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Automatic measurement of prosody in behavioral variant FTD
Nevler N, Ash S, Jester C, Irwin DJ, Liberman M, Grossman M.. Neurology, 2017-07-19
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Objective To help understand speech changes in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), we developed and implemented automatic methods of speech analysis for quantification of prosody, and evaluated clinical and anatomical correlations. Methods We analyzed semi-structured, digitized speech samples from 32 patients with bvFTD (21 male, mean age 63 ± 8.5, mean disease duration 4 ± 3.1 years) and 17 matched healthy controls (HC). We automatically extracted fundamental frequency (f0, the physical property of sound most closely correlating with perceived pitch) and computed pitch range on a logarithmic scale (semitone) that controls for individual and sex differences. We correlated f0 range with neuropsychiatric tests, and related f0 range to gray matter (GM) atrophy using 3T T1 MRI. Results We found significantly reduced f0 range in patients with bvFTD (mean 4.3 ± 1.8 ST) compared to HC (5.8 ± 2.1 ST; p = 0.03). Regression related reduced f0 range in bvFTD to GM atrophy in bilateral inferior and dorsomedial frontal as well as left anterior cingulate and anterior insular regions. Conclusions Reduced f0 range reflects impaired prosody in bvFTD. This is associated with neuroanatomic networks implicated in language production and social disorders centered in the frontal lobe. These findings support the feasibility of automated speech analysis in frontotemporal dementia and other disorders.
Key findings
- Results We found significantly reduced f0 range in patients with bvFTD (mean 4.3 ± 1.8 ST) compared to HC (5.8 ± 2.1 ST; p = 0.03).
- This is associated with neuroanatomic networks implicated in language production and social disorders centered in the frontal lobe.
- These findings support the feasibility of automated speech analysis in frontotemporal dementia and other disorders.
Why it matters
In 32 patients with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia, automated speech analysis found a reduced pitch range compared with healthy controls, linked to atrophy in frontal brain regions. This concerns frontotemporal dementia and speech measurement, not treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Participants32
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 51/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Neurology: journal h-index 525 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2017 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 32 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 60 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 5.5 citations a year over 11 year(s) since 2017 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 3.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 4 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 17 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Murray Grossman: h-index 119 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of Pennsylvania: institution h-index 1,859 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 28724588) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 51 / 100 | — |
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
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APA 7th
Nevler, N., Ash, S., Jester, C., Irwin, D. J., Liberman, M., & Grossman, M. (2017). Automatic measurement of prosody in behavioral variant FTD. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000004236
Vancouver
Nevler N, Ash S, Jester C, Irwin DJ, Liberman M, Grossman M. Automatic measurement of prosody in behavioral variant FTD. Neurology. 2017. doi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000004236. PMID: 28724588.
BibTeX
@article{nevler2017-28724588,
author = {Nevler, N. and Ash, S. and Jester, C. and Irwin, D. J. and Liberman, M. and Grossman, M.},
title = {{Automatic measurement of prosody in behavioral variant FTD}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.1212/wnl.0000000000004236},
pmid = {28724588},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000004236}
}
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