ZASxTalks: From Compensation to Reduction: Articulatory Kinematics and Acoustic Parameters along the Parkinson's Continuum

Abstract

Changes in speech motor control are among the earliest manifestations of Parkinson’s disease (PD), often preceding clinical motor symptoms and severely impacting communicative participation as the disease progresses. In this talk, I will explore the speech motor continuum spanning healthy aging, isolated REM sleep behavior disorder, a recognized prodromal marker of PD, and manifest PD.

I will first provide insights into the clinical progression of PD, with a specific focus on this prodromal phase where functional communicative abilities, such as perceived speech intelligibility, often still appear deceptively intact, while subtle changes are already detectable via kinematic and acoustic analyses.

I will present findings from a kinematic study utilizing Electromagnetic Articulography to show subclinical alterations before visible functional decline occurs. Kinematic data reveal a non-linear motor trajectory, indicating that individuals in the prodromal phase exhibit hypermetric patterns characterized by increased movement amplitudes and prolonged durations. This "articulatory overshooting" is interpreted as an early, active compensatory mechanism to maintain speech function. In contrast, the transition to manifest PD is marked by a depletion of this compensatory capacity, leading to hypometric patterns, decreased amplitudes, and the classic profile of rigidity and hypokinesia.

Building upon these kinematic insights, the third part of my talk presents ongoing work analyzing a large-scale acoustic dataset. While kinematics offer direct physical evidence of speech motor strategies, acoustic speech analysis provides a scalable, non-invasive window into phonation, voice quality, articulation, and prosody. I will discuss current acoustic parameters that map onto the underlying motor shifts observed in our kinematic data, contrasting the hyperfunctional instability of the prodromal stage with the hypofunctional reduction characteristic of advancing PD.

Finally, I will provide an outlook on how automated acoustic speech analysis can be leveraged as a powerful, objective screening and early detection tool in clinical practice, offering a glimpse into how integrating phonetic precision with clinical neurology can help optimize future health management.

Bio

Dr. Tabea Thies is a clinical researcher at ki:elements and a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Neurology at the University Hospital Cologne. She is specialized in the analysis of speech production at both the kinematic and acoustic levels, with a specific focus on how movement disorders impact speech production trying to bridge the gap between complex phonetic measurements and meaningful clinical outcomes.

Please ask Miriam Oschkinat for the Teams-Link if you want to join online.

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