Wolfram Ziegler | Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (original) (raw)

Papers by Wolfram Ziegler

Brain Sciences, Mar 11, 2021

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

Wiley-Blackwell eBooks, Mar 16, 2010

Journal of Neurology, Sep 30, 2014

Patterns of dysarthria in spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) and their discriminative features still ... more Patterns of dysarthria in spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) and their discriminative features still remain elusive. Here we aimed to compare dysarthria profiles of patients with (SCA3 and SCA6 vs. Friedreich ataxia (FRDA), focussing on three particularly vulnerable speech parameters (speaking rate, prosodic modulation, and intelligibility) in ataxic dysarthria as well as on a specific oral non-speech variable of ataxic impairment, i.e., the irregularity of oral motor diadochokinesis (DDK). 30 Patients with SCA3, SCA6, and FRDA, matched for group size (n = 10 each), disease severity, and disease duration produced various speech samples and DDK tasks. A discriminant analysis was used to differentiate speech and non-speech parameters between groups. Regularity of DDK was specifically impaired in SCA3, whereas impairments of speech parameters, i.e., rate and modulation were stronger affected in SCA6. Speech parameters are particularly vulnerable in SCA6, while non-speech oral motor features are notably impaired in SCA3.

American Journal of Speech-language Pathology, Apr 26, 2023

Purpose: Previous research on motor speech disorders (MSDs) in primary progressive aphasia (PPA) ... more Purpose: Previous research on motor speech disorders (MSDs) in primary progressive aphasia (PPA) has largely focused on patients with the nonfluent/agrammatic variant of PPA (nfvPPA), with few systematic descriptions of MSDs in variants other than nfvPPA. There has also been an emphasis on studying apraxia of speech, whereas less is known about dysarthria or other forms of MSDs. This study aimed to examine the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of MSDs in a prospective sample of individuals with PPA independent of subtype. Method: We included 38 participants with a root diagnosis of PPA according to current consensus criteria, including one case with primary progressive apraxia of speech. Speech tasks comprised various speech modalities and levels of complexity. Expert raters used a novel protocol for auditory speech analyses covering all major dimensions of speech. Results: Of the participants, 47.4% presented with some form of MSD. Individual speech motor profiles varied widely with respect to the different speech dimensions. Besides apraxia of speech, we observed different dysarthria syndromes, special forms of MSDs (e.g., neurogenic stuttering), and mixed forms. Degrees of severity ranged from mild to severe. We also observed MSDs in patients whose speech and language profiles were incompatible with nfvPPA. Conclusions: The results confirm that MSDs are common in PPA and can manifest in different syndromes. The findings emphasize that future studies of MSDs in PPA should be extended to all clinical variants and should take into account the qualitative characteristics of motor speech dysfunction across speech dimensions. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.22555534

Georg Thieme Verlag eBooks, 2014

Neuropediatrics, Sep 11, 2014

Springer eBooks, 1989

In der bisher umfassendsten Untersuchung der Sprechstorungen bei neurologischen Erkrankungen habe... more In der bisher umfassendsten Untersuchung der Sprechstorungen bei neurologischen Erkrankungen haben Darley et al. [2] auf der Grundlage perzeptiver Beurteilung sprachlicher Auserungen die Merkmale: gleichbleibende Tonhohe und Lautstarke, reduzierte Akzentuierung und Artikulationsunscharfe als die wichtigsten Kennzeichen der Parkinson-Dysarthrie herausgestellt. Die Parkinson-Dysarthrie unterscheidet sich darin von allen anderen neurologisch bedingten Sprechstorungen, das sie nicht mit verlangsamtem, sondern im Mittel sogar beschleunigtem Sprechtempo einherzugehen scheint.

Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Dec 1, 2014

In this response to commentaries, we revisit the two main arguments of our target article. Based ... more In this response to commentaries, we revisit the two main arguments of our target article. Based on data drawn from a variety of research areasvocal behavior in nonhuman primates, speech physiology and pathology, neurobiology of basal ganglia functions, motor skill learning, paleoanthropological conceptsthe target article, first, suggests a two-stage model of the evolution of the crucial motor prerequisites of spoken language within the hominin lineage: (1) monosynaptic refinement of the projections of motor cortex to brainstem nuclei steering laryngeal muscles, and (2) subsequent "vocal-laryngeal elaboration" of cortico-basal ganglia circuits, driven by human-specific FOXP2 mutations. Second, as concerns the ontogenetic development of verbal communication, age-dependent interactions between the basal ganglia and their cortical targets are assumed to contribute to the time course of the acquisition of articulate speech. Whereas such a phylogenetic reorganization of cortico-striatal circuits must be considered a necessary prerequisite for ontogenetic speech acquisition, the 30 commentariesaddressing the whole range of data sources referred topoint at several further aspects of acoustic communication which have to be added to or integrated with the presented model. For example, the relationships between vocal tract movement sequencingthe focus of the target articleand rhythmical structures of movement organization, the connections between speech motor control and the central-auditory and central-visual systems, the impact of social factors upon the development of vocal behavior (in nonhuman primates and in our species), and the interactions of ontogenetic speech acquisitionbased upon FOXP2-driven structural changes at the level of the basal gangliawith preceding subvocal stages of acoustic communication as well as higher-order (cognitive) dimensions of phonological development. Most importantly, thus, several promising future research directions unfold from these contributionsaccessible to clinical studies and functional imaging in our species as well as experimental investigations in nonhuman primates. R2. Nonhuman primate vocal behavior: An underestimated or an inadequate vantage point for models of spoken language evolution? R2.1. Volitional control of vocal behavior in nonhuman primates Based upon a review of the behavioral organization and the neuroanatomic underpinnings of acoustic communication in nonhuman primates, we proposed in the target article that these species lack the capacity "to combine laryngeal and orofacial gestures into novel movement sequences" (sect. 2.3), rendering them virtually unable to generate even the simplest speechlike vocal emissions, that is, acoustic events in the form of one or more syllable-shaped signal pulses. Several commentaries suggest that we might have underestimated the versatility of vocal functions in our primate relatives:

Cortex, Jul 1, 2021

OBJECTIVE Motor speech disorders (MSDs) are characteristic for nonfluent primary progressive apha... more OBJECTIVE Motor speech disorders (MSDs) are characteristic for nonfluent primary progressive aphasia (nfvPPA). In primary progressive aphasia (PPA) of the semantic (svPPA) and of the logopenic type (lvPPA), speech motor function is considered typically intact. However, knowledge on the prevalence of MSDs in svPPA and lvPPA is mainly based on studies with a priori knowledge of PPA syndrome diagnosis. This fully blinded retrospective study aims to provide data on the prevalence of all types of MSDs in a large sample of German-speaking patients with different subtypes of PPA. METHOD Two raters, blinded for PPA subtype, independently evaluated connected speech samples for MSD syndrome and severity from 161 patients diagnosed with nfvPPA, svPPA or lvPPA in the database of the German Consortium of Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (FTLDc). In case of disagreement, a third experienced rater re-evaluated the speech samples, followed by a consensus procedure. Consensus was reached for 160 patients (74 nfvPPA, 49 svPPA, 37 lvPPA). MAIN RESULTS Across all PPA syndromes, 43.8% of the patients showed MSDs. Patients with nfvPPA demonstrated the highest proportion of MSDs (62.2%), but MSDs were also identified in svPPA (26.5%) and lvPPA (29.7%), respectively. Overall, dysarthria was the most common class of MSDs, followed by apraxia of speech. In addition, we identified speech abnormalities presenting as "syllabic speech", "dysfluent speech", and "adynamic speech". DISCUSSION Our study confirmed MSDs as frequently occurring in PPA. The study also confirmed MSDs to be most common in patients with nfvPPA. However, MSDs were also found in substantial proportions of patients with svPPA and lvPPA. Furthermore, our study identified speech motor deficits that have not received attention in previous studies on PPA. The results are discussed against the background of the existing literature on MSDs in PPA, including theoretical considerations of the neuroanatomical conditions described for each of the different subtypes of PPA.

Folia Phoniatrica Et Logopaedica, 2013

The aim of this article is to explicate the uniqueness of the motor activity implied in spoken la... more The aim of this article is to explicate the uniqueness of the motor activity implied in spoken language production and to emphasize how important it is, from a theoretical and a clinical perspective, to consider the motor events associated with speaking as domain-specific, i.e., as pertaining to the domain of linguistic expression. First, phylogenetic data are reviewed demonstrating the specificity of the human vocal tract motor network regarding (i) the entrenchment of laryngeal motor skills within the organization of vocal tract movements, (ii) the evolution of a neural basis for skill acquisition within this system, and (iii) the integration of this system into an auditory-motor network. Second, ontogenetic evidence and existing knowledge about the experience-dependent plasticity of the brain are reported to explicate that during speech acquisition the vocal tract motor system is constrained by universal properties of speech production and by the specific phonological properties of the speaker's ambient language. Third, clinical data from dysarthria and apraxia of speech provide the background for a discussion about the theoretical underpinnings of domain-general versus domain-specific views of speech motor control. The article ends with a brief sketch of a holistic neurophonetic approach in experimental inquiries, assessment, and treatment of neuromotor speech impairment.

Trends in Neurosciences, Aug 1, 2017

Vocal learning is an exclusively human trait among primates. However, songbirds demonstrate behav... more Vocal learning is an exclusively human trait among primates. However, songbirds demonstrate behavioral features resembling human speech learning. Two circuits have a preeminent role in this human behavior; namely, the corticostriatal and the cerebrocerebellar motor loops. While the striatal contribution can be traced back to the avian anterior forebrain pathway (AFP), the sensorimotor adaptation functions of the cerebellum appear to be human specific in acoustic communication. This review contributes to an ongoing discussion on how birdsong translates into human speech. While earlier approaches were focused on higher linguistic functions, we place the motor aspects of speaking at center stage. Genetic data are brought together with clinical and developmental evidence to outline the role of cerebrocerebellar and corticostriatal interactions in human speech.

Fortschritte Der Neurologie Psychiatrie, Jul 1, 1993

The prosodic quality of speech comprises intonation, accent pattern, and rhythm. Among others, th... more The prosodic quality of speech comprises intonation, accent pattern, and rhythm. Among others, these dimensions contribute to the linguistic structure of an utterance and subserve emotional behaviour. Both cortical and subcortical dysfunctions can give rise to impaired speech prosody. The present paper reviews the clinical and linguistic features of the various dys- and aprosodic syndromes as well as their neuroanatomic substrates. 1. Sporadically, lesions of the left hemisphere present with dysprosody in terms of a ''foreign accent''. In most instances this syndrome seems to be due to apraxia of speech.2. Some authors consider dysprosodic speech a characteristic feature of Broca 's aphasia. The dysprosody of these patients predominantly reflects disturbed temporal organisation of speech utterances. Altered intonation contours, presumably, result from disordered sentence planning rather than from deficits of pitch processing. Wernicke aphasics may show increased variability of intonational patterns.3. Impaired discrimination and identification of affective prosody has been observed in patients with temporoparietal lesion of the right hemisphere ("auditory affective agnosia"). With respect to linguistic prosody, controversial findings are reported on. Besides pitch extraction from acoustic signals the right hemisphere seems to provide categorical representations of emotional behaviour required for the "Interpretation" of perceived Intonation.4. Damage to the right hemisphere can give rise to monotonous speech devoid of affective modulation ("motor aprosodia"). It is unsettled to which extent linguistic suprasegmental features are also distorted. The available data indicate an underlying dysfunction of basal ganglia loops and/or transcallosal projections.5. Both Parkinson's and Huntington's disease may present with reduced prosodic modulation of speech. Probably, these deficits reflect disordered motor control of articulatory and phonatory functions. At least with respect to Parkinsonian patients perceptual and acoustic studies have so far failed to provide sufficient evidence of impaired prosodic planning. Unter dem Begriff ,,Prosodie" werden Intonation, Akzentuierung und Rhythmus sprachlicher Auserungen zusammengefast. Prosodische Komponenten konnen u. a. linguistische Information vermitteln (linguistische Prosodie), z. B. Wort- und Satzakzent indizieren, als auch Stimmungen zum Ausdruck bringen (affektive Prosodie). Veranderungen der Prosodie (Dysprosodie, Aprosodie) wurden bei kortikalen und subkortikalen Dysfunktionen beschrieben. Der vorliegende Literaturuberblick soll die klinischen und linguistischen Merkmale der verschiedenen dys-bzw. aprosodischen Syndrome darstellen und die fur die Verarbeitung prosodischer Merkmale relevanten neuroanatomischen Strukturen herausarbeiten. 1. Insbesondere nach einer Lasion der vorderen Sprechzentren ist gelegentlich ein "foreign accent Syndrome" zu beobachten, gekennzeichnet u. a. durch Artikulationsstorungen und ein verandertes Intonationsmuster. In den meisten Fallen durfte es sich um eine in Ruckbildung befindliche bzw. residuale Sprechapraxie handeln.2. Manche Autoren zahlen eine dysprosodische Sprechweise zu den charakteristischen Merkmalen der Broca-Aphasie. Die Dysprosodie dieser Patienten ist wohl in erster Linie durch Veranderungen der Zeitstruktur sprachlicher Auserungen bedingt. Abweichungen der Intonation lassen sich, zumindest teilweise, als eine Folge gestorter Satzplanung deuten. Bei Wernicke-Aphasikern wurde eine erhohte Variabilitat der Grundfrequenzbewegung beschrieben.3. Temporoparietale Lasionen rechts konnen mit einer Beeintrachtigung von Diskrimination und Identifikation affektiver Prosodie einhergehen ("auditory affective agnosia"), Somit scheint der rechten Hemisphare eine wesentliche Rolle bei der Verarbeitung affektiv-prosodischer Merkmale zuzukommen. Moglicherweise ,,verwaltet" diese Hirnhalfte die zur Identifikation der affektiven Tonung sprachlicher Auserungen erforderlichen Reprasentationen emotionalen Ausdrucksverhaltens. Hinsichtlich des Beitrags der rechten Hemisphare zur Perzeption linguistischer Prosodie liegen uneinheitliche Befunde vor. 4. Rechtshemispharische Schadigungen konnen eine monotone Sprechweise hervorrufen (,,motorische Aprosodie"). Noch nicht ausreichend geklart ist, inwieweit in diesem Zusammenhang neben einer fehlenden affektiv-prosodischen Modulation die Implementierung linguistisch relevanter suprasegmentaler Merkmale mitbetroffen ist. Die vorliegenden Untersuchungen lassen sich dahingehend deuten, das einerseits Bahnen vom anterioren Zingulum zu den Basalganglien und andererseits transkallosale Projektionen temporoparietaler Strukturen fur die affektiv-prosodische Ausgestaltung sprachlicher Auserungen von Bedeutung sind.5. Die prosodischen Auffalligkeiten im Rahmen von Basalgangliendysfunktionen sind am ehesten auf Defizite der motorischen Kontrolle artikulatorischer und phonatorischer Leistungen zuruckzufuhren.…

Oxford University Press eBooks, Apr 17, 2014

Georg Thieme Verlag eBooks, 2002

Language and Cognitive Processes, May 1, 2010

The term phrase-level reduction refers to transformations of the phonetic forms of words in conne... more The term phrase-level reduction refers to transformations of the phonetic forms of words in connected speech. They are a characteristic property of fluent speech in normal speakers. Phrase-level reductions contribute to a reduction of articulatory-motor effort and constitute an important aspect of speech naturalness. So far, these phenomena have not been subject to clinical investigations in patients with apraxia of

Brain Sciences, Mar 11, 2021

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

Wiley-Blackwell eBooks, Mar 16, 2010

Journal of Neurology, Sep 30, 2014

Patterns of dysarthria in spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) and their discriminative features still ... more Patterns of dysarthria in spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) and their discriminative features still remain elusive. Here we aimed to compare dysarthria profiles of patients with (SCA3 and SCA6 vs. Friedreich ataxia (FRDA), focussing on three particularly vulnerable speech parameters (speaking rate, prosodic modulation, and intelligibility) in ataxic dysarthria as well as on a specific oral non-speech variable of ataxic impairment, i.e., the irregularity of oral motor diadochokinesis (DDK). 30 Patients with SCA3, SCA6, and FRDA, matched for group size (n = 10 each), disease severity, and disease duration produced various speech samples and DDK tasks. A discriminant analysis was used to differentiate speech and non-speech parameters between groups. Regularity of DDK was specifically impaired in SCA3, whereas impairments of speech parameters, i.e., rate and modulation were stronger affected in SCA6. Speech parameters are particularly vulnerable in SCA6, while non-speech oral motor features are notably impaired in SCA3.

American Journal of Speech-language Pathology, Apr 26, 2023

Purpose: Previous research on motor speech disorders (MSDs) in primary progressive aphasia (PPA) ... more Purpose: Previous research on motor speech disorders (MSDs) in primary progressive aphasia (PPA) has largely focused on patients with the nonfluent/agrammatic variant of PPA (nfvPPA), with few systematic descriptions of MSDs in variants other than nfvPPA. There has also been an emphasis on studying apraxia of speech, whereas less is known about dysarthria or other forms of MSDs. This study aimed to examine the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of MSDs in a prospective sample of individuals with PPA independent of subtype. Method: We included 38 participants with a root diagnosis of PPA according to current consensus criteria, including one case with primary progressive apraxia of speech. Speech tasks comprised various speech modalities and levels of complexity. Expert raters used a novel protocol for auditory speech analyses covering all major dimensions of speech. Results: Of the participants, 47.4% presented with some form of MSD. Individual speech motor profiles varied widely with respect to the different speech dimensions. Besides apraxia of speech, we observed different dysarthria syndromes, special forms of MSDs (e.g., neurogenic stuttering), and mixed forms. Degrees of severity ranged from mild to severe. We also observed MSDs in patients whose speech and language profiles were incompatible with nfvPPA. Conclusions: The results confirm that MSDs are common in PPA and can manifest in different syndromes. The findings emphasize that future studies of MSDs in PPA should be extended to all clinical variants and should take into account the qualitative characteristics of motor speech dysfunction across speech dimensions. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.22555534

Georg Thieme Verlag eBooks, 2014

Neuropediatrics, Sep 11, 2014

Springer eBooks, 1989

In der bisher umfassendsten Untersuchung der Sprechstorungen bei neurologischen Erkrankungen habe... more In der bisher umfassendsten Untersuchung der Sprechstorungen bei neurologischen Erkrankungen haben Darley et al. [2] auf der Grundlage perzeptiver Beurteilung sprachlicher Auserungen die Merkmale: gleichbleibende Tonhohe und Lautstarke, reduzierte Akzentuierung und Artikulationsunscharfe als die wichtigsten Kennzeichen der Parkinson-Dysarthrie herausgestellt. Die Parkinson-Dysarthrie unterscheidet sich darin von allen anderen neurologisch bedingten Sprechstorungen, das sie nicht mit verlangsamtem, sondern im Mittel sogar beschleunigtem Sprechtempo einherzugehen scheint.

Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Dec 1, 2014

In this response to commentaries, we revisit the two main arguments of our target article. Based ... more In this response to commentaries, we revisit the two main arguments of our target article. Based on data drawn from a variety of research areasvocal behavior in nonhuman primates, speech physiology and pathology, neurobiology of basal ganglia functions, motor skill learning, paleoanthropological conceptsthe target article, first, suggests a two-stage model of the evolution of the crucial motor prerequisites of spoken language within the hominin lineage: (1) monosynaptic refinement of the projections of motor cortex to brainstem nuclei steering laryngeal muscles, and (2) subsequent "vocal-laryngeal elaboration" of cortico-basal ganglia circuits, driven by human-specific FOXP2 mutations. Second, as concerns the ontogenetic development of verbal communication, age-dependent interactions between the basal ganglia and their cortical targets are assumed to contribute to the time course of the acquisition of articulate speech. Whereas such a phylogenetic reorganization of cortico-striatal circuits must be considered a necessary prerequisite for ontogenetic speech acquisition, the 30 commentariesaddressing the whole range of data sources referred topoint at several further aspects of acoustic communication which have to be added to or integrated with the presented model. For example, the relationships between vocal tract movement sequencingthe focus of the target articleand rhythmical structures of movement organization, the connections between speech motor control and the central-auditory and central-visual systems, the impact of social factors upon the development of vocal behavior (in nonhuman primates and in our species), and the interactions of ontogenetic speech acquisitionbased upon FOXP2-driven structural changes at the level of the basal gangliawith preceding subvocal stages of acoustic communication as well as higher-order (cognitive) dimensions of phonological development. Most importantly, thus, several promising future research directions unfold from these contributionsaccessible to clinical studies and functional imaging in our species as well as experimental investigations in nonhuman primates. R2. Nonhuman primate vocal behavior: An underestimated or an inadequate vantage point for models of spoken language evolution? R2.1. Volitional control of vocal behavior in nonhuman primates Based upon a review of the behavioral organization and the neuroanatomic underpinnings of acoustic communication in nonhuman primates, we proposed in the target article that these species lack the capacity "to combine laryngeal and orofacial gestures into novel movement sequences" (sect. 2.3), rendering them virtually unable to generate even the simplest speechlike vocal emissions, that is, acoustic events in the form of one or more syllable-shaped signal pulses. Several commentaries suggest that we might have underestimated the versatility of vocal functions in our primate relatives:

Cortex, Jul 1, 2021

OBJECTIVE Motor speech disorders (MSDs) are characteristic for nonfluent primary progressive apha... more OBJECTIVE Motor speech disorders (MSDs) are characteristic for nonfluent primary progressive aphasia (nfvPPA). In primary progressive aphasia (PPA) of the semantic (svPPA) and of the logopenic type (lvPPA), speech motor function is considered typically intact. However, knowledge on the prevalence of MSDs in svPPA and lvPPA is mainly based on studies with a priori knowledge of PPA syndrome diagnosis. This fully blinded retrospective study aims to provide data on the prevalence of all types of MSDs in a large sample of German-speaking patients with different subtypes of PPA. METHOD Two raters, blinded for PPA subtype, independently evaluated connected speech samples for MSD syndrome and severity from 161 patients diagnosed with nfvPPA, svPPA or lvPPA in the database of the German Consortium of Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (FTLDc). In case of disagreement, a third experienced rater re-evaluated the speech samples, followed by a consensus procedure. Consensus was reached for 160 patients (74 nfvPPA, 49 svPPA, 37 lvPPA). MAIN RESULTS Across all PPA syndromes, 43.8% of the patients showed MSDs. Patients with nfvPPA demonstrated the highest proportion of MSDs (62.2%), but MSDs were also identified in svPPA (26.5%) and lvPPA (29.7%), respectively. Overall, dysarthria was the most common class of MSDs, followed by apraxia of speech. In addition, we identified speech abnormalities presenting as "syllabic speech", "dysfluent speech", and "adynamic speech". DISCUSSION Our study confirmed MSDs as frequently occurring in PPA. The study also confirmed MSDs to be most common in patients with nfvPPA. However, MSDs were also found in substantial proportions of patients with svPPA and lvPPA. Furthermore, our study identified speech motor deficits that have not received attention in previous studies on PPA. The results are discussed against the background of the existing literature on MSDs in PPA, including theoretical considerations of the neuroanatomical conditions described for each of the different subtypes of PPA.

Folia Phoniatrica Et Logopaedica, 2013

The aim of this article is to explicate the uniqueness of the motor activity implied in spoken la... more The aim of this article is to explicate the uniqueness of the motor activity implied in spoken language production and to emphasize how important it is, from a theoretical and a clinical perspective, to consider the motor events associated with speaking as domain-specific, i.e., as pertaining to the domain of linguistic expression. First, phylogenetic data are reviewed demonstrating the specificity of the human vocal tract motor network regarding (i) the entrenchment of laryngeal motor skills within the organization of vocal tract movements, (ii) the evolution of a neural basis for skill acquisition within this system, and (iii) the integration of this system into an auditory-motor network. Second, ontogenetic evidence and existing knowledge about the experience-dependent plasticity of the brain are reported to explicate that during speech acquisition the vocal tract motor system is constrained by universal properties of speech production and by the specific phonological properties of the speaker's ambient language. Third, clinical data from dysarthria and apraxia of speech provide the background for a discussion about the theoretical underpinnings of domain-general versus domain-specific views of speech motor control. The article ends with a brief sketch of a holistic neurophonetic approach in experimental inquiries, assessment, and treatment of neuromotor speech impairment.

Trends in Neurosciences, Aug 1, 2017

Vocal learning is an exclusively human trait among primates. However, songbirds demonstrate behav... more Vocal learning is an exclusively human trait among primates. However, songbirds demonstrate behavioral features resembling human speech learning. Two circuits have a preeminent role in this human behavior; namely, the corticostriatal and the cerebrocerebellar motor loops. While the striatal contribution can be traced back to the avian anterior forebrain pathway (AFP), the sensorimotor adaptation functions of the cerebellum appear to be human specific in acoustic communication. This review contributes to an ongoing discussion on how birdsong translates into human speech. While earlier approaches were focused on higher linguistic functions, we place the motor aspects of speaking at center stage. Genetic data are brought together with clinical and developmental evidence to outline the role of cerebrocerebellar and corticostriatal interactions in human speech.

Fortschritte Der Neurologie Psychiatrie, Jul 1, 1993

The prosodic quality of speech comprises intonation, accent pattern, and rhythm. Among others, th... more The prosodic quality of speech comprises intonation, accent pattern, and rhythm. Among others, these dimensions contribute to the linguistic structure of an utterance and subserve emotional behaviour. Both cortical and subcortical dysfunctions can give rise to impaired speech prosody. The present paper reviews the clinical and linguistic features of the various dys- and aprosodic syndromes as well as their neuroanatomic substrates. 1. Sporadically, lesions of the left hemisphere present with dysprosody in terms of a ''foreign accent''. In most instances this syndrome seems to be due to apraxia of speech.2. Some authors consider dysprosodic speech a characteristic feature of Broca 's aphasia. The dysprosody of these patients predominantly reflects disturbed temporal organisation of speech utterances. Altered intonation contours, presumably, result from disordered sentence planning rather than from deficits of pitch processing. Wernicke aphasics may show increased variability of intonational patterns.3. Impaired discrimination and identification of affective prosody has been observed in patients with temporoparietal lesion of the right hemisphere ("auditory affective agnosia"). With respect to linguistic prosody, controversial findings are reported on. Besides pitch extraction from acoustic signals the right hemisphere seems to provide categorical representations of emotional behaviour required for the "Interpretation" of perceived Intonation.4. Damage to the right hemisphere can give rise to monotonous speech devoid of affective modulation ("motor aprosodia"). It is unsettled to which extent linguistic suprasegmental features are also distorted. The available data indicate an underlying dysfunction of basal ganglia loops and/or transcallosal projections.5. Both Parkinson's and Huntington's disease may present with reduced prosodic modulation of speech. Probably, these deficits reflect disordered motor control of articulatory and phonatory functions. At least with respect to Parkinsonian patients perceptual and acoustic studies have so far failed to provide sufficient evidence of impaired prosodic planning. Unter dem Begriff ,,Prosodie" werden Intonation, Akzentuierung und Rhythmus sprachlicher Auserungen zusammengefast. Prosodische Komponenten konnen u. a. linguistische Information vermitteln (linguistische Prosodie), z. B. Wort- und Satzakzent indizieren, als auch Stimmungen zum Ausdruck bringen (affektive Prosodie). Veranderungen der Prosodie (Dysprosodie, Aprosodie) wurden bei kortikalen und subkortikalen Dysfunktionen beschrieben. Der vorliegende Literaturuberblick soll die klinischen und linguistischen Merkmale der verschiedenen dys-bzw. aprosodischen Syndrome darstellen und die fur die Verarbeitung prosodischer Merkmale relevanten neuroanatomischen Strukturen herausarbeiten. 1. Insbesondere nach einer Lasion der vorderen Sprechzentren ist gelegentlich ein "foreign accent Syndrome" zu beobachten, gekennzeichnet u. a. durch Artikulationsstorungen und ein verandertes Intonationsmuster. In den meisten Fallen durfte es sich um eine in Ruckbildung befindliche bzw. residuale Sprechapraxie handeln.2. Manche Autoren zahlen eine dysprosodische Sprechweise zu den charakteristischen Merkmalen der Broca-Aphasie. Die Dysprosodie dieser Patienten ist wohl in erster Linie durch Veranderungen der Zeitstruktur sprachlicher Auserungen bedingt. Abweichungen der Intonation lassen sich, zumindest teilweise, als eine Folge gestorter Satzplanung deuten. Bei Wernicke-Aphasikern wurde eine erhohte Variabilitat der Grundfrequenzbewegung beschrieben.3. Temporoparietale Lasionen rechts konnen mit einer Beeintrachtigung von Diskrimination und Identifikation affektiver Prosodie einhergehen ("auditory affective agnosia"), Somit scheint der rechten Hemisphare eine wesentliche Rolle bei der Verarbeitung affektiv-prosodischer Merkmale zuzukommen. Moglicherweise ,,verwaltet" diese Hirnhalfte die zur Identifikation der affektiven Tonung sprachlicher Auserungen erforderlichen Reprasentationen emotionalen Ausdrucksverhaltens. Hinsichtlich des Beitrags der rechten Hemisphare zur Perzeption linguistischer Prosodie liegen uneinheitliche Befunde vor. 4. Rechtshemispharische Schadigungen konnen eine monotone Sprechweise hervorrufen (,,motorische Aprosodie"). Noch nicht ausreichend geklart ist, inwieweit in diesem Zusammenhang neben einer fehlenden affektiv-prosodischen Modulation die Implementierung linguistisch relevanter suprasegmentaler Merkmale mitbetroffen ist. Die vorliegenden Untersuchungen lassen sich dahingehend deuten, das einerseits Bahnen vom anterioren Zingulum zu den Basalganglien und andererseits transkallosale Projektionen temporoparietaler Strukturen fur die affektiv-prosodische Ausgestaltung sprachlicher Auserungen von Bedeutung sind.5. Die prosodischen Auffalligkeiten im Rahmen von Basalgangliendysfunktionen sind am ehesten auf Defizite der motorischen Kontrolle artikulatorischer und phonatorischer Leistungen zuruckzufuhren.…

Oxford University Press eBooks, Apr 17, 2014

Georg Thieme Verlag eBooks, 2002

Language and Cognitive Processes, May 1, 2010

The term phrase-level reduction refers to transformations of the phonetic forms of words in conne... more The term phrase-level reduction refers to transformations of the phonetic forms of words in connected speech. They are a characteristic property of fluent speech in normal speakers. Phrase-level reductions contribute to a reduction of articulatory-motor effort and constitute an important aspect of speech naturalness. So far, these phenomena have not been subject to clinical investigations in patients with apraxia of