Spastic Dysarthria Lecture Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering definitions, clinical signs, assessment tools, reflexes, treatment techniques, and associated conditions related to spastic dysarthria.

Spastic Dysarthria

A motor speech disorder caused by bilateral damage to direct and indirect upper-motor-neuron pathways, producing combined weakness and spasticity across speech subsystems.

Upper Motor Neuron (UMN) Disease

Neurologic damage affecting corticospinal and corticobulbar pathways; hallmark signs include spasticity, hyperreflexia, and pathologic reflexes.

Bilateral Damage

Lesions on both sides of the UMN pathways; required for the development of spastic dysarthria.

Motor Speech Disorder (MSD)

Any neurologic impairment of speech production processes, including planning, programming, control, or execution.

Pyramidal (Direct Motor) System

Corticospinal and corticobulbar tracts that transmit voluntary, skilled movements directly to lower motor neurons.

Extrapyramidal (Indirect Motor) System

Multiple descending pathways (basal ganglia, cerebellum, reticular formation, etc.) that regulate posture, tone, and reflexes.

Corticospinal Tract

Direct motor pathway from cortex to spinal nerves controlling contralateral limb muscles.

Corticobulbar Tract

Direct motor pathway from cortex to cranial-nerve nuclei controlling speech, swallowing, and facial muscles.

Spasticity

Velocity-dependent increase in muscle tone with exaggerated tendon reflexes.

Hypertonicity

Excessive muscle tone; a frequent clinical feature of spastic dysarthria.

Weakness

Reduced force generation in muscles; accompanies spasticity in UMN lesions.

Reduced Range of Motion (ROM)

Limited excursion of articulators or limbs, leading to slowed, effortful speech.

Alternating Motion Rates (AMRs)

Rapid repetitions of single syllables used to assess articulatory speed; typically slow and decreased in ROM in spastic dysarthria.

Salient Features (Spastic Dysarthria)

Spasticity, weakness, reduced ROM, and slowed movements affecting speech subsystems.

Dysphagia

Impaired swallowing; common and sometimes severe in spastic dysarthria.

Drooling

Accumulation of saliva from decreased swallow frequency or poor oral control.

Pseudobulbar Affect

Emotional lability with involuntary laughing or crying seen in bilateral UMN lesions.

Clonus

Rhythmic, repetitive reflex contractions resulting from hyperexcitable stretch reflexes.

Babinski Sign

Dorsiflexion of the great toe with fanning of other toes after sole stimulation; indicates UMN damage.

Decorticate Posture

Abnormal flexion of upper limbs and extension of lower limbs due to lesions above the red nucleus.

Decerebrate Posture

Extension of both upper and lower limbs from lesions at or below the red nucleus.

Sucking Reflex

Pathologic pursing of the lips elicited by stroking the lip border; signifies frontal lobe/UMN dysfunction.

Jaw-Jerk Reflex

Quick jaw closure after tapping the chin; exaggerated response suggests bilateral UMN damage.

Snout Reflex

Puckering or protrusion of the lips after tapping the philtrum; an abnormal oral reflex.

Gag Reflex

Pharyngeal contraction and palatal elevation to posterior oral stimulation; hyperactive in spastic dysarthria.

Hyperactive Gag Reflex

Exaggerated gag response indicating increased brain-stem reflex excitability.

Speech Stress Testing

Prolonged speaking tasks used to detect fatigue-induced deterioration in spastic dysarthria.

Sequential Motion Rates (SMRs)

Rapid repetition of syllable sequences (e.g., /pʌtʌkʌ/) assessing speech planning and execution.

Hyperadduction (Laryngeal)

Excessive closure of the vocal folds, causing strained-strangled voice quality.

Primary Lateral Sclerosis (PLS)

Degenerative UMN disease with progressive limb spasticity, dysarthria, dysphagia, and emotional lability.

Pseudobulbar Palsy

Bilateral corticobulbar degeneration producing spastic dysarthria, dysphagia, and pathologic oral reflexes.

Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP)

Neurodegenerative disorder with early postural instability, vertical gaze palsy, spastic speech, and dysphagia.

SLOB Strategy

Mnemonic for intelligibility: Speak Slowly, Loudly, Over-articulate, and Breathe.

Yawn-Sigh Technique

Phonation therapy encouraging relaxed vocal-fold abduction to reduce laryngeal hyperadduction.

Easy Onset

Gentle initiation of phonation to decrease laryngeal tension.

Contrastive Stress Drill

Prosodic exercise emphasizing different words in a sentence to improve intonation and sentence phrasing.

Pitch Range Exercise

Task expanding fundamental frequency flexibility to enhance prosody.

Phonetic Placement

Articulatory therapy teaching exact tongue and lip positions for target sounds.

Minimal Contrast Drill

Practice of word pairs differing by one phoneme to sharpen articulation accuracy.

Head & Neck Relaxation

Stretching or massage techniques used to decrease generalized spasticity before speech tasks.

Over-Articulation

Deliberate exaggeration of tongue and lip movements to improve speech clarity.

Inflection and Intonation

Variation in pitch and loudness across sentences; often reduced in spastic dysarthria and targeted in therapy.