The Impact of Electromagnetic Articulography Sensors on the Articulatory- Acoustic Vowel Space in Speakers with and without Parkinson's Disease

The somatosensory effect of electromagnetic articulography (EMA) sensors on speech remains relatively unexplored. Moreover, EMA sensors may be more disruptive to speech in individuals with somatosensory deficits (e.g., persons with Parkinson's Disease; PwPD). Thus, we investigated the effect of EMA sensors on the articulatory-acoustic vowel space (AAVS) in both typical speakers (n=23) and PwPD (n=23). The AAVS was calculated before EMA sensor placement, directly after, and after approximately one hour to assess habituation. The AAVS significantly decreased following sensor placement and did not change with habituation, regardless of speaker group. PwPD had a smaller AAVS compared to typical speakers, but were not differentially impacted by EMA sensors. EMA sensor placement led to average reductions of the AAVS of 13.5% for PwPD and 14.2% for typical speakers, which suggests that articulatory-acoustics from studies with and without the use of EMA sensors may not be fully comparable.