KSU SPEAK OUT! Lab

This study examined whether a reduced-dose SPEAK OUT!® intervention (eight sessions over four weeks) improved speech production in 11 individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Results demonstrated significant improvements in vocal intensity, pitch variation, and phonation stability, suggesting that intentional speech training can produce meaningful acoustic benefits even with reduced treatment intensity.

This study examined how listeners perceive vocal quality before and after SPEAK OUT!® therapy using real-time mouse-tracking to capture cognitive competition during decision-making. Results showed that listeners rated post-treatment speech more positively, but continued to exhibit uncertainty during their judgments, suggesting that improvements in vocal quality do not necessarily eliminate perceptual ambiguity.

This study investigated how listeners evaluate vocal quality in individuals with Parkinson’s disease before and after SPEAK OUT!® therapy, using mouse-tracking to examine the cognitive processes underlying their judgments. Although listeners rated post-treatment speech more positively, mouse movements revealed persistent competition between response alternatives, indicating that improved vocal quality does not necessarily eliminate uncertainty during speech perception.