SLP Voice, Resonance, and Motor Speech 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which laryngeal structure is primarily responsible for pitch variation during speech?
- Arytenoid cartilages
- Cricothyroid muscle (Correct answer)
- Thyroarytenoid muscle
- Cricoid cartilage
Correct answer: Cricothyroid muscle
The cricothyroid muscle elongates and tenses the vocal folds, raising fundamental frequency and pitch.
Question 2: A patient presents with hypernasal resonance following palatoplasty. Which instrumental assessment best quantifies velopharyngeal closure?
- Laryngoscopy
- Nasometry (Correct answer)
- Spirometry
- Electroglottography
Correct answer: Nasometry
Nasometry measures the ratio of nasal to total acoustic energy, directly quantifying hypernasality.
Question 3: In Parkinson's disease, which motor speech characteristic is most prominent?
- Scanning speech
- Hypokinetic dysarthria with reduced loudness (Correct answer)
- Flaccid dysarthria with breathiness
- Spastic dysarthria with strained voice
Correct answer: Hypokinetic dysarthria with reduced loudness
Parkinson's disease causes hypokinetic dysarthria characterized by monopitch, monoloudness, and reduced vocal intensity (hypophonia).
Question 4: Which phonation type is associated with the lowest subglottal air pressure and irregular vocal fold vibration?
- Modal voice
- Falsetto
- Vocal fry (pulse register) (Correct answer)
- Breathy voice
Correct answer: Vocal fry (pulse register)
Vocal fry (glottal fry) occurs at very low fundamental frequencies with irregular, low-pressure vocal fold vibrations.
Question 5: A client with ALS demonstrates dysarthria that worsens significantly with sustained speech tasks. This pattern is most consistent with:
- Spastic dysarthria
- Ataxic dysarthria
- Flaccid dysarthria with fatigability (Correct answer)
- Hypokinetic dysarthria
Correct answer: Flaccid dysarthria with fatigability
Flaccid dysarthria from lower motor neuron damage, as seen in ALS bulbar involvement, shows increased impairment with fatigue during sustained tasks.
Question 6: Which vocal fold lesion is most commonly associated with vocal abuse and results in bilateral, symmetric, sessile nodular masses?
- Polyps
- Vocal nodules (Correct answer)
- Reinke's edema
- Papilloma
Correct answer: Vocal nodules
Vocal nodules form bilaterally at the junction of the anterior one-third and posterior two-thirds of the vocal folds due to repeated phonotrauma.
Question 7: In voice therapy, the Accent Method primarily targets:
- Hard glottal attacks through forceful adduction exercises
- Respiratory-phonatory coordination using rhythmic body movements (Correct answer)
- Resonant voice placement in the chest cavity
- Pitch shifting to avoid nodule contact point
Correct answer: Respiratory-phonatory coordination using rhythmic body movements
The Accent Method uses rhythmic, accented body movements coordinated with breath to establish efficient respiratory-phonatory patterns.
SLP Voice, Resonance, and Motor Speech 2
Which laryngeal structure is primarily responsible for pitch variation during speech?