Task-Based Profiles of the Dysarthrias

The dysarthrias are associated with a variety of motor disturbances distributed over several motor systems of speech production. The features of a given dysarthria often vary with the speaking task, and this task-dependency affords insights into the responsible neural lesion and its effects on the motor regulation of speech. Each task also is amenable to quantitative analyses with acoustic or physiologic methods, and these analyses may redefine the value of these speaking tasks. This article considers task-based analyses for the dysarthrias associated with Parkinson's disease, cerebellar disease, and stroke.