Identifier

etd-04192011-095645

Degree

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Communication Sciences and Disorders

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

Our project was designed to determine if there was a difference in vocal parameters, including mean fundamental frequency, mean amplitude, and total phonation time, between individuals diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and age-and gender-matched individuals without a diagnosis of any neurologic or neurodegenerative diseases (NO PD) using the Ambulatory Phonation Monitor (APM: KayPENTAX, Lincoln Park, New Jersey). The APM was designed to gather objective data in a naturalistic environment by having participants wear the device over the course of three 8-hour days. The APM measured total phonation time, mean amplitude, and mean fundamental frequency throughout that time. The participants wore the APM on what they deemed “typical” days where similar routines were observed and “out of the ordinary” activities did not occur. Data collection was repeated three times to establish the reliability of the data collected. Descriptive statistics and two-way repeated measure ANOVA were computed using SPSS. NO PD group exhibited significantly higher mean amplitudes in comparison to the PD group. The two groups did not differ in mean fundamental frequency or phonation time. When asked to estimate the amount of talking time, the PD group overestimated their talk time significantly more than the NO PD group. These data suggest that variability of vocal parameters exist among individuals diagnosed with PD and age matched individuals with no diagnosis of neurologic or neurodegenerative disease.

Date

2011

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Donovan, Neila

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.3823

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