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Vocal Emotional Expression in Parkinson’s Disease: Roles of Sex and Emotions

Author

Listed:
  • Martina Gnerre

    (Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Largo Gemelli 1, 20123 Milan, Italy)

  • Eleonora Malaspina

    (Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Largo Gemelli 1, 20123 Milan, Italy)

  • Sonia Di Tella

    (Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Largo Gemelli 1, 20123 Milan, Italy
    IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, 20148 Milan, Italy)

  • Isabella Anzuino

    (Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Largo Gemelli 1, 20123 Milan, Italy)

  • Francesca Baglio

    (IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, 20148 Milan, Italy)

  • Maria Caterina Silveri

    (Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Largo Gemelli 1, 20123 Milan, Italy)

  • Federica Biassoni

    (Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Largo Gemelli 1, 20123 Milan, Italy)

Abstract

Introduction: Parkinson’s disease (PD) commonly causes speech impairments, including difficulties in expressing emotions through voice. Method: The objective of this study was to investigate gendered vocal expressions of fear, anger, sadness, and happiness for mild to moderate PD. Prosodic features (related to fundamental frequency (F0), intensity (I), speech rate, articulation rate, and number and duration of pauses) and acoustic correlates of voice quality (CPPS, jitter, shimmer, and HNR) were collected from 14 patients with PD (mean age = 69.93; SD = 7.12; 8 males, 6 females) and 13 healthy controls (HC) (mean age = 68.13; SD = 8.27; 5 males, 8 females) matched for age, sex, and years of education. The utterances were extracted from four emotional and one neutral text. The neutral utterance and the emotional utterances were compared. Intra-sex comparison (female with PD vs. female HC and male with PD vs. male HC) and inter-sex comparison (female vs. male both for patients with PD and for HC), were performed with the Mann–Whitney test. A Mann–Whitney test was also used to compare the different emotional conditions, considering sex and PD diagnosis as well. Results: No significant intra-sex differences were found for the neutral speech, but inter-sex differences emerged. Regarding emotional speech, females with PD featured lower MaxF0 than female HCs for happiness and higher intensity variability (SD I) for sadness. Utterances by females with PD had lower CPPS than utterances by HCs for anger and fear. Utterances by males with PD had lower minimum intensity (MinI) than utterances by male HCs when expressing fear. Conclusions: Emotional vocal expression in individuals with PD was found to be impaired and showed sex differences. These findings have the potential to significantly impact the quality of life of PD patients.

Suggested Citation

  • Martina Gnerre & Eleonora Malaspina & Sonia Di Tella & Isabella Anzuino & Francesca Baglio & Maria Caterina Silveri & Federica Biassoni, 2023. "Vocal Emotional Expression in Parkinson’s Disease: Roles of Sex and Emotions," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-19, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:13:y:2023:i:7:p:157-:d:1185569
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Federica Biassoni & Stefania Balzarotti & Micaela Giamporcaro & Rita Ciceri, 2016. "Hot or Cold Anger? Verbal and Vocal Expression of Anger While Driving in a Simulated Anger-Provoking Scenario," SAGE Open, , vol. 6(3), pages 21582440166, July.
    2. Barbara Colombo & Alison Rigby & Martina Gnerre & Federica Biassoni, 2022. "The Effects of a Dance and Music-Based Intervention on Parkinson’s Patients’ Well-Being: An Interview Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-13, June.
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