Lip Protrusion Research Articles

A labial gesture for /l/

Both in language change and in substitutions during language acquisition and disordered speech, /l/ has often been observed to alternate with labial sounds such as [w] or rounded vowels, particularly in postvocalic position. While there are many possible explanations for this alternation, including acoustic enhancement and articulator coupling, one possibility that has not been tested is whether normal adult speakers of English actually produce lip rounding for /l/. A study was conducted to test for the presence of a labial gesture in normal productions of /l/. Front and side video data of lip positions were collected from three adult English speakers during productions of /l/ and /d/. Significant differences were found for all subjects in lip protrusion (upper and lower) and/or lip aperture (horizontal and vertical) in post-vocalic allophones, as well as between the pre- and post-vocalic allophones of /l/. No significant differences were observed in comparisons of pre-vocalic /l/ and /d/. Results suggest that there is in fact a labial gesture in the post-vocalic allophone of /l/, but not in the pre-vocalic allophone. These findings are consistent with a notion of gestural simplification as a possible explanation for substitutions and in language change. [Research supported by NSERC.]

Language‐specific vocal tract configurations during nonspeech

Previous work has been found to be surprisingly low within‐speaker variability in baseline articulator positions during inter‐utterance nonspeech [Gick, Phonetica (2002)], raising the question of whether these baseline positions may in fact be active in speech production. If so, then they should be specified and should vary systematically across languages. A study was conducted to test for cross‐language differences in inter‐utterance articulator positions. Individual video frames were extracted at the midpoint of interutterance pauses in x‐ray films of 5 French and 5 English speakers. Measures were made of articulator positions relative to fixed bone points, and values normalized to jaw size. Frames with potentially confounding surrounding phonetic contexts were omitted. Results for lip measures indicate that French speakers have significantly greater protrusion of the lower lip, but significantly less upper lip protrusion, than English speakers. Additional results will be presented for lingual articulators. Thus these baseline vocal tract configurations do appear to be specified differently for different languages. Additional implications will be discussed, such as possible roles these configurations may play in phonology, potential influence on vowel systems (especially schwa), and cross‐language vowel normalization. [Research supported by NSERC and NIH.]

Cephalometric Soft Tissue Profile Analysis Between Two Different Ethnic Groups: A Comparative Study

The aim of this investigation was to study and compare the cephalometric soft tissue profile analysis between Saudis and Caucasian Americans. The study was carried out using standardized cephalometric radiographs of 56 Saudi subjects (30 males and 26 females) with pleasant and balanced facial profiles, competent lips, normal overjet and overbite, and showing no craniofacial deformities. Subject ages ranged from 22 to 23 years. One skeletal and thirteen soft tissue variables were investigated. F-test, two samples t-test, Mann-Whitney, and Wilcoxon tests were used for data analysis. The results showed no statistical significant differences between the Saudi males and females except for the angle of total facial convexity, soft tissue facial plane angle, lower lip length, sagittal nasal tip to the most protrusive lip distance, and also sagittal chin to the most protrusive lip distance. The Saudi females had a greater angle of total facial convexity and soft tissue facial plane angle than the males. In addition, the females had a shorter lower lip. They also had a short distance between the nasal tip and chin to the most protrusive lip. These results reveal significant differences in most of the soft tissue variables when comparing Saudis with Caucasian Americans as well as in other ethnic groups. Most of these variables are essential for the diagnosis and treatment planning of cases requiring orthodontics and orthognathic surgery.

Three-dimensional linear articulatory modeling of tongue, lips and face, based on MRI and video images

In this study, previous articulatory midsagittal models of tongue and lips are extended to full three-dimensional models. The geometry of these vocal organs is measured on one subject uttering a corpus of sustained articulations in French. The 3D data are obtained from magnetic resonance imaging of the tongue, and from front and profile video images of the subject's face marked with small beads. The degrees of freedom of the articulators, i.e., the uncorrelated linear components needed to represent the 3D coordinates of these articulators, are extracted by linear component analysis from these data. In addition to a common jaw height parameter, the tongue is controlled by four parameters while the lips and face are also driven by four parameters. These parameters are for the most part extracted from the midsagittal contours, and are clearly interpretable in phonetic/biomechanical terms. This implies that most 3D features such as tongue groove or lateral channels can be controlled by articulatory parameters defined for the midsagittal model. Similarly, the 3D geometry of the lips is determined by parameters such as lip protrusion or aperture, that can be measured from a profile view of the face.

Cephalometric norms for the Chinese: a compilation of existing data

Abstract The intention of this paper is to compile Chinese cephalometric norms for a more objective orthodontic diagnosis of Chinese patients so that their orthodontic treatment may be better planned. Studies on cephalometric norms of Chinese and subjects of Chinese descent were reviewed. Some important studies were available only in the Chinese journals and they were especially procured and translated for this purpose. A normal range of anteroposterior apical base differences, concomitant interincisal inclinations and locations, were derived from different Chinese groups and were tabulated. The differences between Chinese and Caucasian norms are discussed. A distinctive craniofacial and dental pattern of the people of Chinese origin was found and is reflected in the cephalometric measurements. Compared with Caucasian norms, Chinese norms have skeletal, dental and soft-tissue variations. The Chinese have a shorter cranial base and a larger ANB. The Chinese dentition demonstrates greater bimaxillary-alveolar protrusion, with a decreased interincisal angle. The Chinese soft-tissue profile shows a less prominent nose, with a less obtuse nasolabial angle, and more protrusive lips.

Cephalometrics in children with Down's syndrome.

To describe the craniofacial morphology of a group of patients with Down's syndrome using a cephalometric analysis of the lateral skull radiograph. The studied sample consisted of 39 patients with Down's syndrome (24 boys, 15 girls) ranging from 7 to 18 years of age. The computerized cephalometric study of the lateral skull radiograph of each patient was carried out using the method described by Ricketts. Anterior cross-bite was observed in 38.4% of patients and diminished interincisal angle in 77%. Skeletal parameters matched the clinical norm, indicating mesofacial biotype, i.e., normal maxillomandibular growth. The lower incisors protruded in 84.6% of the individuals studied and were proinclined in 77%; upper incisors were protruded in 77% of the sample. The lower lip protruded in 84.6%. Analysis of craniofacial parameters showed average values within the clinical norm. Analysis of the inner cranium demonstrated normal inclination of the cranial base, while the length of the anterior skull base was diminished in 53.8%. From the skeletal perspective, patients with Down's syndrome who are in a period of growth demonstrate a reduction of the anterior skull base. From the dentoalveolar perspective, they show protrusion and proinclination of lower incisors, which is related to a tendency to anterior cross-bite and, to a lesser extent, to diminished overbite. Likewise, the lower lip protrusion observed in this study is related to the position of the lower incisor.

Soft tissue profile in Anatolian Turkish adults: Part II. Comparison of different soft tissue analyses in the evaluation of beauty.

This study examined the soft tissue analyses of Steiner, Ricketts, Burstone, Sushner, Holdaway, and Merrifield to evaluate orthodontists' perceptions of Anatolian Turkish adults' beauty. Forty-four subjects (21 females, mean age, 21.35 years; 23 males, mean age, 21.41 years) with Angle Class I occlusal relationship, and normal anteroposterior (ANB angle, 2 degrees +/- 2 degrees ) and vertical (SN-MP angle, 32 degrees +/- 5 degrees ) skeletal relationships were selected from the dental students at the University of Istanbul. The material consisted of lateral cephalometric radiographs and facial-profile slides of these subjects. Ten linear and 6 angular measurements were analyzed on each radiograph, and the facial profiles were judged as poor, fair, good, or excellent by 6 raters. After the scoring, 34 subjects (16 females and 18 males) were placed in the unattractive group, and 10 subjects (5 females and 5 males) were placed in the attractive group. The significance of the differences between the groups was studied by means of the Mann-Whitney U test. The results demonstrated that persons having a high mandibular plane angle, a small nose, protrusive lips, and a retrusive profile were selected as attractive. Among the 7 esthetic lines used to evaluate the soft tissue profile, only Ricketts' norms for upper and lower lips corresponded to the values we found for attractive profiles.

Magnetoencephalography Related with Voluntary Facial Movement During the Task of Lip Protrusion

Magnetoencephalography Related with Voluntary Facial Movement During the Task of Lip Protrusion

Incorporating lip protrusion and larynx lowering into a time domain model for articulatory speech synthesis

Acoustic transmission in the vocal tract may be simulated in the time domain using the model of Kelly and Lochbaum. A disadvantage of this simulation is that a fixed number of fixed length sections must be used, so that it cannot be used to model variability in vocal tract length, caused by lip protrusion or larynx lowering. This paper describes a simple modification in which digital filters, derived from transmission line T -sections and including glottal and lip impedance models, are appended at each end of a Kelly–Lochbaum filter. The lengths of the sections may be made continuously variable, allowing the lip and larynx segments of the model to be varied, while maintaining a fixed sampling rate. This new technique is compared with the earlier method due to Strube and is found capable of longer extensions and reduced spectral amplitude distortion.

Effects of lip protrusion on measurements of lip aperture

Lip movement during speech has been measured by many techniques. One common class of methods uses one marker for each lip, usually located midsagittally at the vermilion border. However, equating the distance between markers with the distance between the lips is problematic. Westbury and Hashi [J. Phonet. 25, 405–419 (1997)] found that compression of the lips during stop closure precluded using a single value for the minimum distance when the lips were together. Thus lip trajectories alone cannot determine the point of closure nor estimate lip aperture during vowels. The present experiment used video images collected simultaneously from front and side views of phonemes varying in lip shape (three vowels, two fricatives). The distance between the vermilion borders (i.e., typical marker locations) was about 3 mm larger than the actual aperture for /u/ relative to /a/ and /i/ and for the palatal fricative relative to /s/. This difference correlated best with the degree of upper lip protrusion. Outward curling of the lips, bringing the inner margins closer during rounding, seems the likeliest explanation. Predicting the actual aperture from marker locations must consider both the vertical separation and the degree of protrusion. [Work supported by NIH Grant No. DC-02717.]

Changes in the Caucasian male facial profile as depicted in fashion magazines during the twentieth century

The purposes of this study were to (1) measure changes in the young adult Caucasian male profile through time and (2) describe the male profile depicted in current fashion magazines. Profile photographs (n = 116) of male models collected from leading fashion magazines of the last 65 years were analyzed. They were reproduced as slides, and the images were scanned and projected onto a computer monitor. Soft tissue landmarks were digitized and the profiles were corrected for size differences. Six linear, nine angular, and three proportional parameters were measured. Anteroposterior lip position, lip curl, and vermilion area showed statistically significant correlations (r ≥ 31, p < 0.01) with the progression of time. Other angular measurements and vertical facial proportions did not change significantly (r ≤ 17, p > 0.05). The results showed that (1) the male profile depicted in fashion magazines has changed significantly with time and the changes were in the area of the lips; and (2) there was a trend of increasing lip protrusion, lip curl, and vermilion display. We conclude that similar to the female profile, the esthetic male profile has changed with time. (Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 1998;114:208–17)

Motor equivalence in the production of /∫/

To explore the idea that speech motor goals are acoustic targets, upper lip protrusion and tongue blade fronting were examined in the sibilant /∫/ for evidence of motor equivalence in eight speakers of American English. Positive correlations across multiple repetitions of /∫/ (motor equivalence) would occur if the upper lip compensated with more protrusion when the tongue blade was further forward and vice versa. This motor equivalence would serve to maintain an adequate front cavity size for good acoustic separation from /s/ and enhance the acoustic stability of /∫/. It was hypothesized that motor equivalence would be found among less prototypical tokens, as elicited in a ‘‘clear+fast’’ speaking condition. Acoustic spectral analyses indicated excellent acoustic separation between the two sibilants, even in the ‘‘clear+fast’’ condition. There were significant positive correlations of the tongue-blade and upper lip movements for 28% of all possible cases, with considerable individual variation. When motor equivalence could be compared across the speaking condition, the tokens produced with the motor equivalent pattern were acoustically less prototypical. No occurrences of negative movement correlations were found. One possible source of individual variation may be the use of saturation (quantal) effects, which could also enhance acoustic stability. [Work supported by NIH.]

A task-dynamic approach to gestural anticipation in speech: A hybrid recurrent network

Recent simulations of the anticipatory timing of speech gestures within the task-dynamic model of gestural patterning are described. To accomplish this, a sequential neural network architecture is used in a simplified dynamical system in which the network’s outputs define the activations of gestures within a set of vocal tract constrictions (‘‘tract variables’’) whose dynamics are second order. These activations act only to insert target values into the tract-variable dynamics; the stiffness and damping coefficients are fixed. The forward dynamics, from current tract-variable state and target inputs to the next tract-variable state, are then modeled by a second recurrent network whose outputs are fed back to the sequential network. In this manner the simulated articulatory timing patterns are sensitive both to the intended linguistic sequence and to the articulatory dynamics themselves. Simulations will be described suggesting that anticipatory gestural timing is defined along a simple implemented continuum between rigid time-locking and unrestricted lookahead behavior. Temporally elastic anticipatory behavior such as that reported for French lip protrusion falls naturally within this continuum. These results provide an elegant account of interspeaker and interlanguage differences in anticipatory gestural timing. [Work supported by NIH.]

Coordination of Lip Muscle Activity by 2-Year-Old Children During Speech and Nonspeech Tasks

This investigation was designed to quantify the coordinative organization of lip muscle activity of 2-year-old children during speech and nonspeech behaviors. Electromyographic (EMG) recordings of right upper and lower lip activity of seven 2-year-old children were obtained during productions of chewing, syllable repetition, lip protrusion, and speech (repeated two-word utterances) tasks. Task comparisons revealed that the coordinative organization of upper and lower lip activity is task specific; different coordinative strategies are employed for different tasks. Lip protrusion and syllable repetition tasks yielded strong coupling of upper and lower lip activity. Lip rounding (sentences containing the lip-rounding vowel /u/) and "nonlabial" speech tasks (sentences free of bilabials and lip-rounding vowels) resulted in low coupling of upper and lower lip activity. Moderate levels of coupling of upper and lower lip activity were evident for chewing and bilabial speech tasks (sentences loaded with bilabial plosion). This finding, that the coordinative elements of the perioral system of 2-year-olds are task specific, extends the results of previous studies of adults and children, where task-specific coordinative strategies were employed by the mandibular and perioral systems (Moore, 1993; Moore & Ruark, 1996; Moore, Smith, & Ringel, 1988; Wohlert & Goffman, 1994). The task-dependent coordination of the perioral system of 2-year-olds supports the notion that developing speech and earlier developing oromotor behaviors (i.e., sucking, chewing) are mediated by different control mechanisms.

Parsing the contribution of lip and tongue position to fricative noise frequency

The English alveolar and palatal fricatives have, as part of their realization, high-frequency noises that are shaped both by the rounding and protrusion of the lips and the position of the tongue on the hard palate. The acoustic effects are of two main types, influence on the main spectral resonance of the noise, and the frequency and intensity of a second formant resonance within the noise. However, the exact contribution of each of these articulatory factors to the two acoustic effects is not known. The present study used electromagnetometer measures of tongue and lip location and video-based measures of lip aperture, area, and protrusion. Initial data indicate that area of the lip opening correlates significantly with F2 resonance, while tongue position correlates with fricative pole. Surprisingly, upper lip protrusion correlates with both the F2 resonance and the fricative poles. These preliminary results suggest that both lip and tongue configuration contribute to the shape of the fricative poles, while the F2 resonance is primarily dependent on the lip configuration. Implications for perceptual parsing will be discussed. [Work supported by NIH grant DC-02717.]

Temporal relationships of the articulatory, acoustic, and perceptual effects of fricative–vowel coarticulation

Anticipatory coarticulation has been extensively studied as part of the general phenomenon of coarticulation. However, the temporal relationships of the articulatory, acoustic, and perceptual effects of this particular type of coarticulation have not received much attention. The purpose of this study was to systematically examine lip protrusion gestures, acoustic and perceptual effects in fricative–vowel contexts, and explore the temporal relationships among these three effects. The onset of lip protrusion and acoustic effects as obtained and compared by employing a minimal contrast technique. The results showed that the onset of lip protrusion was much more consistent in a relative timeframe than in an absolute timeframe, and it was much earlier than, but independent of, the onset of traceable changes in formant frequencies. A reliable effect of anticipatory coarticulation on perception was also observed and the onset of this perceptual effect occurs tens of milliseconds later than the onset of the acoustic effect.

Soft Tissue Change After Single Jaw(mandible) Surgery in Skeletal Class III Malocclusion

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the amount and interrelationship of the soft and hard tissue change after mandibular setback surgery in skeletal Class III malocclusion. The sample consisted of 25 adult patient (12 male and 13 female) who had severe anteropostrior skeletal discepancy. These patient had received presurgical orthodontic treatment and surgical treatment which is bilateral sagittal split ramus osteotomy. The presurgical and postsurgical lateral cephalograms were evaluated. The computerized statistical analysis was carried out with SPSS/PC program. The result were as follows: 1. After mandibular bilateral sagittal split ramus osteotomy, lower facial soft. tissue horizontal posterior changes were high significance value. but vertical soft tissue changes were low significance value. 2. After mandibular bilateral sagittal split ramus osteotomy, relative upper lip protrusion increased(p

Lip protrusion movements in normal versus clear speech.

A kinematic analysis of midsagittal movement (EMMA) data was performed for upper lip protrusion from [i] to [u] in [iku], [ikku], and [iktku], produced by a speaker of American English. Utterances were embedded in a carrier sentence and spoken in four conditions: normal rate, normal rate and clear, fast rate, fast rate and clear. The results show several regularities across all conditions: (1) the delay between the protrusion onset and the acoustic onset of [u] varies linearly with the vowel-to-vowel duration (VVD), [i]-end to [u]-onset, with a slope of 0.7; (2) the overlap between the protrusion movement and vowel [i] decreases as VVD increases, with no significant differences between conditions for similar VVD values; (3) the relationship between the ratio of maximum velocity (Vmax) to protrusion amplitude (Amp) and the movement duration (T) is constant: Vmax/Amp=c/T; (4) the number of velocity peaks increases linearly with VVD. These regularities suggest that the same control strategy underlies the protrusion gesture, whatever the condition. However, for a given rate, clear tokens were produced with longer VVDs and larger protrusion amplitudes. For similar VVD values, fast clear tokens had larger values of Vmax than normal tokens. [Work supported by NIDCD and NATO.]

328 A patch clamp on D2 and D3 receptors on neurons in striatum using slice preparation

Generally, dermoid cysts commonly arise from the anus and ovaries. Oral and maxillofacial lesions are most commonly observed in the midline of the floor of the mouth, and lesions arising from the upper lip are relatively rare.A 50-year-old man was referred to our hospital due to swelling of the left upper lip. Clinical examination revealed an elevated alar base, Gerber protrusion and nasal deformity. Ultrasonography revealed a clearly defined 30-mm lesion with more hypoechoic bands. Meanwhile, magnetic resonance imaging revealed a 30-mm mass below the orbicularis oris of the left upper lip. The lesion had a homogeneous, low-signal intensity on T1-weighted imaging. Thus, based on these findings, a dermoid cyst was suspected. The lesion was then removed en bloc without the overlying skin while the patient was under general anaesthesia. Histopathological examination revealed a cystic cavity lined by an orthokeratinised stratified squamous epithelium. However, skin appendages were not found. Based on the clinical and histopathological features of the lesion, a diagnosis of epidermoid cyst was made. Swelling of the left upper lip, nasal deformity and Gerber protrusion significantly improved after surgery.Although dermoid cysts arising from the upper lip are rare, the diagnostic accuracy for dermoid cyst can be improved with the combined use of ultrasonography and other imaging modalities even though these lesions are difficult to distinguish from differential diagnosis.

Craniofacial structure and soft tissue profile in patients with severe hypodontia

This study compares craniofacial structure and soft tissue profile in persons with mild hypodontia (group I: 2 to 5 congenitally missing teeth, n = 43), moderate hypodontia (group II: 6 to 9 congenitally missing teeth, n = 15) and severe hypodontia (group III: 10 or more congenitally missing teeth, n = 29) with the structure of persons without hypodontia and with normal occlusion (n = 50). The mean age was about 12 years. In group I, the lower second premolars were the most frequently missing teeth, followed by the upper second premolars and the upper lateral incisors. The relative prevalence of missing second premolars decreased with increasing severity of hypodontia. No consistent pattern could be observed when more than five teeth were missing, indicating a different genetic mechanism than for mild hypodontia. A significant retroclination of the incisors and an increased interincisal angle were observed with increasing severity of hypodontia. This was accompanied by a reduction of lip protrusion, being most evident for the upper lip. Increasing numbers of missing teeth resulted also in a decrease in the mandibular plane angle and a reduction in the anterior lower facial height. Few differences in the skeletal parameters were observed. It was concluded that the typical dentofacial structure in persons with advanced hypodontia may be due to dental and functional compensation rather than to a different growth pattern. (A M J O RTHOD D ENTOFAC O RTHOP 1995;108:472-7.)