Houri K. Vorperian Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison Associate Scientist, Waisman Center Contact Information Waisman Center UW-Madison 1500 Highland Avenue Vocal Tract Development Laboratory, Room 481 Madison, WI 53705 608 263-5513 (office) 608 263-5610 (lab) 608 263-7710 (fax) E-mail: vorperian@waisman.wisc.edu Vocal Tract Development Lab

The oral and pharyngeal cavities making up the vocal tract undergo changes in size, shape, and relative proportions during the growth process from infancy through early childhood and adolescence. Such anatomic changes in the vocal tract are related to changes in speech acoustics. My research interest is to understand the relation between developmental changes in the vocal tract to changes in speech acoustics. This has not been adequately investigated due to the scarcity of quantitative information on the anatomic remodeling of the vocal tract during development. Thus, a primary objective of the Vocal Tract Development Lab is to quantitatively characterize the anatomic restructuring of the vocal tract, and to model its growth in typically developing individuals and in individuals with documented speech disorders partially due to structural differences secondary to chromosomal aberration, namely Trisomy 21 or Down Syndrome (DS). This goal is being addressed by examining imaging studies (MRI - Magnetic Resonance Imaging & CT - Computerized Tomography studies) that span the entire developmental period (birth to maturity), and securing a large set of predefined linear and volumetric measurements. Specific issues being examined include: a) the growth rate of the different vocal tract structures; b) the relative rates of growth of the bony and soft tissue vocal tract structures; c) the coordinated growth of the different vocal tract structures, specifically functionally related structures; d) growth spurts, and synchrony in growth spurts; e) the ideal index to document and predict the growth of the vocal tract structures; f) gender related differences in the growth of the vocal tract structures; g) comparison of growth patterns pre versus post adolescence; h) anatomic growth similarities and differences in normal children and children with Trisomy 21. The findings of this study will contribute to knowledge on craniofacial development, and are of theoretical and clinical significance particularly in the areas of feeding skills, speech development, and speech production. For additional information, please visit the Vocal Tract Development Laboratory website. This research is supported by a grants from the National Institute of Health - National Institute of Deafness and Other Communicative Disorders  (NIH/NIDCD Grant #  R03-DC 4362 & R01-DC 006282). Also, a core grant to the Waisman Center from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NIH-NICHD Grant # P30-HD03352). Kent, R.D. & Vorperian, H.K. (1995). Anatomic development of the craniofacial-oral-laryngeal systems: A review. Journal of Medical Speech-Language Pathology, 3, 145-90. (Also published as a monograph (1995) San Diego: Singular Publishing Group, Inc.). Vorperian, H.K., Kent, R.D., Gentry, L.R. & Yandell, B.S. (1999). MRI procedures to study the concurrent anatomic development of the vocal tract structures: Preliminary results. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, 49(3) 197-206. Callan, D.E., Kent, R.D., Gunther, F.H., & Vorperian, H.K. (2000). An auditory-feedback-based neural network model of speech production that is robust to developmental changes in the size and shape of the articulatory system. Journal of Speech & Hearing Research, 43(3), 721-736. Vorperian, H.K. (2000). Anatomic Development of the Vocal Tract Structures as Visualized by MRI. Published dissertation under the direction of Raymond D. Kent. University of Wisconsin-Madison. Vorperian, H.K., Kent, R.D., Lindstrom, M.J., Kalina, C.M., Gentry, L.R. & Yandell, B.S. (2005). Development of vocal tract length during childhood: A Magentic Resonance Imaging Study. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 117(1) 338-350.   Click to search National Library of Medicine and PubMed for other publications by Dr. Vorperian

Last updated 12/15/2005 by rowley@waisman.wisc.edu