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Monitoring of long-term effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on speech and voice in patients with Parkinson's disease
Kaplan, Václav ; Novotný, Kryštof (referee) ; Mekyska, Jiří (advisor)
An individual's response to dopaminergic therapy for Parkinson's Disease (PD), which often presents with hypokinetic dysarthria, varies in its effect on speech disorders. This study examines the long-term effects of alternative treatment using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in PD patients. The aim is to conduct research into acoustic and statistical analyses employed in similar studies in the past, quantify treatment-induced changes using a set of parameters, and statistically evaluate the outcomes. Acoustic parameters describing phonation, articulation, and prosody (areas of speech production) are selected. A database of recordings from patients with mild PD is utilized, from which 18 patients are chosen, participating in one pre-treatment measurement and four post-treatment measurements. Patients are divided into active and sham (placebo) groups. Observable changes in several parameters, particularly in phonation, are noted after rTMS treatment. However, the statistical analysis of acoustic parameters also highlights a significant placebo effect, as good, and often comparable results are observed in the sham group as well.
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