Kate E Bunton

Interests

Research

Acoustics, Aerodynamics, and Kinematics of Speech Production and Speech Perception

Teaching

Speech Sound Disorders, Stuttering, Cleft Palate and other Craniofacial Disorders, Motor Speech Disorders

Courses

Scholarly Contributions

Chapters

• Bunton, K. E., & Huber, J. E. (2018). Chapter 12: Articulation and Resonance. In Anatomy & Physiology of Speech and Hearing (Rousseau, B. & Branski, R. (eds)). Thieme.

Journals/Publications

• Story, B. H., & Bunton, K. (2023). The relation of velopharyngeal coupling area and vocal tract scaling to identification of stop-nasal cognates. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 154(6), 3741-3759.
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  The purpose of this study was to determine whether the threshold of velopharyngeal (VP) coupling area at which listeners switch from identifying a consonant as a stop to a nasal in North American English was different for speech produced by a model based on an adult male, an adult female, and a 4-year-old child. V1CV2 stimuli were generated with a speech production model that encodes phonetic segments as relative acoustic targets imposed on an underlying vocal tract and laryngeal structure that can be scaled according to sex and age. Each V1CV2 was synthesized with a set of VP coupling functions whose maximum area ranged from 0 to 0.1 cm2. Results showed that scaling the vocal tract and vocal folds had essentially no effect on the VP coupling area at which listener identification shifted from stop to nasal. The range of coupling areas at which the crossover occurred was 0.037-0.049 cm2 for the male model, 0.040-0.055 cm2 for the female model, and 0.039-0.052 cm2 for the 4-year-old child model, and overall mean was 0.044 cm2. Calculations of band limited peak nasalance indicated that 85% peak nasalance during the consonant was well aligned with listener responses.
• Casilio, M. E., Rising, K. L., Beeson, P. M., Bunton, K. E., & Wilson, S. M. (2019). Auditory-perceptual rating of connected speech in aphasia. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology.
• Story, B. H., & Bunton, K. (2019). A model of speech production based on the acoustic relativity of the vocal tract. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 146(4), 2522.
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  A model is described in which the effects of articulatory movements to produce speech are generated by specifying relative acoustic events along a time axis. These events consist of directional changes of the vocal tract resonance frequencies that, when associated with a temporal event function, are transformed via acoustic sensitivity functions, into time-varying modulations of the vocal tract shape. Because the time course of the events may be considerably overlapped in time, coarticulatory effects are automatically generated. Production of sentence-level speech with the model is demonstrated with audio samples and vocal tract animations.
• Hoit, J. D., & Bunton, K. E. (2018). Development of velopharyngeal closure for vocalization during the first two years of life. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research.
• Bunton, K. E. (2018). Update on Velopharyngeal Closure in Young Children. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, Special Interest Group 5, Craniofacial and Velopharyngeal Disorders,.
• Bunton, K. E., & Hoit, J. D. (2018). Development of velopharyngeal closure for vocalization during the first two years of life. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research.
• Story, B. H., & Bunton, K. E. (2017). An acoustically-driven vocal tract model for stop consonant production. Speech Communication, 1-17, 87.
• Story, B. H., & Bunton, K. E. (2017). Vowel space density as an indicator of speech performance. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America Express Letters, 141(5), EL458-EL464.
• Story, B. H., Vorperian, H., Bunton, K. E., & Reed, C. (2018). Vocal tract growth model for males and females using area function transformations based on anatomic measurements. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.
• Bunton, K. E., & Story, B. H. (2016). Arizona Child Acoustic Database Repository. Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica, 68(3), 107-111.
• Neely, K., Story, B. H., & Bunton, K. E. (2016). A modeling study of the effects of vocal tract movement duration and magnitude on the F2 trajectory in CV words. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Science, 59, 1327-1334.
• Neely, K., Story, B. H., & Bunton, K. E. (2016). A modeling study of the effects of vocal tract movement duration and magnitude on the F2 trajectory in CV words. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Science, 59, 1327-1334. doi:10.1044/2016_JSLHR-S-14-0331
• Story, B. H., & Bunton, K. E. (2016). Formant measurement in children's speech based on spectral filtering. Speech Communication, 76, 93-111. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.specom.2015.11.001
• Bunton, K. (2015). Effects of nasal port area on perception of nasality and measures of nasalance based on computational modeling. The Cleft palate-craniofacial journal : official publication of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association, 52(1), 110-4.
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  This study examined the relation between nasal port area, nasalance, and perceptual ratings of nasality for three English corner vowels, /i/, /u/, and /a/.
• Samlan, R. A., Story, B. H., Bunton, K., & Lotto, A. J. (2014). Acoustic and perceptual effects of left-right laryngeal asymmetries based on computational modeling. Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR, 57(5), 1619-37.
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  Computational modeling was used to examine the consequences of 5 different laryngeal asymmetries on acoustic and perceptual measures of vocal function.
• Bunton, K., Bunton, K., Samlan, R. A., & Story, B. H. (2013). Relation of perceived breathiness to laryngeal kinematics and acoustic measures based on computational modeling. Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR, 56(4).
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  In this study, the authors sought to determine (a) how specific vocal fold structural and vibratory features relate to breathy voice quality and (b) the relation of perceived breathiness to 4 acoustic correlates of breathiness.
• Bunton, K., & Story, B. H. (2012). The relation of nasality and nasalance to nasal port area based on a computational model. Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal, 49(6), 741-749.
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  PMID: 21970695;PMCID: PMC3638741;Abstract: Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the relation of perceptual ratings of nasality by experienced listeners, measures of nasalance, and the size of the nasal port opening for three simulated English corner vowels, /i/, /u/, and /a/. Design: Samples were generated using a computational model that allowed for exact control of nasal port size and a direct measure of nasalance. Perceptual ratings were obtained using a paired-stimulus presentation. Participants: Five experienced listeners. Main Outcome Measures: Measures of nasalance and perceptual nasality ratings. Results: Differences in nasalance and perceptual ratings of nasality were noted among the three vowels, with values being greater for the high vowels /i/ and /u/ compared to the low vowel /a/. Listeners detected nasality for the high and low vowels simulated with nasal port areas of 0.01 and 0.15 cm2, respectively. Correlations between ratings of nasality and nasalance were high for all three vowels. Conclusions: Results of the present study show a high correlation between ratings of nasality and measures of nasalance for nasal port areas ranging from 0 to 0.5 cm2. The correlations were based on sustained vowel samples. The restricted speech sample limits generalization of the findings to clinical data; however, the results are a demonstration of the usefulness of modeling to understand the perceptual phenomena of nasality. © Copyright 2012 American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association.
• Weismer, G., Yunusova, Y., & Bunton, K. (2012). Measures to evaluate the effects of DBS on speech production. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 25(2), 74-94.
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  Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to review and evaluate measures of speech production that could be used to document effects of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) on speech performance, especially in persons with Parkinson disease (PD). A small set of evaluative criteria for these measures is presented first, followed by consideration of several speech physiology and speech acoustic measures that have been studied frequently and reported on in the literature on normal speech production, and speech production affected by neuromotor disorders (dysarthria). Each measure is reviewed and evaluated against the evaluative criteria. Embedded within this review and evaluation is a presentation of new data relating speech motions to speech intelligibility measures in speakers with PD, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and control speakers (CS). These data are used to support the conclusion that at the present time the slope of second formant transitions (F2 slope), an acoustic measure, is well suited to make inferences to speech motion and to predict speech intelligibility. The use of other measures should not be ruled out, however, and we encourage further development of evaluative criteria for speech measures designed to probe the effects of DBS or any treatment with potential effects on speech production and communication skills. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.
• Bunton, K., & Leddy, M. (2011). An evaluation of articulatory working space area in vowel production of adults with Down syndrome. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 25(4), 321-334.
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  PMID: 21091205;PMCID: PMC3646407;Abstract: Many adolescents and adults with Down syndrome have reduced speech intelligibility. Reasons for this reduction may relate to differences in anatomy and physiology, both of which are important for creating an intelligible speech signal. The purpose of this study was to document acoustic vowel space and articulatory working space for two adult speakers with Down syndrome who had reduced speech intelligibility (mean = 56% based on single words). Articulatory data for the tongue were collected using a real-time flesh-point tracking method (i.e. X-ray microbeam). Results show smaller F1-F2 acoustic vowel space area for both speakers with Down syndrome compared with the control speakers. Reduced articulatory working space area and slower movement speed were also found for three of the four tongue points analysed. Although generalizations are limited by the small number of participants, findings warrant further investigation of the underlying articulatory characteristics of speech production for individuals with Down syndrome. © 2011 Informa UK, Ltd.
• Bunton, K., Story, B. H., & Bunton, K. E. (2010). Relation of vocal tract shape, formant transitions, and stop consonant identification. Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR, 53(6).
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  The present study was designed to investigate the relation of formant transitions to place-of-articulation for stop consonants. A speech production model was used to generate simulated utterances containing voiced stop consonants, and a perceptual experiment was performed to test their identification by listeners.
• Webster, K. T., Samlan, R. A., Jones, B., Bunton, K., & Tufano, R. P. (2010). Supracricoid partial laryngectomy: Swallowing, voice, and speech outcomes. Annals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology, 119(1), 10-16.
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  PMID: 20128180;Abstract: Objectives: The purpose of the study was to describe the swallowing and vocal function of patients after supracricoid partial laryngectomy (SCPL) as they changed over the first postoperative year. Methods: Ten patients with laryngeal carcinoma underwent SCPL at Johns Hopkins Hospital between August 2003 and May 2005. Clinical and videofluoroscopic swallowing examinations and perceptual, acoustic, aerodynamic, and videostroboscopic voice evaluations were completed before operation and at 3 weeks (swallowing only) and 2 (voice only), 6, and 12 months after operation. Results: The mean time to gastrostomy tube removal was 82 days. The patients tolerated an increased variety of foods over the first postoperative year. All patients initially used therapeutic strategies to swallow safely, and some still required them at 1 postoperative year. Over the year, the perceptual ratings of voice quality improved significantly. There were no consistent changes in acoustic or aerodynamic measures. The number of patients who used multiple vibratory sources to phonate increased over the year. Conclusions: The patients tolerated regular diets, yet continued to exhibit silent aspiration and a variety of decompensations. Their voices were breathy, rough, and strained. Their voice quality ratings improved over the year. Group changes were not captured, and it appears that the changes in speech and voice 2 months after surgery were subtle. © 2010 Annals Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
• Bunton, K. (2008). Speech versus nonspeech: Different tasks, different neural organization. Seminars in Speech and Language, 29(4), 267-275.
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  PMID: 19058113;PMCID: PMC2685191;Abstract: This article reviews the extant studies of the relation of oromotor nonspeech activities to speech production. The relevancy of nonspeech oral motor behaviors to speech motor performance in assessment and treatment is challenged on several grounds. First, contemporary motor theory suggests that movement control is task specific. In other words, it is tied to the unique goals, sources of information, and characteristics of varying motor acts. Documented differences in movement characteristics for speech production versus nonspeech oral motor tasks support this claim. Second, advantages of training nonspeech oral motor tasks versus training speech production are not supported by current principles of motor learning and neural plasticity. Empirical data supports experience-specific training. Finally, functional imaging studies document differences in activation patterns for speech compared with nonspeech oral motor tasks in neurologically healthy individuals. Copyright © 2008 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.
• Bunton, K., & Bunton, K. E. (2008). Speech versus nonspeech: different tasks, different neural organization. Seminars in speech and language, 29(4).
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  This article reviews the extant studies of the relation of oromotor nonspeech activities to speech production. The relevancy of nonspeech oral motor behaviors to speech motor performance in assessment and treatment is challenged on several grounds. First, contemporary motor theory suggests that movement control is task specific. In other words, it is tied to the unique goals, sources of information, and characteristics of varying motor acts. Documented differences in movement characteristics for speech production versus nonspeech oral motor tasks support this claim. Second, advantages of training nonspeech oral motor tasks versus training speech production are not supported by current principles of motor learning and neural plasticity. Empirical data supports experience-specific training. Finally, functional imaging studies document differences in activation patterns for speech compared with nonspeech oral motor tasks in neurologically healthy individuals.
• Bunton, K., & Keintz, C. K. (2008). The use of a dual-task paradigm for assessing speech intelligibility in clients with Parkinson disease. Journal of Medical Speech-Language Pathology, 16(3), 141-155.
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  Abstract: Differences in the clinical and ecological manifestations of reduced intelligibility for individuals with dysarthria related to Parkinson disease (PD) have been reported in the literature. The current study explored whether a dual-task paradigm could be used during intelligibility testing to collect speech samples that were representative of functional performance. Intelligibility was calculated for four speakers with PD and four agematched controls (CG) based on single-word, sentences, and monologue tasks recorded in single- and dual-task conditions and a spontaneous speech sample. In the dual-task condition, speakers produced the target speech sample and performed a simultaneous motor task, turning a nut on a bolt. No significant differences in intelligibility were found for the CG. For speakers with PD, differences between conditions were statistically significant for all speech tasks. Intelligibility scores in the dual-task condition were lower, with variability between tasks and speakers noted. There was a significant difference between scores for the monologue in the single-task condition and the spontaneous sample; however, there was no significant difference between the monologue in the dual-task condition and the spontaneous sample. Findings suggest that including a simple motor task during a clinical assessment may help elicit speech samples that are representative of a speaker's typical speech production. Copyright © 2008 Delmar Cengage Learning.
• Bunton, K., Kent, R. D., Duffy, J. R., Rosenbek, J. C., & Kent, J. F. (2007). Listener agreement for auditory-perceptual ratings of dysarthria. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 50(6), 1481-1495.
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  PMID: 18055769;Abstract: Purpose: Darley, Aronson, and Brown (1969a, 1969b) detailed methods and results of auditory-perceptual assessment for speakers with dysarthrias of varying etiology. They reported adequate listener reliability for use of the rating system as a tool for differential diagnosis, but several more recent studies have raised concerns about listener reliability using this approach. Method: In the present study, the authors examined intrarater and interrater agreement for perceptual ratings of 47 speakers with various dysarthria types by 2 listener groups (inexperienced and experienced). The entire set of perceptual features proposed by Darley et al. was rated based on a 40-s conversational speech sample. Results: No differences in levels of agreement were found between the listener groups. Agreement was within 1 scale value or better for 67% of the pairwise comparisons. Levels of agreement were lower when the average rating fell in the mid-range of the scale compared with samples that had an average rating near either of the scale endpoints; agreement was above chance level. No significant differences in agreement were found between the perceptual features. Discussion: The levels of listener agreement that were found indicate that auditory-perceptual ratings show promise during clinical assessment for identifying salient features of dysarthria for speakers with various etiologies. © American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
• Bunton, K. (2006). Fundamental frequency as a perceptual cue for vowel identification in speakers with parkinson's disease. Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica, 58(5), 323-339.
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  PMID: 16966834;Abstract: This study investigates the importance of fundamental frequency (F0) as a perceptual cue for identification of vowel targets produced by speakers with Parkinson's disease (PD). It has been suggested in the literature that F0 is a redundant cue for vowel identification in highly intelligible speech. For speakers with dysarthria who are having difficulty with segmental and suprasegmental aspects of production which result in ambiguous or conflicting cues in the acoustic signal, F0 may have increased perceptual importance for accurate identification of vowel targets. In the present study, F0 contours for single-word targets produced in sentence level material by 20 speakers with PD and 20 control speakers were synthetically modified in several different ways (i.e., flattened and enhanced). Listener identification of vowel targets across the F0 conditions was recorded. The accuracy of vowel identification for the control group was not affected by the flattening of the F0 contour. For the speakers with PD, however, modification of the F0 contour (flattening or enhancing) affected the accuracy with which listeners identified certain vowels. Differences in vowel identification were found primarily for the front vowels /I, ε, æ/ along a high-low continuum. Copyright © 2006 S. Karger AG.
• Bunton, K., & Bunton, K. E. (2006). Fundamental frequency as a perceptual cue for vowel identification in speakers with Parkinson's disease. Folia phoniatrica et logopaedica : official organ of the International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics (IALP), 58(5).
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  This study investigates the importance of fundamental frequency (F0) as a perceptual cue for identification of vowel targets produced by speakers with Parkinson's disease (PD). It has been suggested in the literature that F0 is a redundant cue for vowel identification in highly intelligible speech. For speakers with dysarthria who are having difficulty with segmental and suprasegmental aspects of production which result in ambiguous or conflicting cues in the acoustic signal, F0 may have increased perceptual importance for accurate identification of vowel targets. In the present study, F0 contours for single-word targets produced in sentence level material by 20 speakers with PD and 20 control speakers were synthetically modified in several different ways (i.e., flattened and enhanced). Listener identification of vowel targets across the F0 conditions was recorded. The accuracy of vowel identification for the control group was not affected by the flattening of the F0 contour. For the speakers with PD, however, modification of the F0 contour (flattening or enhancing) affected the accuracy with which listeners identified certain vowels. Differences in vowel identification were found primarily for the front vowels /I, epsilon, ae/ along a high-low continuum.
• Bunton, K. (2005). Patterns of lung volume use during an extemporaneous speech task in persons with Parkinson disease. Journal of Communication Disorders, 38(5), 331-348.
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  PMID: 15963334;Abstract: This study examined patterns of lung volume use in speakers with Parkinson disease (PD) during an extemporaneous speaking task. The performance of a control group was also examined. Behaviors described are based on acoustic, kinematic and linguistic measures. Group differences were found in breath group duration, lung volume initiation, and lung volume termination measures. Speakers in the control group alternated between a longer and shorter breath groups. With starting lung volumes being higher for the longer breath groups and lower for shorter breath groups. Speech production was terminated before reaching tidal end expiratory level. This pattern was also seen in 4 of 7 speakers with PD. The remaining 3 PD speakers initiated speech at low starting lung volumes and continued speaking below EEL. This subgroup of PD speakers ended breath groups at agrammatical boundaries, whereas control speakers ended at appropriate grammatical boundaries. Learning outcomes: As a result of participating in this exercise, the reader will (1) be able to describe the patterns of lung volume use in speakers with Parkinson disease and compare them with those employed by control speakers; and (2) obtain information about the influence of speaking task on speech breathing. © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
• Laures, J. S., & Bunton, K. (2003). Perceptual effects of a flattened fundamental frequency at the sentence level under different listening conditions. Journal of Communication Disorders, 36(6), 449-464.
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  PMID: 12967739;Abstract: The purpose of this series of experiments was to examine the effect of a flattened fundamental frequency (F0) contour on the intelligibility of sentence length material in different listening environments. Eight speakers of different genders and ages produced sentences from the Speech Perception in Noise Test (SPIN). Each utterance was subjected to a resynthesis technique that allowed flattening of the fundamental frequency while maintaining the timing and spectral characteristics of the utterances. To avoid learning effects two groups of listeners were chosen to complete word transcription and interval scaling tasks of the unmodified and flattened F0 utterances under different listening conditions (competing white noise or multi-speaker babble) to obtain measures of speech intelligibility. Results were that a flattened fundamental frequency contour negatively influences speech intelligibility regardless of the nature of the competing background noise. Learning outcomes (1) To appreciate the role fundamental frequency variation plays in speech intelligibility. (2) To understand the importance of considering environmental noise in clinical speech intelligibility testing. © 2003 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.
• Bunton, K., & Weismer, G. (2002). Segmental level analysis of laryngeal function in persons with motor speech disorders. Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica, 54(5), 223-239.
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  PMID: 12378034;Abstract: Laryngeal behavior for segmental function is often disturbed in motor speech disorders. Loss of voicing contrasts has been shown to significantly contribute to speech intelligibility deficits. The present study was designed to examine two commonly erred laryngeal contrasts, the word-initial voiced-voiceless and glottal-null contrasts using acoustic analysis techniques. Acoustic measures were compared to expectations for the contrast based on data in the literature as well as listeners' perception of the token. Findings indicate a mismatch between acoustic data and both expectations for the contrasts and listener perception. There is some indication that changes in laryngeal segmental function are related to aging in general and may be exaggerated in persons with motor speech disorders. Copyright© 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel.
• Bunton, K., & Weismer, G. (2001). The relationship between perception and acoustics for a high-low vowel contrast produced by speakers with dysarthria. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 44(6), 1215-1228.
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  PMID: 11776360;Abstract: This study was designed to explore the relationship between perception of a highlow vowel contrast and its acoustic correlates in tokens produced by persons with motor speech disorders. An intelligibility test designed by Kent, Weismer, Kent, and Rosenbek (1989a) groups target and error words in minimal-pair contrasts. This format allows for construction of phonetic error profiles based on listener responses, thus allowing for a direct comparison of the acoustic characteristics of vowels perceived as the intended target with those heard as something other than the target. The high-low vowel contrast was found to be a consistent error across clinical groups and therefore was selected for acoustic analysis. The contrast was expected to have well-defined acoustic measures or correlates, derived from the literature, that directly relate to a listeners' responses for that token. These measures include the difference between the second and first formant frequency (F2-F1), the difference between F1 and the fundamental frequency (F0), and vowel duration. Results showed that the acoustic characteristics of tongue-height errors were not clearly differentiated from the acoustic characteristics of targets. Rather, the acoustic characteristics of errors often looked like noisy (nonprototypical) versions of the targets. Results are discussed in terms of the test from which the errors were derived and within the framework of speech perception theory.
• Bunton, K., Kent, R. D., Kent, J. F., & Duffy, J. R. (2001). The effects of flattening fundamental frequency contours on sentence intelligibility in speakers with dysarthria. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 15(3), 181-193.
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  Abstract: This study explored the relationship between F0 variability and intelligibility in persons with motor speech disorders. The literature suggests that monopitch may have detrimental effects on the intelligibility of individuals with dysarthria (and other speech disorders), but few studies have examined the independent effect of a flat F0 contour on intelligibility in speakers with articulatory difficulties. An LPC resynthesis technique was used to reduce the speakers' sentence F0 range by 25%, 50% and 100% (flattened F0). Two dysarthric speaker groups were evaluated, one with prosodic inadequacy and imprecise articulation (hypokinetic) and one with imprecise articulation only (UUMN). Speech intelligibility was assessed using a word transcription task and an interval-scaling task. Results argue strongly for the perceptual importance of sentence-level F0 variations on speech intelligibility even when the F0 range is severely restricted. Results also suggest that the contribution of F0 to intelligibility may vary with type of dysarthria.
• Bunton, K., Kent, R. D., Kent, J. F., & Rosenbek, J. C. (2000). Perceptuo-acoustic assessment of prosodic impairment in dysarthria. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 14(1), 13-24.
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  PMID: 22091695;Abstract: Dysprosody was studied in four groups of male subjects: subjects with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and mild intelligibility impairment, subjects with ALS and a more severe intelligibility loss, subjects with cerebellar disease, and neurologically normal controls. Dysprosody was assessed with perceptual ratings and acoustic measures pertaining to the regulation of duration, f0, and intensity within lone units of conversational samples. Intelligibility reduction and prosodic disturbance were not necessarily equally impaired in all subjects, and it is concluded that these are complementary indices of severity of dysarthria. Compared to the neurologically normal control group, the clinical groups tended to decrease the overall duration of tone units, produce fewer words in a tone unit, and use smaller variations in f0. Recommendations are offered for the assessement of prosody in dysarthria.
• Weismer, G., & Bunton, K. (1999). Influences of pellet markers on speech production behavior: Acoustical and perceptual measures. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 105(5), 2882-2894.
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  PMID: 10335637;Abstract: Peri- and intraoral devices are often used to obtain measurements concerning articulator motions and placements. Surprisingly, there are few formal evaluations of the potential influence of these devices on speech production behavior. In particular, the potential effects of lingual pellets or coils used in x-ray or electromagnetic studies of tongue motion have never been evaluated formally, even though a large x-ray database exists and electromagnetic systems are commercially available. The x-ray microbeam database [Westbury, J. 'X-ray Microbeam Speech Production Database User's Handbook, version 1' (1994)] includes several utterances produced with pellets-off and -on, which allowed us to evaluate effects of pellets for the utterance, She had your dark suit in greasy wash water all year, using acoustic and perceptual measures. Overall, there were no acoustic or perceptual measures that showed consistent effects of pellets across speakers, but certain effects were consistent either within a given speaker or in direction across a subgroup of the speakers. The results are discussed in terms of the general goodness of the assumption that point parameterization of lingual motion does not interfere with normal articulatory behaviors. A brief screening procedure is suggested to protect articulatory kinematic experiments from those individuals who may show consistent effects of having devices placed on perioral structures.
• Bunton, K., & Weismer, G. (1994). Evaluation of a reiterant force-impulse task in the tongue. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 37(5), 1020-1031.
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  PMID: 7823548;Abstract: In the current study characteristics of a lingual force-impulse task were examined. In the task, neurologically normal adults were required to produce sequences of lingual force impulses that were modeled on sequences of syllables produced as reiterant speech. The goal of data analysis was to (a) compare the timing of the reiterant force sequences to the timing of reiterant speech sequences, (b) compare the force magnitudes to expected force variations associated with linguistic stress in the reiterant speech sequences, and (c) compare the reiterant force magnitudes to maximum lingual forces. Results indicated that reiterant force timing is typically slower than reiterant speech timing, that reiterant force magnitudes do not vary systematically as a function of stress variations in the reiterant speech utterances, and that reiterant force magnitudes are typically only a fraction of maximum lingual forces. Results are discussed in terms of the relationship between orofacial, nonspeech motor performance and speech production performance.

Proceedings Publications

• Story, B. H., & Bunton, K. E. (2015, July). A spectral filtering method for tracking formants in children’s speech. In Acoustical Society of America, 23.

Presentations

• Story, B. H., Bunton, K. E., & Vorperian, H. E. (2018, February). Intelligibility of monosyllabic words produced by an acoustically-driven model of the vocal tract. 19th Biennial Conference on Motor Speech Disorders. Savannah, GA.
• Bunton, K. E., & Brown, V. (2017, October). Velopharyngeal closure in infants and toddlers. Colloquium Presentation. Tucson, AZ: Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Association.
• Casilio, M., Rising, K. L., Beeson, P. M., Bunton, K. E., & Wilson, S. M. (2017, April). Patterns of connected speech features in aphasia. Arizona Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention. Tucson, AZ.
• Casilio, M., Rising, K. L., Beeson, P. M., Bunton, K. E., & Wilson, S. M. (2017, June). Patterns of connected speech features in aphasia. Clinical Aphasiology Conference. Snowbird, UT.
• Rumery, K., Brancheau, M., Brown, V., Hoit, J. D., & Bunton, K. E. (2017, April). Development of velopharyngeal closure in infants and toddlers. Arizona Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention. Tucson, AZ.
• Story, B. H., & Bunton, K. E. (2017, December). The relation of auditory perceptual ratings of nasality to nasal port area in connected speech. 174th meeting of the Acoustical Society of America. New Orleans, LA: Acoustical Society of America.
• Swink, N. M., Darling-White, M., & Bunton, K. E. (2017, April). Evaluating the effect of instruction and task on the acoustic characteristics of speech production in older adults. Arizona Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention. Tucson, AZ.
• Taylor, G. L., Bunton, K. E., & Story, B. H. (2017, April). Clear Speech modifications in children aged 6-10 years.. Arizona Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention. Tucson, AZ.
• Story, B. H., & Bunton, K. E. (2016, March). Simulations of child-like speech as test material for speech analysis algorithms. International Conference on Voice Physiology and Biomechanics. Chile.
• Bunton, K. E., Rumery, K., & Hoit, J. D. (2015, November). Development of Velopharyngeal Closure: Motor or Language Skill?. American Speech Language and Hearing Association Annual Convention. Denver, CO: American Speech Language and Hearing Association.
• Rumery, K. E., Chong, C., Lougher, A., Hoit, J. D., & Bunton, K. E. (2015, April). Velopharyngeal closure during the first two years of life.. Arizona Speech-Language Hearing Association Convention. Tempe, AZ.
• Bunton, K. E., Lougher, A., Chong, C., & Hoit, J. D. (2014, November). Perception of nasality and velopharyngeal closure in infants. American Speech Language and Hearing Association Annual Convention. Orlando, FL: American Speech Language and Hearing Association.
• Neely, K., Bunton, K., & Story, B. H. (2014, April). Variation in formant trajectories as evidence for articulatory gesture overlap. Arizona Speech Language and Hearing Association Annual Convention. Tucson, AZ: Arizona Speech Language and Hearing Association.
• Story, B. H., Story, B. H., Bunton, K., & Bunton, K. (2014, April). A model of children's speech production. International Conference on Vocal Fold Physiology and Biomechanics. Salt Lake City, UT.
• Story, B. H., Story, B. H., Bunton, K., & Bunton, K. (2014, March). Vocal tract area functions for child talkers. 17th Biennial Conference on Motor Speech Disorders: Motor Speech Disorders and Speech Motor Control. Sarasota, FL.
• Turner, J., & Bunton, K. (2014, April). Effectiveness of Assistive Technology Teams in Classroom AAC Implementation. Arizona Speech Language and Hearing Association. Tucson, AZ.
• Wilson, M., Chong, C., Lougher, A., Bunton, K. E., & Hoit, J. D. (2014, April). Velopharyngeal closure for words versus non words in toddlers. Arizona Speech, Language, and Hearing Association. Tucson, AZ.
• Bunton, K. E., Chong, C., Muller, C. F., Wilson, M., & Hoit, J. D. (2013, November). A noninvasive technique for determining velopharyngeal status across clinical populations. American Speech Language and Hearing Association Convention. Chicago, IL.
• Bunton, K. E., Story, B. H., & Titze, I. (2013, June). Estimation of vocal tract area functions in children based on measurement of lip termination area and inverse acoustic mapping. Joint meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, International Congress on Acoustics, and Canadian Acoustics Association. Montreal, Quebec.
• Samlan, R. A., Story, B. H., Bunton, K. E., & Lotto, A. J. (2013, November). The acoustic and perceptual effects of left-right asymmetries based on computational modeling. American Speech Language and Hearing Association Convention. Chicago, IL.
• Samlan, R. A., Story, B. H., Lotto, A. J., & Bunton, K. E. (2013, November). Acoustic and perceptual effects of left-right asymmetries in simulated vocal fold paralysis. American Speech Language and Hearing Association Annual Meeting. Chicago, IL.
• Story, B. H., & Bunton, K. E. (2013, June). Production of child-like vowels with nonlinear interaction of glottal flow and vocal tract resonances.. Joint meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, International Congress on Acoustics, and Canadian Acoustics Association. Montreal, Quebec.
• Carbonell, K. M., Lotto, A. J., & Bunton, K. E. (2012, January). A test of intelligibility: consonant identifcation using noise vocoded speech.. Auditory Cognitive Science Society Meeting.
• Moody, A., Wikert, S., Dawson, C., & Bunton, K. E. (2012, April). Velopharyngeal function during laughs and raspberries in infants. Arizona Speech-Language-Hearing Association Annual meeting.

Poster Presentations

• Story, B. H., & Bunton, K. E. (2020, December). Articulation and identification of voiced stop consonants produced by acoustically-driven vocal tract modulations.. Paper presented at the 179th Acoustical Society Meeting, Acoustics Virtually Everywhere (virtual conference)..
• Story, B. H., & Bunton, K. E. (2020, February). The relation of nasal coupling area to the perception of stop versus nasal consonants. 20th Biennial Converence on Motor Speech Disorders: Motor Speech Disorders and Speech Motor Control. Santa Barbara, CA: Madonna Hospitals.
• Story, B. H., Bunton, K. E., & Diamond, R. (2018, May). Changes in vowel space characteristics during speech development based on longitudinal measures of formant frequencies. Presented at the 175th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America. Minneapolis, MN.
• Bunton, K. E., & Hoit, J. D. (2016, March). Velopharyngeal Closure During the First 24 Months of Life in Typically Developing Children. 18th Biennial Conference on Motor Speech Disorders. Newport, CA: Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital and The University of Nebraska.
• Bunton, K. E., & Story, B. H. (2016, November). Identification of stop consonants produced by an acoustically driven model of child-like vocal tract. 5th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and Acoustical Society of Japan. Honolulu, HI: Acoustical Society of America and Acoustical Society of Japan.
• Bunton, K. E., & Story, B. H. (2016, October). Speech performance density as an indicator of clear speech. Fall Voice Conference. Scottsdale, AZ.
• Neely, K., Neely, K., Bunton, K. E., Bunton, K. E., Story, B. H., & Story, B. H. (2016, March). Comparison of lip rounding by children and adults. International Conference on Motor Speech. Newport Beach, CA.
• Story, B. H., Bunton, K. E., & Vorperian, H. (2016, March). Effects of vocal tract growth on gender and vowel identification based on simulated children’s vowels. International Conference on Motor Speech. Newport Beach, CA.
• Bunton, K. E., Samlan, R. A., & Neely, K. A. (2015, November). The impact of the Parkinson Wellness Recovery (PWR!) physical therapy program on speech production. American Speech Language and Hearing Association Annual Convention. Denver, CO: American Speech Language and Hearing Association.
• Story, B. H., & Bunton, K. E. (2015, May). A spectral filtering method for tracking formants in children's speech.. 169th Acoustical Society Meeting, 2pSC25, Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.
• Williams, C., Wilson, M., Chong, C., Bunton, K. E., & Hoit, J. D. (2013, April). Development of velopharyngeal closure across sound classes. Arizona Speech-Language-Hearing Association Annual Meeting.
• Bunton, K. E., & Story, B. H. (2012, March). Relation of constriction location, formant transitions, and consonant identification based on VCVs simulated with a child-like model of speech production.. 16th Biennial Conference on Motor Speech Disorders. Santa Rosa, CA.
• Bunton, K. E., Hoit, J. D., & Gallagher, K. (2012, March). Development of velopharyngeal closure in young children: Preliminary observations. 16th Biennial Conference on Motor Speech Disorders. Santa Rosa, CA.