (SLP) services received by people with MS (pwMS).

Method: Self-ratings of cognition, speech/communication and swallowing registered by pwMS between 2012 and 2018 were retrieved from the Swedish MS Registry.

Voice Use in Daily Life Studied With a Portable Voice Accumulator in Individuals With Parkinson's Disease and Matched Healthy Controls.

Purpose The purpose of this work was to study how voice use in daily life is impacted by Parkinson's disease (PD), specifically if there is a difference in voice sound level and phonation ratio during everyday activities for individuals with PD and matched healthy controls. A further aim was to study how variations in environmental noise impact voice use. Method Long-term registration of voice use during 1 week in daily life was performed for 21 participants with PD (11 male, 10 female) and 21 matched healthy controls using the portable voice accumulator VoxLog.

The EXPANd trial: effects of exercise and exploring neuroplastic changes in people with Parkinson's disease: a study protocol for a double-blinded randomized controlled trial.

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) affects many physiological systems essential for balance control. Recent studies suggest that intensive and cognitively demanding physical exercise programs are capable of inducing plastic brain changes in PD. We have developed a highly challenging balance training (the HiBalance) program that emphasizes critical aspects of balance control through progressively introducing more challenging exercises which incorporates dual-tasking.

Development of a method for assessment of dysarthria in a foreign language: a pilot study.

It is increasingly more common for Speech and Language Pathologists in Sweden to encounter individuals with dysarthria who speak a different language. The aim of the present pilot study was to develop and test a systematic method to be used in collaboration with an interpreter, for assessment of acquired dysarthria in people speaking a language not familiar to the Speech and Language Pathologist. Seven participants, speaking standard Arabic, were assessed by a Swedish speaking Speech and Language Pathologist using this method and with help of a certified interpreter.

Assessment of voice, speech and communication changes associated with cervical spinal cord injury.

Background: Respiratory muscle impairment following cervical spinal cord injury (CSCI) may lead to reduced voice function, although the individual variation is large. Voice problems in this population may not always receive attention since individuals with CSCI face other, more acute and life-threatening issues that need/receive attention. Currently there is no consensus on the tasks suitable to identify the specific voice impairments and functional voice changes experienced by individuals with CSCI.

Long-term effects of Lee Silverman Voice Treatment on daily voice use in Parkinson's disease as measured with a portable voice accumulator.

This study examines the effects of an intensive voice treatment focusing on increasing voice intensity, LSVT LOUD Lee Silverman Voice Treatment, on voice use in daily life in a participant with Parkinson's disease, using a portable voice accumulator, the VoxLog. A secondary aim was to compare voice use between the participant and a matched healthy control. Participants were an individual with Parkinson's disease and his healthy monozygotic twin.

Speech and Communication Changes Reported by People with Parkinson's Disease.

Background: Changes in communicative functions are common in Parkinson's disease (PD), but there are only limited data provided by individuals with PD on how these changes are perceived, what their consequences are, and what type of intervention is provided.

Aim: To present self-reported information about speech and communication, the impact on communicative participation, and the amount and type of speech-language pathology services received by people with PD.

Methods: Respondents with PD recruited via the Swedish Parkinson's Disease Society filled out a questionnaire accessed via a Web link or provided in a paper version.

Treatment for dysphagia (swallowing difficulties) in hereditary ataxia.

Background: Hereditary ataxias are a heterogeneous group of disorders resulting in progressive inco-ordination. Swallowing impairment, also known as dysphagia, is a common and potentially life threatening sequel of disease progression. The incidence and nature of dysphagia in these conditions is largely unknown.

Perceptual assessment of dysarthria: Comparison of a general and a detailed assessment protocol.

Objective: The present, preliminary study was designed to investigate whether the results of the use of a detailed assessment protocol ad modum the Mayo Clinic rating of dysarthria and that of a more general assessment protocol, corresponding to ratings of deviances of the different speech production processes, differed primarily in terms of reliability.

Patients And Methods: Recordings of text readings of 20 patients with various degrees and types of dysarthria were assessed using both protocols by five clinicians with extensive experience in assessment of neurogenic communication disorders, and results from both assessments were compared.

Results: The general assessment protocol was carried out with higher intra- and inter-rater reliability compared with the detailed assessment protocol.

Motor-Learning-Based Adjustment of Ambulatory Feedback on Vocal Loudness for Patients With Parkinson's Disease.

Objectives: To investigate how the direct biofeedback on vocal loudness administered with a portable voice accumulator (VoxLog) should be configured, to facilitate an optimal learning outcome for individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD), on the basis of principles of motor learning.

Study Design: Methodologic development in an experimental study.

Methods: The portable voice accumulator VoxLog was worn by 20 participants with PD during habitual speech during semistructured conversations.