[Cara Stepp] Cracking the Code of the Most Common Voice Disorder: Mysterious Loss of Voice with No Known Cause
Cracking the Code of the Most Common Voice Disorder: Mysterious Loss of Voice with No Known Cause
Cara Stepp
Junior Faculty Fellow, Hariri Institute for Computing
Assistant Professor, Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences/Biomedical Engineering
Boston University
Abstract: An estimated 9% of adults in the U.S. are affected by voice disorders, causing communication impairment that impacts patients’ lives both socially and economically. The most common voice disorder occurs when functional control over the voice is impaired in the absence of any known structural or neurological abnormalities. These individuals are thought to have “excess muscle tension”, but very little work has characterized this disorder quantitatively: current assessment in clinical practice still relies primarily upon the subjective interpretation of patient history and physical and perceptual examination. Although ubiquitous, nothing is known about the underlying sensorimotor physiology of this pervasive disorder. This talk will focus on some of the many unanswered questions in this population: How can this pathophysiology be measured? Why does it happen? How can it be predicted and prevented? These questions will be addressed in the context of clinical presentation, laryngeal physiological function, acoustic ramifications, auditory and somatosensory acuity, and motor control.
Bio: Dr. Stepp is Assistant Professor in the departments of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences and Biomedical Engineering at Boston University, where she is a Peter Paul Career Development Professor and a Hariri Institute for Computing Junior Faculty Fellow. She received the S.B. in Engineering Science from Smith College, S.M. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology. Her postdoctoral training was completed jointly in Computer Science & Engineering and Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Washington. Dr. Stepp directs the Stepp Lab for Sensorimotor Rehabilitation Engineering, which uses engineering tools to improve rehabilitation of sensorimotor function in disorders of voice and speech.