The Effects of Electromagnetic Articulography Sensors on Speech in Individuals With and Without Dysarthria

Purpose: This study investigated the impact of electromagnetic articulography (EMA) sensors on acoustic and perceptual speech outcomes in speakers with dysarthria due to Parkinson’s disease (PD) and speakers without neurological speech impairment, focusing on whether sensor effects differed between the two groups. Additionally, the study examined potential after-effects following sensor removal in both groups.Methods: A total of 34 speakers (21 Controls and 13 PD) read the Caterpillar Passage at three time points: (1) Before Sensors, (2) With Sensors, and (3) After Sensors. Changes in acoustic (articulation rate, vowel space area, first and second spectral moment coefficients for fricatives) and perceptual (speech intelligibility, naturalness) measures were compared across the three time points. Results: Linear mixed-effects models revealed sensor effects for the spectral moment coefficients (M1 and M2) and both perceptual measures in both speaker groups. However, these effects were similar for both speaker groups. No clear after-sensor effects were observed, except for a large but nonsignificant improvement in naturalness for speakers with PD at the After Sensors time point compared to Before Sensors.Conclusion: The presence of EMA sensors impacts sibilant fricative production and the perceptual naturalness of speech. Importantly, there is no evidence that speakers with PD were differentially impacted by the sensors. Further, there was little evidence of after-effects when sensors were removed.