Effect of overarticulation technique in voice and speech of individuals with Parkinson's disease with deep brain stimulation

ABSTRACT

Purpose  To verify the immediate and after 15 minutes effect of the overarticulation technique in individuals with Parkinson's disease, submitted to deep brain stimulation in subthalamic nucleus, in the voice, speech and facial movements.

Methods  This study counted with 29 patients with the diagnosis of Parkinson Disease who were undergoing pharmacotherapy and were submitted to deep brain stimulation in the subthalamic nucleus, with and without prior speech therapy. Speech and voice samples were recorded in an audio and video file at three different moments: pre-intervention, immediate post intervention and 15 minutes post intervention. The intervention was the individual performance of 5 minutes exercise consisting of sequence of overarticulation techniques. The audio and video recordings were submitted to the perceptual-judgement of the voice quality and facial movements.

Results  The technique produced positive results in 69% of the cases after 15 minutes of its application when compared to the other moments. Articulation was the parameter that most contributed in the perceptual-judgment of the best voice quality (69%); it was significantly higher than the other parameters, except speech rate. After 15 minutes of the technique, 58.6% of the patients had improvement in the facial movements, according to the perceptual-judgment which was also significantly better when compared to other moments. The parameter with greater provement was movement of the mouth, eyebrows and eyes.

Conclusion  The overarticulation technique produces an immediate positive effect on vocal aspects and greater facial expressiveness, especially after 15 minutes.

Keywords:  Deep brain stimulation; Parkinson disease; Hypokinetic dysarthria; Voice; Speech