Gender-Related Patterns of Dysprosody in Parkinson Disease and Correlation Between Speech Variables and Motor Symptoms

Explorative analysis of prosodic parameters in patients with Parkinson disease (PD) and in healthy controls in correlation to gender, disease-specific parameters, and motor symptoms. Acoustical analysis was performed on 169 patients with PD and 64 age-matched healthy controls based on a four sentence-reading task. Assessment of motor impairment was performed on the basis of Unified Parkinsonʹs Disease Rating Scale/Motor Score III and further symptom-related subscores. F0 variability was reduced in male and female PD patients, whereas meanF0 was found to be elevated in male patients with PD only. No significant difference in overall articulatory rate was found between PD patients and controls, but patients showed a reduction of percentual pause time within polysyllabic words (Pinw%). Female PD patients showed an additional reduction of percentual pause ratio (PR%). Variables of intonation and articulatory rate were not correlated to each other. Strong correlations were seen between some distinct prosodic variables and the axial and akinesia parkinsonian symptoms with some gender-related particularities. Reduction of F0 variability and Pinw% are the most conspicuous features of parkinsonian dysprosody with some further gender-related characteristics. Changes of intonation variability and speech velocity seem to be controlled by different pathophysiological conditions. In consideration of some gender differences, several distinct aspects of dysprosody can be interpreted as axial and akinesia symptoms of PD.