Although it has been well accepted that vocal fold vibration and the resulting voice quality critically depend on vocal fold stiffness and geometry, the neuromuscular mechanisms regulating vocal fold stiffness and geometry still remain unclear. There has been no systematic, quantitative investigation of how and to what extent activation of laryngeal muscles, especially the interaction of the cricothyroid (CT) and thyroarytenoid (TA) muscles, affects the stiffness of the different layers of the vocal folds, and more importantly, how different stiffness conditions within the layered vocal fold affect the resulting vibration, acoustics, and voice quality. Laryngeal muscle activation also leads to simultaneous changes in vocal fold geometry, the influence of which on phonation is unclear. A better understanding of how laryngeal muscle activation regulates vocal fold stiffness and geometry and the resulting acoustics and voice quality may be useful for clinicians in the design and selection of treatment, or as part of intraoperative monitoring and assessment of treatment progress. This deficiency of understanding is largely due to the lack of an appropriate neuromuscular larynx model for conducting such systematic and quantitative investigations. Moreover, although there have been many studies focusing on either voice production or voice quality, there has been very little research exploring the cause-effect relation between physiology and perception. In this research, we propose to investigate the muscular processes of voice control in a recently-developed ex-vivo perfused living human larynx model (Berke et al., 2012), using our newly designed experimental approach (Zhang et al., 2012) that allows parametric muscle stimulation and observation of its influence on phonation in a virtually living human larynx. Computational studies are also proposed to facilitate interpretation and conceptualization of the experimental data. The two main questions to be addressed in the studies described here are: 1) What are the stiffness and geometry conditions that are required for normal phonation and how are they achieved through laryngeal muscle activation? and 2) How do left-right asymmetry in laryngeal muscle activation (commonly observed in voice disorders) affect vocal fold vibration, acoustics, and voice quality?

Public Health Relevance

The proposed research is designed to provide an improved quantitative understanding of how laryngeal muscle activation affects the stiffness and geometry of the different layers of the vocal folds, and how interactions among laryngeal muscles affect the resulting acoustics and voice quality. Such knowledge will provide the ranges of stiffness and geometric conditions that are required for normal phonation and possibly serve as a foundation for future work toward improved diagnosis and treatment of voice disorders.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
2R01DC009229-06
Application #
8579778
Study Section
Motor Function, Speech and Rehabilitation Study Section (MFSR)
Program Officer
Shekim, Lana O
Project Start
2007-12-01
Project End
2018-06-30
Budget Start
2013-07-20
Budget End
2014-06-30
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2013
Total Cost
$517,887
Indirect Cost
$143,185
Name
University of California Los Angeles
Department
Surgery
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
092530369
City
Los Angeles
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
90095
Zhang, Zhaoyan (2018) Vocal instabilities in a three-dimensional body-cover phonation model. J Acoust Soc Am 144:1216
Zhang, Zhaoyan; Samajder, Himadri; Long, Jennifer L (2017) Biaxial mechanical properties of human vocal fold cover under vocal fold elongation. J Acoust Soc Am 142:EL356
Zhang, Zhaoyan (2016) Cause-effect relationship between vocal fold physiology and voice production in a three-dimensional phonation model. J Acoust Soc Am 139:1493
Yin, Jun; Zhang, Zhaoyan (2016) Laryngeal muscular control of vocal fold posturing: Numerical modeling and experimental validation. J Acoust Soc Am 140:EL280
Farahani, Mehrdad H; Zhang, Zhaoyan (2016) Experimental validation of a three-dimensional reduced-order continuum model of phonation. J Acoust Soc Am 140:EL172
Zhang, Zhaoyan (2016) Mechanics of human voice production and control. J Acoust Soc Am 140:2614
Wu, Liang; Zhang, Zhaoyan (2016) A parametric vocal fold model based on magnetic resonance imaging. J Acoust Soc Am 140:EL159
Zhang, Zhaoyan (2015) Regulation of glottal closure and airflow in a three-dimensional phonation model: implications for vocal intensity control. J Acoust Soc Am 137:898-910
Mendelsohn, Abie H; Zhang, Zhaoyan; Luegmair, Georg et al. (2015) Preliminary Study of the Open Quotient in an Ex Vivo Perfused Human Larynx. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 141:751-6
Howard, N Scott; Mendelsohn, Abie H; Berke, Gerald S (2015) Development of the ex vivo laryngeal model of phonation. Laryngoscope 125:1414-9

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