View in EDS PDF Full Text

Aerodynamic and Acoustic Characteristics of Nasal Airflow in Parkinson's Disease.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Aerodynamic and Acoustic Characteristics of Nasal Airflow in Parkinson's Disease.
Authors: Vojtech, Jenny1 jmvo@bu.edu, Mittelman, Talia S.1, Smit, Kara M.2,3, Abur, Defne1,4,5, Stepp, Cara E.1,6,7
Source: Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research. May2026, Vol. 69 Issue 5, p1993-2006. 14p.
Subject Terms: *Data analysis, *Speech evaluation, *Quality of life, *Comparative studies, Nasal cavity, Research funding, Aerodynamics, Scientific observation, Questionnaires, Parkinson's disease, Statistics, Human voice, Data analysis software, Velopharyngeal insufficiency
Abstract: Purpose: Velopharyngeal incompetence may contribute to speech difficulties in Parkinson's disease (PD) but has been minimally studied. This study investigated the acoustic and aerodynamic characteristics of nasal airflow in people with and without PD. Method: Twenty adults diagnosed with idiopathic PD and 20 age- and sexmatched controls produced consonant-vowel speech stimuli while wearing a nasal airflow mask and oral microphone. Mean nasal airflow was measured during the 25-ms period immediately preceding consonant release ("burst airflow") and over the central 100 ms of each vowel ("vowel airflow"). Vocal intensity (dB SPL) was also measured over the center of each vowel. Results: The PD group exhibited significantly higher burst airflow than the control group (7.7 vs. 1.9 cc/s), though vowel airflow did not differ significantly between groups. Vocal intensity was positively associated with burst and vowel nasal airflow only in the PD group, despite comparable mean intensity levels between groups. Within the PD group, disease duration and speech-specific motor scores were significantly correlated with burst airflow, and voice-related quality of life was correlated with vowel airflow. Conclusions: Velopharyngeal dysfunction in PD was more pronounced during rapid motor sequences (stop consonant bursts) than vowel production and showed dynamic motor deterioration under increasing vocal intensities. The intensity-airflow relationship observed in PD suggests compromised velopharyngeal closure during higher vocal demands. Measures of velopharyngeal dysfunction may be useful markers of axial motor symptom severity, which has a large impact on quality of life and prognosis in people with PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research is the property of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
FullText Links:
  – Type: pdflink
Text:
  Availability: 0
Header DbId: ehh
DbLabel: Education Research Complete
An: 193696200
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Aerodynamic and Acoustic Characteristics of Nasal Airflow in Parkinson's Disease.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Vojtech%2C+Jenny%22">Vojtech, Jenny</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> jmvo@bu.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Mittelman%2C+Talia+S%2E%22">Mittelman, Talia S.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Smit%2C+Kara+M%2E%22">Smit, Kara M.</searchLink><relatesTo>2,3</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Abur%2C+Defne%22">Abur, Defne</searchLink><relatesTo>1,4,5</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Stepp%2C+Cara+E%2E%22">Stepp, Cara E.</searchLink><relatesTo>1,6,7</relatesTo>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Speech%2C+Language+%26+Hearing+Research%22">Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research</searchLink>. May2026, Vol. 69 Issue 5, p1993-2006. 14p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subject Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Data+analysis%22">Data analysis</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Speech+evaluation%22">Speech evaluation</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Quality+of+life%22">Quality of life</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Comparative+studies%22">Comparative studies</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nasal+cavity%22">Nasal cavity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+funding%22">Research funding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Aerodynamics%22">Aerodynamics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Scientific+observation%22">Scientific observation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Questionnaires%22">Questionnaires</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Parkinson's+disease%22">Parkinson's disease</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Statistics%22">Statistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Human+voice%22">Human voice</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Data+analysis+software%22">Data analysis software</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Velopharyngeal+insufficiency%22">Velopharyngeal insufficiency</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Purpose: Velopharyngeal incompetence may contribute to speech difficulties in Parkinson's disease (PD) but has been minimally studied. This study investigated the acoustic and aerodynamic characteristics of nasal airflow in people with and without PD. Method: Twenty adults diagnosed with idiopathic PD and 20 age- and sexmatched controls produced consonant-vowel speech stimuli while wearing a nasal airflow mask and oral microphone. Mean nasal airflow was measured during the 25-ms period immediately preceding consonant release ("burst airflow") and over the central 100 ms of each vowel ("vowel airflow"). Vocal intensity (dB SPL) was also measured over the center of each vowel. Results: The PD group exhibited significantly higher burst airflow than the control group (7.7 vs. 1.9 cc/s), though vowel airflow did not differ significantly between groups. Vocal intensity was positively associated with burst and vowel nasal airflow only in the PD group, despite comparable mean intensity levels between groups. Within the PD group, disease duration and speech-specific motor scores were significantly correlated with burst airflow, and voice-related quality of life was correlated with vowel airflow. Conclusions: Velopharyngeal dysfunction in PD was more pronounced during rapid motor sequences (stop consonant bursts) than vowel production and showed dynamic motor deterioration under increasing vocal intensities. The intensity-airflow relationship observed in PD suggests compromised velopharyngeal closure during higher vocal demands. Measures of velopharyngeal dysfunction may be useful markers of axial motor symptom severity, which has a large impact on quality of life and prognosis in people with PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research is the property of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=193696200
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1044/2026_JSLHR-25-00852
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 14
        StartPage: 1993
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Data analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Speech evaluation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Quality of life
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Comparative studies
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Nasal cavity
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Research funding
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Aerodynamics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Scientific observation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Questionnaires
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Parkinson's disease
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Statistics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Human voice
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Data analysis software
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Velopharyngeal insufficiency
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Aerodynamic and Acoustic Characteristics of Nasal Airflow in Parkinson's Disease.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Vojtech, Jenny
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Mittelman, Talia S.
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Smit, Kara M.
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Abur, Defne
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Stepp, Cara E.
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 05
              Text: May2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 10924388
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 69
            – Type: issue
              Value: 5
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research
              Type: main
ResultId 1