Neurobiological and Psychobiological Signatures of Vocal Effort in Early Career Teachers

What this Trial Is About

This research aims to understand primary muscle tension dysphonia, a voice disorder marked by vocal strain and fatigue, which affects quality of life. The study focuses on early career and student female teachers, exploring how stress influences voice and speech control in the brain. Researchers will compare brain imaging, saliva samples, personality traits, and voice muscle activity between teachers with vocal fatigue and those without, to reveal stress-related patterns affecting voice production. Participants are divided into two groups: teachers with vocal fatigue and control participants without vocal fatigue. Both groups undergo two main experiments. The first includes MRI scans with surface electrodes on the neck and audio recordings during stress and non-stress conditions, along with saliva collection and emotional state ratings. The second experiment, about two weeks later, involves speech tasks with neck muscle sensors and audio recordings, accompanied by questionnaires and subjective effort ratings. Throughout the study, participants complete questionnaires on voice, personality, and stress, and provide saliva samples before, during, and after MRI scans. Researchers measure vocal fatigue, brain activity in specific areas, muscle activity in neck muscles, salivary cortisol levels, personality traits, and subjective vocal and cognitive effort. The study lasts about one month, with detailed monitoring to better understand stress's role in vocal fatigue and voice disorders in this population.

Brain and Voice Signatures in Teachers