2006/11/01 by Cynthia Fox, Lorraine Ramig, Lorraine A. Ramig +7 · 192 citations
Health Professions · Medicine · Neuroscience · Psychology · #Articulation (sociology) #Audiology #Cerebral palsy #Cognitive psychology #Disease #Dysarthria #Dysphagia Assessment and Management #Loudness #Medicine #Neuroplasticity #Neuroscience #Parkinson's disease #Perception #Physical medicine and rehabilitation #Psychology #Stuttering Research and Treatment #Swallowing #Voice and Speech Disorders
paper · doi:10.1055/s-2006-955118
published in Seminars in Speech and Language 27(4), 283-299 (Georg Thieme Verlag KG)
crossref issued 2006/11/01 · crossref published 2006/11/01 · crossref published-print 2006/11/01 · openalex publication_date 2006/11/01 · crossref created 2006/11/21 · crossref deposited 2017/05/22 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04 · crossref indexed 2026/08/06
Our 15 years of research have generated the first short- and long-term efficacy data for speech treatment (Lee Silverman Voice Treatment; LSVT/LOUD) in Parkinson's disease. We have learned that training the single motor control parameter amplitude (vocal loudness) and recalibration of self-perception of vocal loudness are fundamental elements underlying treatment success. This training requires intensive, high-effort exercise combined with a single, functionally relevant target (loudness) taught across simple to complex speech tasks. We have documented that training vocal loudness results in distributed effects of improved articulation, facial expression, and swallowing. Furthermore, positive effects of LSVT/LOUD have been documented in disorders other than Parkinson's disease (stroke, cerebral palsy). The purpose of this article is to elucidate the potential of a single target in treatment to encourage cross-system improvements across seemingly diverse motor systems and to discuss key elements in mode of delivery of treatment that are consistent with principles of neural plasticity.