Temporal parameters of spontaneous speech in Alzheimer's disease

This paper reports on four temporal parameters of spontaneous speech in three stages of Alzheimer's disease (mild, moderate, and severe) compared to age-matched normal controls. The analysis of the time course of speech has been shown to be a particularly sensitive neuropsychological method to investigate cognitive processes such as speech planning and production. The following parameters of speech were measured in Hungarian native-speakers with Alzheimer's disease and normal controls: articulation rate, speech tempo, hesitation ratio, and rate of grammatical errors. Results revealed significant differences in most of these speech parameters among the three Alzheimer's disease groups. Additionally, the clearest difference between the normal control group and the mild Alzheimer's disease group involved the hesitation ratio, which was significantly higher in the latter group. This parameter of speech may have diagnostic value for mild-stage Alzheimer's disease and therefore could be a useful aid in medical practice.