Age and Speech Production: A 50‐Year Longitudinal Study

Hunter, Eric J.; Kapsner-Smith, Mara; Pead, Patrick; Engar, Megan; Brown, Whitney N.

doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2012.03983.x

Cited by 22 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…That is, it is possible that older adults are capable of producing high-and lowfrequency voice separately, but they may have difficulty modulating the frequency of their voice online, as they speak, which was not assessed as part of the present study. Future studies should also consider longitudinal protocols in order to track the progression of voice and speech characteristics with age (Hunter et al 2012), as well as incorporate measures of hearing, which may contribute to the relationship between age and voice production/self-assessment.…”

Section: Voice Control Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of age on the amplitude, frequency and perceived quality of voice

Lortie

Thibeault

Guitton

et al. 2015

AGE

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The manner and extent to which voice amplitude and frequency control mechanisms change with age is not well understood. The related question of whether the assessment of one's own voice evolves with age, concomitant with the acoustical changes that the voice undergoes, also remains unanswered. In the present study, we characterized the aging of voice production mechanisms (amplitude, frequency), compared the aging voice in different experimental contexts (vowel utterance, connected speech) and examined the relationship between voice self-assessment and age-related voice acoustical changes. Eighty healthy adults (20 to 75 years old) participated in the study, which involved computation of several acoustical measures of voice (including measures of fundamental frequency, voice amplitude, and stability) as well as self-assessments of voice. Because depression is frequent in older adults, depression and anxiety scores were also measured. As was expected, analyses revealed age effects on most acoustical measures. However, there was no interaction between age and the ability to produce high/low voice amplitude/frequency, suggesting that voice amplitude and frequency control mechanisms are preserved in aging. Multiple mediation analyses demonstrated that the relationship between age and voice self-assessment was moderated by depression and anxiety scores. Taken together, these results reveal that while voice production undergoes important changes throughout aging, the ability to increase/decrease the amplitude and frequency of voice are preserved, at least within the age range studied, and that depression and anxiety scores have a stronger impact on perceived voice quality than acoustical changes themselves.

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Section: Voice Control Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of age on the amplitude, frequency and perceived quality of voice

Lortie

Thibeault

Guitton

et al. 2015

AGE

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“…Based on previous work, these individuals' spoken pitch (fundamental speaking frequency) and length of speech breath groups (duration of speech from one breath to the next) changed significantly in the mid to latter part of the sixth decade, with spoken pitch initially decreasing, followed by a substantial steady increase. As discussed previously, changes in spoken pitch and length of speech breath groups could highlight age‐related deterioration of laryngeal tissue, laryngeal valving, lung vital capacity, and reduction of motor coordination.…”

mentioning

confidence: 92%

Progression of Voice Breaks in a Nonpathological Voice as an Indicator of Aerodigestive Health

Hunter

Titze

2016

J American Geriatrics Society

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“…Previous studies have documented a number of age-related differences in various aspects of spoken language production including changes in voice production affecting the fundamental frequency (pitch) of the voice [Decoster and Debruyne, 1997;Honjo and Isshiki, 1980;Hunter et al, 2012;Linville, 1996;Mueller, 1997;Ramig, 1983], as well as, the stability [Lortie et al, 2016[Lortie et al, , 2015Wilcox and Horii, 1980] and loudness of voice [Baker et al, 2001]. Previous studies have documented a number of age-related differences in various aspects of spoken language production including changes in voice production affecting the fundamental frequency (pitch) of the voice [Decoster and Debruyne, 1997;Honjo and Isshiki, 1980;Hunter et al, 2012;Linville, 1996;Mueller, 1997;Ramig, 1983], as well as, the stability [Lortie et al, 2016[Lortie et al, , 2015Wilcox and Horii, 1980] and loudness of voice [Baker et al, 2001].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age differences in the motor control of speech: An fMRI study of healthy aging

Tremblay

Sato

Deschamps

2017

Human Brain Mapping

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Healthy aging is associated with a decline in cognitive, executive, and motor processes that are concomitant with changes in brain activation patterns, particularly at high complexity levels. While speech production relies on all these processes, and is known to decline with age, the mechanisms that underlie these changes remain poorly understood, despite the importance of communication on everyday life. In this cross-sectional group study, we investigated age differences in the neuromotor control of speech production by combining behavioral and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. Twenty-seven healthy adults underwent fMRI while performing a speech production task consisting in the articulation of nonwords of different sequential and motor complexity. Results demonstrate strong age differences in movement time (MT), with longer and more variable MT in older adults. The fMRI results revealed extensive age differences in the relationship between BOLD signal and MT, within and outside the sensorimotor system. Moreover, age differences were also found in relation to sequential complexity within the motor and attentional systems, reflecting both compensatory and de-differentiation mechanisms. At very high complexity level (high motor complexity and high sequence complexity), age differences were found in both MT data and BOLD response, which increased in several sensorimotor and executive control areas. Together, these results suggest that aging of motor and executive control mechanisms may contribute to age differences in speech production. These findings highlight the importance of studying functionally relevant behavior such as speech to understand the mechanisms of human brain aging. Hum Brain Mapp 38:2751-2771, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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Age and Speech Production: A 50‐Year Longitudinal Study

Cited by 22 publications

References 9 publications

Effects of age on the amplitude, frequency and perceived quality of voice

Effects of age on the amplitude, frequency and perceived quality of voice

Progression of Voice Breaks in a Nonpathological Voice as an Indicator of Aerodigestive Health

Age differences in the motor control of speech: An fMRI study of healthy aging

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