Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Effects Of Deep Brain Stimulation On The Speech Of Patients With Parkinson's Disease, Erin Suzanne Bjarnason

Theses and Dissertations

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) has received more attention in recent years as a treatment option for regulating the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Previous studies of DBS documented consistent improvements in motor function but more variability in speech outcomes. In the present study, six participants diagnosed with idiopathic Parkinson's disease who reported worsened speech with stimulation were recorded performing speech acoustic tasks with the stimulators on, and again with the stimulators off. Improvements were noted for most participants in measurements of formant slopes, long term average spectrum (LTAS) of a sustained vowel, and spirantization with stimulation …