Objectives: The esophageal speech is one of the possible alaryngeal voices resulting after total laryngectomy. Its production is made by the regurgitation of the air coming from the esophagus, sonorized through the passage from the walls of the upper esophageal sphincter. The neural correlates of this voice have never been investigated, while the neural control of laryngeal voice has been already documented by different studies. Methods: Four patients using esophageal speech after total laryngectomy and four healthy controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging. The fMRI experiment was carried out using a “Block Design Paradigm.” Results: Comparison of the phonation task in the two groups revealed higher brain activities in the cingulate gyrus, the cerebellum and the medulla as well as lower brain activities in the precentral gyrus, the inferior and middle frontal gyrus and the superior temporal gyrus in the laryngectomized group. Conclusions: The findings in this pilot study provide insight into neural phonation control in laryngectomized patients with esophageal speech. The imaging results demonstrated that in patients with esophageal speech, altered brain activities can be observed. The adaptive changes in the brain following laryngectomy reflect the changes in the body and in the voice modality. In addition, this pilot study establishes that a blocked design fMRI is sensitive enough to define a neural network associated with esophageal voice and lays the foundation for further studies in this field.
Neural Correlates of Esophageal Speech: An fMRI Pilot Study / L. Guidotti, D. Negroni, L. Sironi, A. Stecco. - In: JOURNAL OF VOICE. - ISSN 0892-1997. - (2020). [Epub ahead of print] [10.1016/j.jvoice.2020.05.022]
Neural Correlates of Esophageal Speech: An fMRI Pilot Study
L. Sironi;
2020
Abstract
Objectives: The esophageal speech is one of the possible alaryngeal voices resulting after total laryngectomy. Its production is made by the regurgitation of the air coming from the esophagus, sonorized through the passage from the walls of the upper esophageal sphincter. The neural correlates of this voice have never been investigated, while the neural control of laryngeal voice has been already documented by different studies. Methods: Four patients using esophageal speech after total laryngectomy and four healthy controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging. The fMRI experiment was carried out using a “Block Design Paradigm.” Results: Comparison of the phonation task in the two groups revealed higher brain activities in the cingulate gyrus, the cerebellum and the medulla as well as lower brain activities in the precentral gyrus, the inferior and middle frontal gyrus and the superior temporal gyrus in the laryngectomized group. Conclusions: The findings in this pilot study provide insight into neural phonation control in laryngectomized patients with esophageal speech. The imaging results demonstrated that in patients with esophageal speech, altered brain activities can be observed. The adaptive changes in the brain following laryngectomy reflect the changes in the body and in the voice modality. In addition, this pilot study establishes that a blocked design fMRI is sensitive enough to define a neural network associated with esophageal voice and lays the foundation for further studies in this field.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
---|---|---|---|
J Voice_proof of article.pdf
accesso riservato
Tipologia:
Publisher's version/PDF
Dimensione
1.62 MB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
1.62 MB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri Richiedi una copia |
J Voice_proof of article.pdf
Open Access dal 05/08/2021
Tipologia:
Post-print, accepted manuscript ecc. (versione accettata dall'editore)
Dimensione
1.62 MB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
1.62 MB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri |
Pubblicazioni consigliate
I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.