Association of tongue muscle weakness in motor speech disorders with neuromuscular diseases

Abstract

The tongue plays a central role in articulatory movements in speech. Therefore, when the motor function of the tongue is impaired due to a neuromuscular lesion, abnormal articulation occurs. Various methods have been proposed to capture the motor function of the tongue, and one of them is the pressure of the tongue during isometric contraction, which has long been used as an indicator of muscle weakness. However, a review of previous studies reveals contrasting results regarding the relationship between maximal tongue pressure and speech-related indices. Subsequently, there is still much debate about the effect of tongue weakness on speech production. In this paper, I summarize a series of previous studies and provide the perspective to reconsider the relationship between maximal tongue pressure and speech production.