Characterization of Upper Esophageal Sphincter Pressures Relative to Vocal Acoustics.

Strength of vocal fold adduction has been hypothesized to be a critical factor influencing voice quality, but has been difficult to measure directly during phonation. Recent work has suggested that UES pressure, which can be easily assessed, increases with stronger vocal fold adduction, raising the possibility that UES pressure might indirectly reflect vocal fold adduction strength. However, concurrent UES pressure and voice quality have not previously been examined across different vocal tasks.

Laryngeal Vibrotactile Stimulation Is Feasible, Acceptable To People With Unexplained Chronic Cough.

Objectives: Unexplained chronic cough (UCC) is common and has significant impacts on quality of life. Ongoing cough can sensitize the larynx, increasing the urge to cough and perpetuating the cycle of chronic cough. Vibrotactile stimulation (VTS) of the larynx is a noninvasive stimulation technique that can modulate laryngeal somatosensory and motor activity.

Neurovascular coupling, functional connectivity, and cerebrovascular endothelial extracellular vesicles as biomarkers of mild cognitive impairment.

Introduction: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a prodromal stage of dementia. Understanding the mechanistic changes from healthy aging to MCI is critical for comprehending disease progression and enabling preventative intervention.

Methods: Patients with MCI and age-matched controls (CN) were administered cognitive tasks during functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) recording, and changes in plasma levels of extracellular vesicles (EVs) were assessed using small-particle flow cytometry.

Independent Risk Factors for Prolonged Tube Feeding After Endotracheal Intubation and Ventilation.

Purpose: Postextubation dysphagia (PED) can lead to prolonged tube feeding, but risk factors associated with prolonged tube feeding in this population are largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to identify factors independently associated with prolonged tube feeding in adult inpatients who required intubation and mechanical ventilation.

Materials And Methods: Retrospective observational cohort study in a dataset of 1.

Vocal and tongue exercise in early to mid-stage Parkinson disease using the Pink1-/- rat.

Vocal and swallowing deficits are common in Parkinson disease (PD). Because these impairments are resistant to dopamine replacement therapies, vocal and lingual exercise are the primary treatment, but not all individuals respond to exercise and neural mechanisms of treatment response are unclear. To explore putative mechanisms, we used the progressive Pink1-/- rat model of early to mid-stage PD and employed vocal and lingual exercises at 6- and 10-months of age in male Pink1-/- and wild type (WT) rats.