Voice fundamental frequency changes associated with clinically identified stress state

Abstract

An upward shift in voice fundamental frequency (pitch) has been reported in human subjects undergoing a wide variety of experiences that are assumed to be stressful [J. K. Darby, Ed., Speech Evaluation in Psychiatry (1981)]. Precise measurement of pitch rise as a function of ongoing physiological stress level was obtained from 35 patients with panic disorders and 18 controls undergoing a biochemical challenge (infusion of sodium lactate) that is known reliably to elicit stress reactions from panic patients within 20 min, but not from normals. Pitch was computed from the narrow‐band harmonic spectrum of the word “five” uttered during the course of a counting task performed at 5‐min intervals during the infusion. Twenty‐one patients who panicked showed an average pitch rise of about 1 semitone in the 5‐min period before panic, and reached a maximum of 2 semitones which was significantly related to time of panic onset. Among 14 patients who did not panic, pitch showed no consistently upward trend, but did reach a maximum significantly above that of the controls. Among the controls, panic never occurred, and pitch change was negligible.