Modification of velopharyngeal closure pressures during phonation by neuromuscular electrical stimulation in healthy individuals.

Introduction: Rhinophonia aperta may result from velopharyngeal insufficiency. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) has been discussed in the context of muscle strengthening. The aim of this study was to evaluate in healthy subjects whether NMES can change the velopharyngeal closure pattern during phonation and increase muscle strength. Method: Eleven healthy adult volunteers (21-57 years) were included. Pressure profiles were measured by high resolution manometry (HRM): isolated sustained articulation of /a/ over 5 s (protocol 1), isolated NMES applied to soft palate above motor threshold (protocol 2) and combined articulation with NMES (protocol 3). Mean activation pressures (MeanAct), maximum pressures (Max), Area under curve (AUC) and type of velum reactions were compared. A statistical comparison of mean values of protocol 1 versus protocol 3 was carried out using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Ordinally scaled parameters were analyzed by cross table. Results: MeanAct values measured: 17.15±20.69 mmHg (protocol 1), 34.59±25.75 mmHg (protocol 3) on average, Max: 37.86±49.17 mmHg (protocol 1), 87.24±59.53 mmHg (protocol 3) and AUC: 17.06±20.70 mmHg.s (protocol 1), 33.76±23.81 mmHg.s (protocol 3). Protocol 2 produced velum reactions on 32 occasions. These presented with MeanAct values of 13.58±12.40 mmHg, Max values of 56.14±53.14 mmHg and AUC values of 13.84±12.78 mmHg.s on average. Statistical analysis comparing protocol 1 and 3 showed more positive ranks for MeanAct, Max and AUC. This difference reached statistical significance (p=0.026) for maximum pressure values. Conclusions: NMES in combination with articulation results in a change of the velopharyngeal closure pattern with a pressure increase of around 200% in healthy individuals. This might be of therapeutic benefit for patients with velopharyngeal insufficiency.

[Structural and functional reorganization in epithelia of soft palate and bronchi cultured in vivo using F.M. Lazarenko method: the role of neuroendocrine factors]. / Strukturno-funktsional'naia reorganizatsiia épiteliev miagkogo neba i bronkhov v usloviiakh ikh kul'tivirovaniia v organizme po metodu F.M. Lazarenko: rol' neiroéndokrinnykh faktorov.

To define the range of histio- and organotypical capacities of rat soft palatine and bronchial epithelia, and to elucidate the nature of the effect of neuroendocrine factors of hypothalamic paraventricular factors upon them, the experiments were conducted by co-culturing mucosal fragments of oral and pharyngeal surfaces of soft palate and bronchi with the paraventricular nuclei-containing hypothalamic fragments using in vivo F.M. Lazarenko method. Soft palatine and bronchial epithelia were found to have similar histoblastic properties. The stimulating effect of hypothalamic factors, released paraventricular nuclei, on the processes of regeneration of epithelia and of connective tissue was noted.

The use of videonasopharyngoscopy for biofeedback therapy in adults after pharyngeal flap surgery.

Nasopharyngoscopy with videorecording was used as a visual feedback therapy tool to establish and promote consistent closure of the velopharyngeal ports during connected speech after pharyngeal flap surgery. Of the three adults in this report, two achieved consistent closure during connected discourse and have been discharged from therapy; the third demonstrated improved velopharyngeal closure but elected not to continue therapy. These outcomes demonstrate that nasopharyngoscopy biofeedback therapy is useful in helping the motivated adult to achieve better velopharyngeal closure during connected speech after pharyngeal flap surgery or revision. This type of therapy may also prove beneficial with children.

Issues in speech motor control and their relation to the speech of individuals with cleft palate.

A view of speech motor control is presented that is different from conventional coarticulation models. Rather than assuming that phonetic units specify targets for peripheral events, this view is based on holistic behavioral goals. The importance of discovering strategies that organize interactions among physiologic processes of the speech motor system is stressed. The concepts of motor flexibility and plasticity are developed. These motor control issues are used as the basis for discussing the relations among speech motor processes, critical minimum velopharyngeal port size, and speech adequacy in speakers with cleft palate. Different meanings of velopharyngeal incompetency are considered, and a potential misuse of the concept is explained. Finally, the developmental character of motor plasticity is discussed, and the implications of critical periods in speech motor learning are raised for children with cleft palate.

Nasopharyngoscopy of the normal velopharyngeal sphincter: an experiment of biofeedback.

In a single normal subject, nasopharyngoscopy was used as an instrument for visual biofeedback of the velopharyngeal sphincter during speech. The goal of the experiment was for the subject to alter the velopharyngeal valving pattern observed during spontaneous speech by manipulating the relative contributions of the velum and pharyngeal walls. After six sessions, each lasting twenty minutes, the subject was able to change velopharyngeal valving pattern at will during short samples of connected speech. This implies the role of learning in velopharyngeal valving and a degree of physiologic plasticity in the velopharyngeal sphincter. The procedure is felt to have possible application to a variety of conditions which have velopharyngeal insufficiency as a symptom.