Logan Steele
Speech is a complex process that involves many muscles working together to produce sound. The diaphragm, vocal cords, tongue, lips, jaw, soft palate, and facial muscles all play a crucial role in speech production. Impairment or weakness in these muscles can lead to speech disorders such as dysarthria, characterised by slurred and slow speech, or stuttering, where there are disruptions in the production of speech sounds. Speech Pathologists often work with individuals to strengthen these muscles and improve their control, helping them become confident and effective communicators.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Learning to talk involves | Various muscles working together to produce sounds, form words, and create sentences |
| Muscles involved | Diaphragm, vocal cords, tongue, soft palate, orbicularis oris muscle, buccinator muscles in the cheeks, lips, jaw, throat |
| Dysarthria | A disorder in which the muscles used for speech are weakened, resulting in slurred and slow speech |
| Nervous system disorders that cause dysarthria | Parkinson's disease, Guillain-Barre syndrome, myasthenia gravis, Lambert-Eaton syndrome, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, Huntington's disease, muscular dystrophy |
| Brain's role in speech | The cerebrum, the largest part of the brain, is primarily responsible for speech |
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What You'll Learn
Diaphragm
The diaphragm is a large, dome-shaped muscle located at the base of the lungs. It is the principal muscle of respiration. The diaphragm arises from the lower part of the sternum (breastbone), the lower six ribs, and the lumbar vertebrae of the spine. It is attached to a central membranous tendon that goes all around the rib cage.
The diaphragm plays a crucial role in breathing, which is essential for speech production. When a person inhales, the diaphragm moves downward, allowing the lungs to fill with air. Upon exhaling, the diaphragm pushes upward, forcing air out through the lungs, trachea, and vocal cords to produce sound.
Good control of the diaphragm helps individuals speak clearly and at the appropriate volume. Speech pathologists often focus on breathing exercises to improve diaphragm control for speech. Diaphragmatic breathing is essential for speech. The diaphragm is also important in expulsive actions such as coughing, sneezing, vomiting, crying, and expelling feces, urine, and, in parturition, the fetus.
Breathing fully and deeply, using the diaphragm, is important for producing sound. While it is impossible to breathe into one's belly, the diaphragm gives the feeling of breathing into the belly as it moves downward, pushing the organs underneath it out of the way. This is why people sometimes say to 'use your diaphragm' or 'speak from your stomach' when they want someone to breathe low and deeply and use that breath to speak.
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Vocal cords
The vocal cords, or vocal folds, are two bands of muscle inside the larynx (voice box) that produce the sound of your voice when air passes through them. The vocal cords are composed of twin infoldings of three distinct tissues: an outer layer of flat cells that do not produce keratin (squamous epithelium); a superficial layer of the lamina propria, a gel-like layer that allows the vocal fold to vibrate and produce sound; and the vocalis and thyroarytenoid muscles, which make up the deepest portion.
The length of the vocal cords affects the pitch of the voice, with tighter cords producing higher-pitched sounds and looser cords creating lower-pitched sounds. The vocal cords open to allow breathing and close when swallowing to prevent food from entering the lungs. They also close and vibrate when speaking or singing, with the vibrations creating the sound of your voice. The volume of sound is a result of the pressure of the air that is blown past the vocal folds. A more forceful expulsion of air from the lungs raises this pressure, and the vocal folds must increase tension to maintain their near-closed position.
The vocal cords are controlled by the recurrent laryngeal branch of the vagus nerve. They are also connected to various muscles and cartilage inside the voice box. The extracellular matrix of the vocal cord is composed of fibrous proteins such as collagen and elastin, and interstitial molecules such as hyaluronic acid and HA, a non-sulfated glycosaminoglycan. These molecules play different roles, with collagen providing strength and structural support, elastin bringing elasticity to the tissue, and HA acting as a shock absorber and promoting wound healing and cell migration.
The maturation of the vocal cords does not appear before 13 years of age, and the process by which the vocal cords mature from an immature monolayer in newborns to a mature three-layer tissue in adults is still unknown.
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Tongue
The tongue is a muscular organ with a complex arrangement of intrinsic and extrinsic muscles. The intrinsic muscles are responsible for changing the shape of the tongue, while the extrinsic muscles move the tongue in different directions. The tongue's flexibility allows us to speak, swallow and suck in a coordinated way.
The four paired intrinsic muscles of the tongue are: the superior longitudinal, inferior longitudinal, transverse, and vertical muscles. These muscles affect the tongue's shape and size, which is essential for speaking, eating, and swallowing. The genioglossus muscle is a large, thick muscle that significantly contributes to the shape of the tongue.
The extrinsic muscles originate from structures outside the tongue and insert onto it. They are innervated by the hypoglossal nerve, except for the palatoglossus muscle, which is innervated by the vagus nerve. The hypoglossal nerve provides motor innervation to all intrinsic and extrinsic muscles of the tongue, except for the palatoglossus.
The tongue is involved in producing speech by manipulating its position in the mouth against the teeth and palate. It is also a sensory organ, responsible for tasting and touch sensation. The mucous membrane covering the tongue contains taste receptors that help us ''test'' the things we eat and drink. The tongue also plays a role in breathing and digestion.
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Soft palate
The soft palate is a structure consisting of muscle and connective tissue that forms the back of the roof of the mouth. It is part of the palate, the other part being the hard palate, which is bony and sits at the front of the roof of the mouth. The soft palate is flexible and movable, and this flexibility is important for producing certain sounds in speech.
The soft palate plays a crucial role in blocking food and other substances from entering the nasal cavity during swallowing. It also separates the oral and nasal cavities, acting as a barrier between the digestive and respiratory tracts. This function allows a person to breathe and eat simultaneously.
During speech, the soft palate moves to direct airflow through the mouth or nose, which is essential for producing certain sounds. When the soft palate is raised, it blocks airflow through the nose, directing air through the mouth for non-nasal sounds. Conversely, when the soft palate is lowered, air can pass through the nose, producing nasal sounds like "m," "n," and "ng." Nasalized vowels, where part of the airstream goes out through the nose, occur in many languages.
The soft palate is involved in several conditions, including cleft palate, sleep apnea, and cancer. Cleft palate is a congenital abnormality where the roof of the mouth does not close during development, resulting in an opening that can affect speech, swallowing, and breathing. Speech pathologists often work with children to coordinate soft palate movements and improve speech clarity.
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Facial muscles
Several facial muscles help shape the mouth and control expressions during speech. The orbicularis oris muscle, for example, surrounds the mouth and controls lip movements. The buccinator muscles in the cheeks also help manage airflow and maintain cheek firmness. These delicate facial movements are essential for clear speech and expressive communication. Speech pathologists frequently incorporate facial muscle exercises into therapy to improve speech clarity.
The tongue, a versatile muscle, is also crucial for speech. It moves in various directions to form different sounds. The soft palate, located at the back of the roof of the mouth, directs airflow through the mouth or nose, depending on the sound being produced. When the soft palate is raised, it blocks airflow through the nose, directing air through the mouth for non-nasal sounds.
The diaphragm, a large muscle at the base of the lungs, is another important muscle for speech. It plays a crucial role in breathing by moving downward during inhalation and pushing upward during exhalation, forcing air out through the lungs, trachea, and vocal cords. Good control of the diaphragm helps with speaking clearly and at the appropriate volume.
The vocal cords, located in the larynx (voice box), are two bands of muscle that vibrate when air passes through them, producing sound. By adjusting the tension and length of the vocal cords, different pitches and volumes can be created. For instance, tighter vocal cords produce higher-pitched sounds, while looser vocal cords create lower-pitched sounds.
Impairment or weakness in these facial and speech-related muscles can result in dysarthria, characterised by slurred and slow speech. Speech-language pathologists can assist individuals with dysarthria by evaluating the condition and creating customised treatment plans, which may include speech therapy to strengthen the muscles used for speech.
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Frequently asked questions
The muscles responsible for speech include the diaphragm, lips, tongue, cheeks, vocal folds, and soft palate.
The diaphragm is a large muscle located at the base of the lungs that plays a crucial role in breathing. Good control of the diaphragm helps to speak clearly and at the appropriate volume.
The vocal folds, also known as vocal cords, are two bands of muscle located in the larynx (voice box). They produce sound when air passes through them, and by adjusting their tension and length, different pitches and volumes can be created.
The tongue is a versatile muscle that moves in various directions to form different sounds, contributing to our ability to articulate words.
The soft palate is located at the back of the roof of the mouth and moves to direct airflow through the mouth or nose. It plays a crucial role in producing nasal and non-nasal sounds, such as "m," "n," and "ng."
