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Speech in Alzheimer's disease: can temporal and acoustic parameters discriminate dementia?
Meilán JJ, Martínez-Sánchez F, Carro J, López DE, Millian-Morell L, Arana JM.. Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders, 2014-01-30
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Aims The study explores how speech measures may be linked to language profiles in participants with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and how these profiles could distinguish AD from changes associated with normal aging. Methods We analysed simple sentences spoken by older adults with and without AD. Spectrographic analysis of temporal and acoustic characteristics was carried out using the Praat software. Results We found that measures of speech, such as variations in the percentage of voice breaks, number of periods of voice, number of voice breaks, shimmer (amplitude perturbation quotient), and noise-to-harmonics ratio, characterise people with AD with an accuracy of 84.8%. Discussion These measures offer a sensitive method of assessing spontaneous speech output in AD, and they discriminate well between people with AD and healthy older adults. This method of evaluation is a promising tool for AD diagnosis and prognosis, and it could be used as a dependent measure in clinical trials.
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APA 7th
Meilán, J. J., Martínez-Sánchez, F., Carro, J., López, D. E., Millian-Morell, L., & Arana, J. M. (2014). Speech in Alzheimer's disease: can temporal and acoustic parameters discriminate dementia? Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders. https://doi.org/10.1159/000356726
Vancouver
Meilán JJ, Martínez-Sánchez F, Carro J, López DE, Millian-Morell L, Arana JM. Speech in Alzheimer's disease: can temporal and acoustic parameters discriminate dementia? Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders. 2014. doi:10.1159/000356726. PMID: 24481220.
BibTeX
@article{meilan2014-24481220,
author = {Meilán, J. J. and Martínez-Sánchez, F. and Carro, J. and López, D. E. and Millian-Morell, L. and Arana, J. M.},
title = {{Speech in Alzheimer's disease: can temporal and acoustic parameters discriminate dementia?}},
journal = {Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.1159/000356726},
pmid = {24481220},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1159/000356726}
}
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Key findings
- Aims The study explores how speech measures may be linked to language profiles in participants with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and how these profiles could distinguish AD from changes associated with normal aging.
- Results We found that measures of speech, such as variations in the percentage of voice breaks, number of periods of voice, number of voice breaks, shimmer (amplitude perturbation quotient), and noise-to-harmonics ratio, characterise people with AD with an accuracy of 84.8%.
Why it matters
In older adults with and without Alzheimer's disease, measures such as percentage of voice breaks, number of voice periods and breaks, shimmer, and noise-to-harmonics ratio characterized people with Alzheimer's disease with 84.8% accuracy. The authors describe this as a promising tool for diagnosis and prognosis, not for treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Effect size84.8%
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 40/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders: journal h-index 149 (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 | 1 / 5 | 2014 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 152 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 10.9 citations a year over 14 year(s) since 2014 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 3.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 45 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 1 / 4 | Last-listed author José María Arana Martínez: h-index 12 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | Universidad de Salamanca: institution h-index 432 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 24481220) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 40 / 100 | — |
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