Prephonatory Laryngeal and Chest Wall Dynamics

Abstract

The timing of prephonatory movements of the larynx, rib cage, and abdomen was examined in order to gain insight into the contribution of the vocal folds to the posturing of the chest wall. A simple stimulus-response paradigm was used in eliciting brief utterances—/α/ and /hα/—from six adult males. Chest wall movements were observed using mercury strain gages while simultaneous electroglottographic and airflow records provided information about vocal fold behavior. Independence of prephonatory laryngeal and chest wall behavior was demonstrated. Laryngeal adjustment preceded the start of vocal fold oscillation by a constant amount of time, whereas the time of onset of the chest wall adjustment varied as a function of the utterance type. The qualitative characteristics of prephonatory chest wall posturing were unaffected by altering glottal configuration requirements. Rib cage enlargement occurred during postural adjustment while the vocal folds were abducted (in preparation for/h/). This implies that rib cage enlargement during prephonatory chest wall posturing was not a passive response to abdominal compression.