Use of Neck Strap Muscle Intermuscular Coherence as an Indicator of Vocal Hyperfunction

Author

Stepp, Cara E. ; Hillman, Robert E. ; Heaton, James T.

Author_Institution

Harvard-MIT Div. of Health Sci. & Technol., Massachussetts Inst. of Technol., Cambridge, MA, USA

Volume

18

Issue

3

fYear

2010

fDate

6/1/2010 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

329

Lastpage

335

Abstract

Intermuscular coherence in the beta band was explored as a possible indicator of vocal hyperfunction, a common condition associated with many voice disorders. Surface electromyography (sEMG) was measured from two electrodes on the anterior neck surface of 18 individuals with vocal nodules and 18 individuals with healthy normal voice. Coherence was calculated from sEMG activity gathered while participants produced both read and spontaneous speech. There was no significant effect of speech type on average coherence. Individuals with vocal nodules showed significantly lower mean coherence in the beta band (15-35 Hz) when compared to controls. Results suggest that bilateral EMG-EMG beta coherence in neck strap muscle during speech production shows promise as an indicator of vocal hyperfunction.

Keywords

electromyography; medical disorders; medical signal processing; speech processing; beta band; bilateral EMG-EMG beta coherence; neck strap muscle intermuscular coherence; sEMG; speech production; spontaneous speech; surface electromyography; vocal hyperfunction; voice disorders; Motor drives; surface electromyography; vocal system; Adult; Electrodes; Electromyography; Female; Humans; Neck; Speech; Vocal Cords; Voice Disorders; Young Adult;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1534-4320

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TNSRE.2009.2039605

Filename

5382599