15th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS-15) Barcelona, Spain August 3-9, 2003

The Contribution of Motor Speech Disorders to Understanding Motor Speech Control

Joseph R. Duffy (1), Raymond D. Kent (2), Jane F. Kent (2)

(1) Mayo Clinic, USA
(2) University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA

This paper discusses motor speech disorders (MSDs) and their contribution to our understanding of motor speech control. The MSDs, which include the dysarthrias and apraxia of speech, can be distinguished on the basis of their clinical attributes. The perceptual (and acoustic and physiologic) distinctions among the MSDs have logical relationships with the motor control roles played by the damaged portion of the nervous system with which they are associated. Models of speech motor control must account for several aspects of movement that are known to break down when the nervous system's motor structures and pathways are damaged. At the least, these include requirements for force, quick, accurate movements with proper postural support, coordination, modulation (e.g. amplitude), and selection and sequencing of movement plans/programs.

Full Paper

Bibliographic reference.  Duffy, Joseph R. / Kent, Raymond D. / Kent, Jane F. (2003): "The contribution of motor speech disorders to understanding motor speech control", In ICPhS-15, 159-162.