Effects of neurosurgical management of Parkinson's disease on speech characteristics and oromotor function

In addition to the major motor signs of rigidity, tremor, akinesia, and postural instability, an estimated 70%-89% of individuals diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (PD) develop speech and voice disorders (Hartelius [...]
The present study examined the effects of neurosurgical management of Parkinson's disease (PD), including the procedures of pallidotomy, thalamotomy, and deep-brain stimulation (DBS) on perceptual speech characteristics, speech intelligibility, and oromotor function in a group of 22 participants with PD. The surgical participant group was compared with a group of 25 non-neurologically impaired individuals matched for age and sex. In addition, the study investigated 16 participants with PD who did not undergo neurosurgical management to control for disease progression. Results revealed that neurosurgical intervention did not significantly change the surgical participants' perceptual speech dimensions or oromotor function despite significant postoperative improvements in ratings of general motor function and disease severity. Reasons why neurosurgical intervention resulted in dissimilar outcomes with respect to participants' perceptual speech dimensions and general motor function are proposed. KEY WORDS: Parkinson's disease, dysarthria, neurosurgery