Texture term usage and hedonic ratings in two age-diverse cohorts of Americans.

This study explores the use of food texture terms by adults in the northeastern United States. The purpose of the study was to compare the effect of food texture on food liking and texture term usage among age groups via two complementary online surveys that differed in the specific task given to participants. Survey 1 gathered common food items associated with 25 texture terms using open-ended questions from 345 participants (45% men, 55% women; age range = 20-79 years); it also collected liking scores for foods with these textures.

A biophysiological framework exploring factors affecting speech and swallowing in clinical populations: focus on individuals with Down syndrome.

Speech and swallowing are complex sensorimotor behaviors accomplished using shared vocal tract anatomy. Efficient swallowing and accurate speech require a coordinated interplay between multiple streams of sensory feedback and skilled motor behaviors. Due to the shared anatomy, speech and swallowing are often both impacted in individuals with various neurogenic and developmental diseases, disorders, or injuries.

Clinically Measuring Orofacial Somatosensation in a Cohort of Healthy Aging Adults.

Purpose: Humans experience the world through sensations of touch, taste, smell, vision, and audition. Alterations in sensory acuity occur across the adult life span in all types of sensation. The purpose of this study was to describe possible differences in lip and tongue somatosensation (sense of pressure) for healthy older adults using clinically available measurement tools as compared with previously published data using the same protocol.

Speech motor control and orofacial point pressure sensation in adults with ADHD.

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a predominant neurobehavioral disorder of childhood with motor and sensory symptoms often persisting into adulthood. Motor control theories highlight the importance of the bidirectional relationship between sensation and movement for maintaining skilled behaviors like speech. The impact of ADHD on speech in adults has not been well established.

Changes in Motor Skills, Sensory Profiles, and Cognition Drive Food Selection in Older Adults With Preclinical Dysphagia.

Purpose Self-selection and self-avoidance of certain foods is one possible indicator of preclinical (prior to any clinical intervention) dysphagia in healthy older adults. Self-selection of food choices is influenced by changes in a combination of factors, including neuromuscular, sensory, and individual patient characteristics. Changes to these factors occur both centrally or peripherally and can be part of typical, healthy aging.

Assessment of Midline Lingual Point-Pressure Somatosensation Using Von Frey Hair Monofilaments.

Detection and discrimination threshold estimates for oral point pressure are assessed using Von Frey Hair monofilaments. Consistent with previously published protocols, threshold estimates are determined using a two-interval forced choice (2-IFC) paradigm with a three down/one up approach. Detection threshold estimates determine the mean force in which a participant can identify the presence of pressure.

Translation, Validity, and Reliability of the Persian Version of the Aging Voice Index.

Objectives: The Aging Voice Index (AVI) was developed to study quality of life in older adults with voice disorders. The purpose of this study was to translate the original English version of the AVI to Persian version of Aging Voice Index (P-AVI) and validate the P-AVI for the Persian-speaking older adults with voice disorders.

Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive, and methodological study was performed to translate and validate the Persian version of the AVI.

Feasibility of Automatic Speech Recognition for Providing Feedback During Tablet-Based Treatment for Apraxia of Speech Plus Aphasia.

Purpose Individuals with neurogenic speech disorders require ongoing therapeutic support to achieve functional communication goals. Alternative methods for service delivery, such as tablet-based speech therapy applications, may help bridge the gap and bring therapeutic interventions to the patient in an engaging way. The purpose of this study was to evaluate an iPad-based speech therapy app that uses automatic speech recognition (ASR) software to provide feedback on speech accuracy to determine the ASR's accuracy against human judgment and whether participants' speech improved with this ASR-based feedback.

Oral somatosensatory acuity is related to particle size perception in chocolate.

Texture affects liking or rejection of many foods for clinically relevant populations and the general public. Phenotypic differences in chemosensation are well documented and influence food choices, but oral touch perception is less understood. Here, we used chocolate as a model food to explore texture perception, specifically grittiness perception.

Aging Voice Index (AVI): Reliability and Validity of a Voice Quality of Life Scale for Older Adults.

Changes in voice in aging adults impact their ability to use their voice to communicate in all situations and can lead to decreased quality of life (QOL). The primary objective of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of the Aging Voice Index (AVI)-a tool specifically designed for aging adults with voice disorders. A total of 92 older adults were asked to complete the Voice-Related Quality of Life Scale (VRQOL) and the AVI as well as provide their self-perceived voice severity rating of their voice problem and demographic information.

Clinically Available Assessment Measures for Lingual and Labial Somatosensation in Healthy Adults: Normative Data and Test Reliability.

Purpose: High-quality orofacial somatosensory inputs are essential for achieving rapid and accurate motor outputs. Little somatosensory testing is currently being completed in clinical settings. The purpose of this study is to assess the feasibility and test-retest reliability of clinical assessment tools for orofacial somatosensory testing in healthy young adults.

Effects of ageing on orofacial fine force control and its relationship with parallel change in sensory perception.

Purpose: Current theoretical models suggest the importance of a bidirectional relationship between sensation and production in the vocal tract to maintain lifelong speech skills. The purpose of this study was to assess age-related changes in orofacial skilled force production and to begin defining the orofacial perception-action relationship in healthy adults.

Method: Low-level orofacial force control measures (reaction time, rise time, peak force, mean hold force (N) and force hold SD) were collected from 60 adults (19-84 years).

The relationship between labial vibrotactile detection and pure-tone hearing thresholds in healthy, ageing adults.

Purpose: Orofacial anatomy is unique from other body systems in that oral musculature inserts directly into the underlying cutaneous skin, allowing for tight temporal synchronicity between somatosensory and auditory performance feedback to maintain correct orofacial behaviours across the lifespan. Unfortunately, little is currently known regarding the changes in orofacial sensory capacities associated with ageing and how these somatosensory and auditory changes may impact feedback during functional behaviours such as speech or swallowing. The purpose of this descriptive study was to begin assessing the relationship between the auditory and labial somatosensory system in healthy ageing adults.

Labial vibrotactile somatosensory perception: a pilot study in healthy aging versus young adult participants.

The purpose of this pilot study was to begin characterizing changes in labial vibrotactile somatosensation in healthy older adults as a foundational step in determining how changes in orofacial sensation can affect functional behaviors, such as speech and feeding. Labial vibrotactile perception capacity of healthy older adults (n = 15) was compared to a cohort of healthy young adults (n = 5). Vibrotactile inputs were delivered to the glabrous surface of the left lower lip at 5, 10, 50, and 150 Hz.

Defining the lived experience of older adults with voice disorders.

Objectives: The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to gather rich thick descriptive data regarding the lived experiences of older adults seeking treatment for a voice disorder.

Design: Using qualitative methodologies, participants completed semi-structured interviews with trained investigators to detail their thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and experiences of living with a voice disorder. Using a process of horizontalization, themes were identified that described the experiences of older adults with voice disorders.

Facilitating neurorehabilitation through principles of engagement.

A primary goal of neurorehabilitation is to guide recovery of functional skills after injury through evidence-based interventions that operate to manipulate the sensorimotor environment of the client. While choice of intervention is an important decision for clinicians, we contend it is only one part of producing optimal activity-dependent neuroplastic changes. A key variable in the rehabilitation equation is engagement.