AUTHOR=Cavallieri Francesco , Di Rauso Giulia , Gessani Annalisa , Budriesi Carla , Fioravanti Valentina , Contardi Sara , Menozzi Elisa , Pinto Serge , Moro Elena , Antonelli Francesca , Valzania Franco 

TITLE=A study on the correlations between acoustic speech variables and bradykinesia in advanced Parkinson's disease

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2023.1213772

DOI=10.3389/fneur.2023.1213772

ISSN=1664-2295

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>Very few studies have assessed the presence of a possible correlation between speech variables and limb bradykinesia in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). The objective of this study was to find correlations between different speech variables and upper extremity bradykinesia under different medication conditions in advanced PD patients.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>Retrospective data were collected from a cohort of advanced PD patients before and after an acute levodopa challenge. Each patient was assessed with a perceptual-acoustic analysis of speech, which included several quantitative parameters [i.e., maximum phonation time (MPT) and intensity (dB)]; the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) (total scores, subscores, and items); and a timed test (a tapping test for 20 s) to quantify upper extremity bradykinesia. Pearson's correlation coefficient was applied to find correlations between the different speech variables and the tapping rate.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>A total of 53 PD patients [men: 34; disease duration: 10.66 (SD 4.37) years; age at PD onset: 49.81 years (SD 6.12)] were included. Levodopa intake increased the MPT of sustained phonation (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.01), but it reduced the speech rate (<italic>p</italic> = 0.05). In the defined-OFF condition, MPT of sustained phonation positively correlated with both bilateral mean (<italic>p</italic> = 0.044, <italic>r</italic>-value:0.299) and left (<italic>p</italic> = 0.033, <italic>r</italic>-value:0.314) tapping. In the defined-ON condition, the MPT correlated positively with bilateral mean tapping (<italic>p</italic> = 0.003), left tapping (<italic>p</italic> = 0.003), and right tapping (<italic>p</italic> = 0.008).</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>This study confirms the presence of correlations between speech acoustic variables and upper extremity bradykinesia in advanced PD patients. These findings suggest common pathophysiological mechanisms.</p></sec>