OBJECTIVE: Propose and validate a pitch shift reflex (PSR) experiment setup that includes high-speed videolaryngoscopy (HSV). Investigate the impact of nasal laryngoscopy on PSR and voice parameters. METHODS: Through synchronous measurements of acoustic voice signals, electroencephalography (EEG) signals and high-speed video recordings of the vocal folds, additional features of responses to sudden pitch shifts in voice feedback can be acquired. A setup for investigation of the PSR was proposed. A total of 27 adults with typical hearing and physiological voices participated in frequency acuity tests and PSR experiments. RESULTS: The magnitude of average responses to the pitch shift stimulus was found to have a significant correlation with participant age (ρ = 0.398, p = 0.04). Although there was a high rate of responses following the direction of the pitch shift (15 out of 27), the peak parameters in audio and EEG were aligned with reference literature. The impact of nasal laryngoscopy on voice stability and PSR responses was found to be minimal. CONCLUSION: The proposed setup and paradigm represent a valid method to investigate the PSR, expanding the breadth of collected parameters by direct metrics of vocal fold motion Significance: HSV can be employed in future PSR studies and is currently underrepresented in PSR research.
Schelhorn et al. (Wed,) studied this question.