Instability of syllable repetition in Parkinson's disease—Influence of levodopa and deep brain stimulation

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis of a fundamental impairment of vocal pace performance in Parkinson's disease (PD) based on a syllable repetition paradigm and the influence of levodopa and deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN‐DBS). Twenty‐two PD patients under stable dopaminergic medication, 14 patients with STN‐DBS, and 30 controls were tested. Participants had to repeat the syllable /pa/ in a steady pace. Percental coefficient of variance (COV) of interval length was measured for the description of pace stability. Patients were tested in the OFF state and again in the ON state after levodopa administration or ongoing STN‐DBS. COV was elevated in both PD subgroups. COV was not influenced by levodopa administration but showed a further deterioration under STN‐DBS. The impaired syllable repetition capacity shows similarities to the patterns of more complex speech rhythm abnormalities in PD and therefore might share the same pathophysiology. © 2010 Movement Disorder Society

[1]  J. Gurd,et al.  Motor speech versus digit control in Parkinson's disease: A cognitive neuropsychology investigation , 1998 .

[2]  V. Wolfe,et al.  Speech changes in Parkinson's disease during treatment with L-dopa. , 1975, Journal of communication disorders.

[3]  A. Benabid,et al.  Effect on parkinsonian signs and symptoms of bilateral subthalamic nucleus stimulation , 1995, The Lancet.

[4]  M. Morris,et al.  Chapter 3 Interaction of the basal ganglia and supplementary motor area in the elaboration of movement , 1995 .

[5]  E. Cuny,et al.  Side‐effects of subthalamic stimulation in Parkinson's disease: clinical evolution and predictive factors , 2006, European journal of neurology.

[6]  Hermann Ackermann,et al.  The Temporal Control of Repetitive Articulatory Movements in Parkinson's Disease , 1997, Brain and Language.

[7]  S. Skodda,et al.  Short- and long-term dopaminergic effects on dysarthria in early Parkinson’s disease , 2010, Journal of Neural Transmission.

[8]  A. Benabid,et al.  Pyramidal tract side effects induced by deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus , 2007, Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry.

[9]  S. Skodda,et al.  Speech rate and rhythm in Parkinson's disease , 2008, Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society.

[10]  C. Frith,et al.  Dopaminergic modulation of striato-frontal connectivity during motor timing in Parkinson's disease. , 2010, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[11]  M. Hariz,et al.  Speech in Parkinson's disease following subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation: Preliminary results , 2006 .

[12]  M. Brett,et al.  Impairment of beat-based rhythm discrimination in Parkinson's disease , 2009, Cortex.

[13]  S. Skodda,et al.  Instability of syllable repetition as a model for impaired motor processing: is Parkinson’s disease a “rhythm disorder”? , 2010, Journal of Neural Transmission.

[14]  Elina Tripoliti,et al.  Effects of contact location and voltage amplitude on speech and movement in bilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation , 2008, Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society.

[15]  A. Benabid,et al.  Five-year follow-up of bilateral stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus in advanced Parkinson's disease. , 2003, The New England journal of medicine.

[16]  Patrick Santens,et al.  Levodopa-induced alterations in speech rate in advanced Parkinson's disease. , 2006, Acta neurologica Belgica.

[17]  Y. Ben-Shlomo,et al.  Stimulation of the caudal zona incerta is superior to stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus in improving contralateral parkinsonism. , 2006, Brain : a journal of neurology.