Features of phoneme repetition in Parkinson’s disease

Abstract

Patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) often present repetition of phonemes in their utterance. Brain damage can also cause acquired stuttering and/or palilalia. But it remains unclear that whether the mechanism of repetition of them are same or not. This study analyzed repetition of phonemes in PD in comparison with that in acquired stuttering and palilalia. We found that some features including the intensity of repeated phonemes and the intervals in between them were partially similar to those in acquired stuttering and palilalia. However, those in PD can be interpreted as symptoms of hypokinetic dysarthria. Therefore it is suggested that the repetition of phonemes in PD is essentially different from others.