Article

Electromagnetic articulography was employed to investigate the
strength of articulatory coupling and hence the degree of functional movement
independence between individual articulators in apraxia of speech (AOS). METHODS : Tongue-tip, tongue-back and jaw movement was recorded from five
speakers with AOS and a concomitant aphasia (M = 53.6 years; SD = 12.60) during
/ta, sa, la, ka/ syllable repetitions, spoken at typical and fast rates of
speech. Covariance values were calculated for each articulatory pair to gauge the
strength of articulatory coupling. The results obtained for each of the
participants with AOS were individually compared to those obtained by a control
group (n = 12; M = 52.08 years; SD = 12.52). Comparisons were made between the
typical rate productions of the control group and the typical and fast rate
productions of the participants with AOS. MAIN OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: In
comparison to the control group, four speakers with AOS exhibited significantly
stronger articulatory coupling for alveolar and/or velar speech targets, during
typical and/or fast rate conditions, suggesting decreased functional movement
independence. CONCLUSIONS: The reduction in functional movement independence
might have reflected an attempt to simplify articulatory control or a decrease in
the ability to differentially control distinct articulatory regions.

Langue : ANGLAIS