The extrinsic risk and its association with neural alterations in spasmodic dysphonia

Laura de Lima Xavier, Kristina Simonyan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

24 Scopus citations

Abstract

Introduction: Spasmodic dysphonia (SD) is an isolated focal dystonia characterized by laryngeal spasms during voluntary voice production. Environmental factors have been assumed to play a role in SD pathophysiology; however, the exact extrinsic risk factors and their association with neural alterations remain unknown. Methods: A total of 186 SD patients and 85 healthy controls completed a structured 177-question survey, consisting of questions on general biographical information, medical history, symptomatology of dystonia. Data were imputed in a stepwise regression model to identify extrinsic risk factors for SD. In addition, functional MRI data from a subset of this cohort were analyzed to determine brain activation abnormalities associated with the SD extrinsic risk. Results: We found that (1) recurrent upper respiratory infections, gastroesophageal reflux, and neck trauma, all of which influence sensory feedback from the larynx, represent extrinsic risk factors, likely triggering the manifestation of SD symptoms, and (2) neural alterations in the regions necessary for sensorimotor preparation and integration are influenced by an extrinsic risk in susceptible individuals. Conclusions: These findings provide evidence for the extrinsic risk in SD development and demonstrate the link with alterations in the sensorimotor preparatory network that collectively contribute to the multifactorial pathophysiology of SD.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)117-123
Number of pages7
JournalParkinsonism and Related Disorders
Volume65
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2019
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Case-control study
  • Extrinsic risk
  • Laryngeal dystonia
  • fMRI

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