Assessing Articulatory Speed Performance as a Potential Factor of Slowed Speech in Older Adults

Autor/inn/en	Mefferd, Antje S.; Corder, Erin E.
Titel	Assessing Articulatory Speed Performance as a Potential Factor of Slowed Speech in Older Adults
Quelle	In: Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 57 (2014) 2, S.347-360 (14 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1092-4388
DOI	10.1044/2014_JSLHR-S-12-0261
Schlagwörter	Articulation (Speech); Aging (Individuals); Older Adults; Speech Impairments; Physiology; Young Adults; Age Differences; Syllables; Repetition; Comparative Analysis; Psychomotor Skills + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Aging; Altern; Älterer Erwachsener; Speech impairment; Speech handicap; Speech handicaps; Language handicps; Language impairments; Sprachbehinderung; Physiologie; Young adult; Junger Erwachsener; Age; Difference; Age difference; Altersunterschied; Silbe; Wiederholung; Psychomotorische Aktivität
Abstract	Purpose: To improve our understanding about the underlying factors of aging-related speaking rate decline, the authors sought to determine if lip and jaw speeds are physiologically constrained in older adults. Method: Thirty-six female--10 young adults (ages 22-27 years), 9 middle-aged adults (ages 45-55 years), 10 young-old adults (65-74 years), and 7 very old adults (ages 87-95 years)--completed metronome-paced syllable repetitions while moving the lower lip or jaw to a fixed target with each repetition. Metronome paces incrementally increased from 1.4 Hz to 6.7 Hz. Lip and jaw movements were tracked using a 3-dimensional motion capture system. Results: Older adults' maximum percent increase in lip and jaw peak speed was comparable to or tended to be even greater than that of middle-aged and young adults. By contrast, lip and jaw stiffness, indexed by peak speed-displacement ratios, tended to decrease with age during fast and very fast repetition rates and were associated with mildly prolonged movement durations. Conclusions: The findings suggest that lip and jaw speeds are not constrained in older adults. The trend of reduced stiffness during fast rates, however, suggests that fine-force regulation becomes difficult for older adults. Thus, older adults may implement reduced habitual speaking rates as a behavioral strategy to compensate for diminished articulatory control. (As Provided).
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Update	2017/4/10