Investigating speech motor control using vocal tract imaging, fMRI, and brain stimulation
<p>The aim of this thesis was to understand speech motor control in both people who are typically fluent (PWTF) and people who stutter (PWS). To do this, I used a multi-modal approach including vocal tract MRI, functional MRI during task and brain stimulation. These methods allowed me to explo...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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2019
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| _version_ | 1797093663098011648 |
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| author | Wiltshire, C |
| author2 | Watkins, K |
| author_facet | Watkins, K Wiltshire, C |
| author_sort | Wiltshire, C |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | <p>The aim of this thesis was to understand speech motor control in both people who are typically fluent (PWTF) and people who stutter (PWS). To do this, I used a multi-modal approach including vocal tract MRI, functional MRI during task and brain stimulation. These methods allowed me to explore speech motor control from the brain’s control of speech to the movement of the articulators.</p>
<p>First, I conducted a systematic review of previous studies of articulation in PWS that used a variety of different methods. Technological advances over the last 15 years have offered new insight into the speech motor control of PWS by measuring precise movements of the articulators involved in speech.</p>
<p>I then used vocal tract MRI (vtMRI) to look at the speech movements in PWS. As this is a novel technique, experiments have been designed to first replicate and then extend key results identified via the systematic review that used alternative methods. We found that PWS, on average, produced more variable movements than typically fluent speakers even during fluent productions of simple nonwords. This indicates general, trait-level differences in the control of the articulators between PWS and people who are typically fluent.</p>
<p>I used functional MRI of the brain to investigate differences in the neural control of speech in PWS and PWTF. I used a task known as the Stop-Signal task that was previously used to investigate inhibitory motor control in both speech and manual movements (Xue, Aron & Poldrack, 2008). The results support the role of an over-active inhibitory response in PWS compared with controls.</p>
<p>Finally, I designed a study to investigate whether transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can modulate speech articulation in a typically fluent population. I used both behavioural and electrophysiological outcomes to assess the role of tDCS in modulating performance on a complex articulation task. TDCS did not modulate performance on a complex articulation task in healthy young adults. TDCS applied concurrently with task learning also failed to modulate cortical excitability in expected ways.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T04:03:32Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oxford-uuid:c563f57b-f768-4e26-a886-8f91b84d6c5a |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T04:03:32Z |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:c563f57b-f768-4e26-a886-8f91b84d6c5a2022-03-27T06:30:29ZInvestigating speech motor control using vocal tract imaging, fMRI, and brain stimulationThesishttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_db06uuid:c563f57b-f768-4e26-a886-8f91b84d6c5aSpeechBrain stimulationStutteringMagnetic resonance imagingEnglishHyrax Deposit2019Wiltshire, CWatkins, K<p>The aim of this thesis was to understand speech motor control in both people who are typically fluent (PWTF) and people who stutter (PWS). To do this, I used a multi-modal approach including vocal tract MRI, functional MRI during task and brain stimulation. These methods allowed me to explore speech motor control from the brain’s control of speech to the movement of the articulators.</p> <p>First, I conducted a systematic review of previous studies of articulation in PWS that used a variety of different methods. Technological advances over the last 15 years have offered new insight into the speech motor control of PWS by measuring precise movements of the articulators involved in speech.</p> <p>I then used vocal tract MRI (vtMRI) to look at the speech movements in PWS. As this is a novel technique, experiments have been designed to first replicate and then extend key results identified via the systematic review that used alternative methods. We found that PWS, on average, produced more variable movements than typically fluent speakers even during fluent productions of simple nonwords. This indicates general, trait-level differences in the control of the articulators between PWS and people who are typically fluent.</p> <p>I used functional MRI of the brain to investigate differences in the neural control of speech in PWS and PWTF. I used a task known as the Stop-Signal task that was previously used to investigate inhibitory motor control in both speech and manual movements (Xue, Aron & Poldrack, 2008). The results support the role of an over-active inhibitory response in PWS compared with controls.</p> <p>Finally, I designed a study to investigate whether transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can modulate speech articulation in a typically fluent population. I used both behavioural and electrophysiological outcomes to assess the role of tDCS in modulating performance on a complex articulation task. TDCS did not modulate performance on a complex articulation task in healthy young adults. TDCS applied concurrently with task learning also failed to modulate cortical excitability in expected ways.</p> |
| spellingShingle | Speech Brain stimulation Stuttering Magnetic resonance imaging Wiltshire, C Investigating speech motor control using vocal tract imaging, fMRI, and brain stimulation |
| title | Investigating speech motor control using vocal tract imaging, fMRI, and brain stimulation |
| title_full | Investigating speech motor control using vocal tract imaging, fMRI, and brain stimulation |
| title_fullStr | Investigating speech motor control using vocal tract imaging, fMRI, and brain stimulation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Investigating speech motor control using vocal tract imaging, fMRI, and brain stimulation |
| title_short | Investigating speech motor control using vocal tract imaging, fMRI, and brain stimulation |
| title_sort | investigating speech motor control using vocal tract imaging fmri and brain stimulation |
| topic | Speech Brain stimulation Stuttering Magnetic resonance imaging |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT wiltshirec investigatingspeechmotorcontrolusingvocaltractimagingfmriandbrainstimulation |