The Dynamics of Interlip Coupling in Speakers With a Repaired Unilateral Cleft-Lip History

• Published in: Journal of speech, language, and hearing research Vol. 45; no. 1; pp. 5 - 19
• Main Authors: Lieshout, P. H. H. M. van, Rutjens, C. A. W, Spauwen, P. H. M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Rockville, MD ASHA 01.02.2002; American Speech Language Hearing Association; American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Biological and medical sciences; Biomechanical Phenomena; Case-Control Studies; Child; Cleft lip; Cleft Lip - physiopathology; Cleft Lip - surgery; Cleft palate; Communication Disorders; Congenital Impairments; Coordination; Face; Facial Muscles; Female; Humans; Kinematics; Language and communication disorders; Lip - physiology; Lip - physiopathology; Lips; Male; Medical sciences; Motor ability; Motor performance; Mouth; Movement; Physiological aspects; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Speakers; Speech; Speech disorders; Surgery; Zero Tolerance Policy; Netherlands; Human; Articulation; Lip; Cleft lip; Treatment; Coordination; Surgery; Adolescent; Young adult; Kinematics; Motor control
• ISSN: 1092-4388; 1558-9102
• DOI: 10.1044/1092-4388(2002/001)

In this paper, data are presented on individual movement characteristics of the upper and lower lip and on interlip coordination in speakers with a repaired unilateral cleft upper lip history and age-matched control participants. The data were acquired using the AG100 EMMA system while the participants produced a selection of nonspeech and speech tasks. The participants with a repaired unilateral cleft upper lip history showed reduced upper-lip movement ranges and peak velocities and a more variable spatiotemporal pattern for individual upper-lip movement cycles, in addition to a more variable interlip coupling. The latter difference also proved to be more pronounced for the younger speakers with a repaired cleft upper lip. Overall, for both groups, the linguistically more complex task showed more variability in the individual upper- and lower-lip movement cycles and their coupling. In the discussion, we address the potential relationships between the kinematic data for upper lip in the repaired-cleft-lip speakers and the findings on movement and coordination stability as they might fit within current notions of coordination dynamics theory.