Purpose: Somatosensory targets and feedback are instrumental in ensuring accurate speech production. Individuals differ in their ability to access and respond to somatosensory information, but there is no established standard for measuring somatosensory acuity. The primary objective of this study was to determine which of three measures of somatosensory acuity had the strongest association with change in production accuracy in a vowel learning task, while controlling for the better-studied covariate of auditory acuity.
Method: Three somatosensory tasks were administered to 20 female college students: an oral stereognosis task, a bite block task with auditory masking, and a novel phonetic awareness task. Individual scores from the tasks were compared to their performance on a speech learning task in which participants were trained to produce novel Mandarin vowels with visual biofeedback.
Results: Of the three tasks, only bite block adaptation with auditory masking was significantly associated with performance in the speech learning task. Participants with weaker somatosensory acuity tended to demonstrate larger increases in production accuracy over the course of training.
Conclusions: The bite block adaptation task measures proprioceptive awareness rather than tactile acuity and assesses somatosensory knowledge implicitly, with limited metalinguistic demands. This small-scale study provides preliminary evidence that these characteristics may be desirable for the assessment of oral somatosensory acuity, at least in the context of vowel learning tasks. Well-normed somatosensory measures could be of clinical utility by informing diagnosis/prognosis and treatment planning.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1044/2021_persp-20-00218 | DOI Listing |
Front Sports Act Living
December 2024
Research Institute for Sport and Exercise, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Previous research has demonstrated that postural stability may be improved by increasing stimulation to the somatosensory system. Wearing lower limb compression garments or textured in-soles have been found to be effective short-term methods for improving postural stability, hypothesized to be due to enhanced tactile feedback. The aim of this study was to assess whether a combined compression-tactile sock increases postural stability in healthy adults, compared to barefoot.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Hand Ther
October 2023
Occupational Therapy Department, Touro University Nevada, Henderson, NV, USA.
Background: Proprioception is an essential sensory function of the body. Proprioception is defined as one's awareness of their body's position and movement through space. It contributes to both the conscious and unconscious awareness of limb and trunk position and movement.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAsian Pac J Cancer Prev
October 2024
Department of Musculoskeletal Sciences, Krishna College of Physiotherapy, Krishna Vishwa Vidyapeeth, Karad, Maharashtra, India.
Exp Brain Res
December 2024
King's College London, Centre of Human & Applied Physiological Sciences (CHAPS), Room 3.14 Shepherd's House, Guy's Campus, London, SE1 1UL, UK.
Paradoxically visual dependence is reported to increase with age, contributing to falls risk, whereas visual function typically declines. This study assesses the relationship between age, objective and subjective measures of visual function and visual dependence, in healthy young and older adults. Forty-four healthy Young (YA; n = 32; 18 males, aged 26.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClin Oral Investig
September 2024
Department of Periodontics- Bauru School of Dentistry, University of Sao Paulo, Dr. Octávio Pinheiro Brisolla 9-75, Vila Universitária, Bauru, SP, CEP: 17012-901, Brazil.
Objectives: The subepithelial connective tissue graft (SCTG) plus coronal advanced flap is commonly evaluated by clinical parameters, but potential sensory changes (patients' perception of painful or painless sensations) need to be further explored. This preliminary study aimed to qualitatively evaluate the somatosensory profile of recipient and palatal donor sites of SCTG.
Materials And Methods: Sensory tests were applied at SCTG recipient and donor sites at baseline, after 3 and 6 months.
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