Intro to Communication Disorders Exam 1 Study Guide

Speech

The expression of or the ability to express thoughts and feelings by articulate sounds

Language

a conventional, dynamic, and generative system composed of several interrelated components; these components and the relationships between them are used to express ideas, feelings, and facts in communication with other people

Communication

The imparting or exchanging of information or news

Articulation

• shapes the vowel and consonant sounds produced in the vocal tract

• Major associated anatomical structure: tongue

• Lips, tongue, velum/soft palate

Phonation

• sets the air stream in motion

• The sound made when when the vocal folds vibrate

• The sound source for speech

• Air pressure, air flow, and elastic characteristics are what contribute to the opening and closing of the vocal folds

• Major associated anatomical structure: larynx

• Voice is another term for phonation

Respiration

• provides the power source for speech (power supply for speech)

• Lungs: inflate and deflate as air moves into and out of the lungs

• Chest wall: all structures outside the lungs that can compress and expand in the lungs

• Compression of the lungs raises air pressure inside them relative to air pressure outside the mouth; under these conditions, air flows from the lungs to the atmosphere (exhalation)

• Expansion of the lungs lowers air pressure inside them relative to air pressure outside the mouth; under these conditions, air flows from the atmosphere into the lungs (inhalation)

  • Rest breathing (vegetative breathing)

  • Vital capacity (VC): the volume of air that can be exhaled following a maximum inhalation

• Major associated anatomical structure: diaphragm

Resonance

• controls the flow of air through the nasal cavity; provides unique sound for each voice based on the shape of the head

• Different resonant frequencies produce different vowel sounds

• Has to do with how a sound is shaped using the throat, mouth, and nose

• Changes quality in speech production

• Major associated anatomical structure: velum

Moveable Articulators

• part of the vocal tract that can move to produce different speech sounds

• Ex. Lips, tongue, jaw, and soft palate

Fixed Articulators

• the parts of the body that don’t move, but instead provide a surface for other parts to move against

• Ex. Hard palate and teeth

Broca’s Area

• cortical area for expression (production) of speech

• Formulate/generate speech

• Located in the frontal lobe, left hemisphere

Wernicke’s Area

• cortical area for reception (comprehension) of speech and language

• Area where language is understood

• Located in the temporal lobe/parietal lobe, left hemisphere

Central Nervous System

• the cerebral hemispheres, all its contents, the brain stem, the cerebellum, and the spinal cord

Vowel

• Sounds produced with an open vocal tract

• Vowels are formed from the connection between the vocal tract and nasal cavities

• They produce a different sound based on the shapes of both the vocal tract and nasal cavities which changes the way the vocal cords vibrate to produce different sounds

Consonant

• sounds produced by restricting airflow in some way

• Formed in the vocal tract when the velopharyngeal port closes, which then leads to the buildup of air pressure which creates the sounds that produce consonants

Frontal lobe

• Executive function which includes the planning of actions, connecting current behavior with future consequences, and imposing organization on the tasks of everyday life

• Due to the Broca’s area being located here it also plays a role in speech production/expression

parietal lobe

• primary sensory cortex

• Function of touch sensation

• Integrates large amounts of sensory data and plays an important role in coordinating various sources of information critical to cognitive function, including language

temporal lobe

• plays and important role in hearing, it is the primary auditory cortex and auditory association cortex

• Plays an important role in words and their meanings and also the relation between words

• Important to aspects of speech and language perception as well as playing an important role in memory and emotion

• Due to Wernicke’s area it is also responsible for the comprehension/reception of speech

brainstem

• responsible for breathing, consciousness, blood pressure, and production of saliva and perspiration

• Also contain neurons that play a critical role in the control of speech mechanisms and hearing

• Neurons that also control motor control in the head and neck

• Three major components: midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata (medulla)

arcuate fasciculus

• also known as dorsal stream

• Fiber tract connecting Wernicke’s and Broca’s areas

• Primary pathway for transmission of sound structure of words between Wenicke’s and Broca’s areas (pathway is bidirectional)

diaphragm

• used to accomplish the speech-breathing goal of the respiratory system: to maintain a constant lung pressure during speech

larynx

• Sound source for speech

• The vocal folds are the components of the larynx that vibrate and generate the sound source for speech

• Muscles within can close, open, stretch, and tense the vocal folds

Hyoid bone

• top of the larynx

• Elevation of the hyoid bone and larynx occur during the pharyngeal phase of swallowing

• The hyoid bone and larynx move upward and forward as a result of contraction of muscles

velum

• Separates the nasal cavity from the oral cavity during speech and swallowing which allows for the production of oral sounds by preventing air from escaping through the nose, while also opening to produce nasal sounds when needed

• the velum is in constant movement during speech, producing a rapid succession of openings and closing of the VP port

• Used during the oral preparatory/transport phases of swallowing

tongue

• Constant, continuous motion to create a series of speech sounds

• Pushes food to the back of the mouth to aid swallowing

Vocal folds

• paired bands (folds) of muscular and non-muscular tissue that run between the front (anterior) to back (posterior) of the larynx

• During inhalation the vocal folds are open

• When they are closed, the airway is blocked, either momentarily (for swallowing or lifting something heavy) or periodically, as in the vibration of the vocal folds to generate the sound source for speech

• Have a specialized tissue structure for phonation (the sound made when the vocal folds vibrate)

Pinna

• composed of cartilage and fat tissue

• Collects and directs sound energy into ear canal and toward the TM (tympanic membrane)

• Located in the outer ear

external auditory meatus/auditory canal

• acts as a resonator by causing energy at certain frequencies to vibrate with greater amplitude as compared to energy at other frequencies when it conducts sound energy

• Conducts sounds energy to the TM

• Enhances sound at approx 3300 Hz (acting like a resonator)

• Protects EAM by secreting cerumen (earwax) which acts as a barrier to foreign objects

• Located in the outer ear

ear drum

• Vibrates when sound waves hit it, which then transmits those vibrations to the middle ear bones, allowing for the perception of sounds

  • Acts as the first step in the hearing process by converting sound waves into mechanical vibrations that can be interpreted in the brain

• Located in the outer ear and also known as the tympanic membrane

• Boundary between the outer and middle ear

• Composed of three unique tissue layers

  • Middle layer is the strongest but also the most sensitive to sound waves

ossicles

• located in the middle ear

• Three bones called the malleus (hammer), the stapes (stirrup), and the incus (anvil)

• Transmits sound energy from the TM through the ossicular chain (made up of the ossicles bones) to the oval window

• Intensifies sound

• Moves sound vibrations from your eardrum to your cochlea

eustachian tube

• located in the middle ear

• Also known at the auditory tube

• Opening near the bottom of the ME cavity and terminates in the upper part of the pharynx (throat)

• Normally closed, but the tube opens briefly during swallowing, chewing, and yawning

• Maintains middle ear pressure at normal values by briefly opening when swallowing, chewing, and yawning to connect air in the middle ear cavity to air in the nasopharynx

vestibule

• Joins the semicircular canals and cochlea

• Contains the oval window as well as structures that contain hair cells that send signals to the brain about the relative position and acceleration of the head

• Located in the inner ear

cochlea

• converts sound into neural signals and contains many important structures including the scalae, basilar membrane and organ of Corti, and hair cells

• Auditory signals travel from cochlea to the auditory cortex

• Located in the inner ear

semicircular canals

• Contain hair cells that bend when the head moves and cause the vestibular part of cranial nerve VIII to fire and send information about head position and orientation to the brain

• Balance is an important outcome of these signals

• Control balance

• Located in the inner ear

Basilar membrane

• Form the sensory end organ of hearing

• Organ of Corti sits on the structure

• hair cells are located within that determine its frequency sensitivity

  • At the base, the hair cells are sensitive to the highest frequencies whereas the hair cells at the tip are sensitive to the lowest frequencies

• Each hair cell is attached to a nerve fiber that becomes part of the auditory nerve

  • The auditory nerve carries information from the cochlea to the brain, and in come cases from the brain to the cochlea

corpus collosum

• fiber tract that connects the two brain hemispheres (right and left)

• Made up of a bundle of axons (white matter)

  • Roughly 200 million axons

• Axons rising in one hemisphere travel to the other hemisphere where they make synapses with other cortical cells

How are speech and language related? How do they differ?

• Speech is the physical act of producing sounds to communicate, while language is the system of rules and meaning behind those sounds

  • Speech would be saying the word cat and language would be knowing the meaning of the word, that its a fluffy domestic animal

• Language changes over time, it is constantly evolving

• Language uses mental representations

• Speech sounds form words

• Structures and their connections for speech and language are located (primarily) in the left hemisphere of the brain

• Language can be affected by speech disorders

How are pitch and frequency related?

• frequency is the rate of vibration of the vocal folds

  • It is typically provided in cycles per second

  • It is determined by how long it takes the vocal folds to go from closed to open and then back to closed, depending on how long it takes, it determines the frequency of a person

• Pitch (physical measure: F0)

• Frequency is related to perception of voice pitch: the higher the frequency (a physically measured quantity), the higher the perceived pitch

Describe the way inhalation and exhalation ratios differ in vegetative/restful breathing vs. speech breathing

• Vegetative/restful breathing

  • Is symmetric (symmetric refers to the shape of the inhalation-exhalation phases of airflow)

  • Equal volumes of air are inhaled and exhaled during vegetative breathing, and inhalation and exhalation have equal rates of airflow

• Speech breathing

  • Not symmetric

  • Inhalations occur more quickly than exhalations

  • Exhalations are very long as a phrase is uttered

Describe the role of the abdominal muscles in speech production?

• help maintain a constant lung pressure during speech

• Abdominal muscle contraction is important in effective and efficient speech breathing

• Controls the airflow from the lungs, acting as a support system for the diaphragm

• by contracting and relaxing, the abdominal muscles help regulate the steady flow of air required for clear and controlled speech articulation

Describe the way frequencies are arranged along the basilar membrane of the cochlea

• The basilar membrane has tonotopic representation meaning depending on the location of hair cells in the inner ear, it determines its frequency sensitivity

• The base of the basilar membrane have hair cells that are sensitive to the highest frequencies

• At the tip of the basilar membrane, the hair cells are sensitive to the lowest frequencies

In the brain, what is the difference between grey matter and white matter?

• grey matter

  • Densely packed cell bodies of neurons (cortical, other neural tissue)

  • Cell body, unmyelinated fibers

  • Responsible for processing information

  • Cortex consists of billions of neuron cell bodies (aka gray matter)

  • Spinal cord

    • Gray matter center; cluster of neuron cell bodies related to motor and sensory

• White matter

  • Bundle of axons (nerve fibers)

  • Form fiber tracts in the CNS (central nervous system)

  • Transmit signals between different brain regions

  • Spinal cord

    • Surrounded by white matter, fiber tracts

• Brainstem has both gray and white matter

What are sulci and gyri? Why does the human brain have so many - what is their function?

• gyri

  • Ridges of tissue (“hills”)

  • Define the surface of the brain

  • Make up the insular cortex which many scientists believe plays an important role in speech, memory, and emotional functions

• Sulci

  • Fissures, “grooves” separating gyri

  • Separates the occipital lobe from the parietal and temporal lobes

  • Many cortical cells are buried within

• The gyri and sulci give the cortex its characteristic appearance

• They maximize the brains surface area within the skull, allowing for more neurons and complex cognitive functions to be packed in a smaller space

What is the function of ear wax?

• Also known as cerumen

• Protects the ear canal by acting as a barrier to foreign objects

Hearing: types of hearing loss, anatomy involved in the hearing process. Sound energy changes

• Conductive loss

  • Outer and/or middle ear

• Sensorineural loss

  • Cochlea or eighth nerve

• Mixed loss

  • Both the outer and/or middle ear and the cochlea or eighth nerve

• Type of energy found in location

  • External auditory Canal: acoustic

  • Ossicular chain: mechanical

  • Cochlea: hydraulic

  • Auditory nerve: electrochemical

• Energy transfers between systems

  • Acoustic energy to mechanical energy: tympanic membrane

  • Mechanical energy to hydraulic energy: oval window

  • Hydraulic energy to electrochemical energy: basilar membrane

Laryngeal system structures: what are the anatomic components, primary and secondary functions of the vocal folds?

• laryngeal cartilages

  • Form a strong but flexible framework to support a collection of soft tissues (muscles, ligaments, and membranes)

• Laryngeal muscles and membranes

  • Intrinsic muscles are attached within the larynx and they help open and close the vocal folds, one can open the vocal folds and one can stretch the vocal folds

    • There are five intrinsic muscles: three can close the vocal folds, one can open the vocal folds, and one can stretch the vocal folds

    • Several serve double duty

  • Extrinsic muscles have one attachment within the larynx and one attachment outside the larynx: responsible for positioning the larynx within the neck and cause the Adam’s apple to bob up and down during speech