Palatal Shape Research Articles

A new microhylid frog, genus Rhombophryne, from northeastern Madagascar, and a re-description of R. serratopalpebrosa using micro-computed tomography.

The rainforests of the Marojejy massif in northern Madagascar are a well-known hotspot of amphibian species diversity and endemism. In the present paper, we re-describe Rhombophryne serratopalpebrosa (Guibé 1975), a cophyline microhylid frog from high altitude on this massif, based on a re-examination of its holotype, and describe Rhombophryne vaventy sp. nov. using characters of external morphology and osteology, illustrated by pdf-embedded comparative 3D models of their skeletons. Rhombophryne serratopalpebrosa differs from R. vaventy sp. nov. by smaller size (28 mm snout-vent length vs. 52.9 mm), skin texture (granular vs. rough and tubercular skin respectively), supratympanic fold shape (strong, long and straight reaching the eye vs. curved and not extending anteriorly beyond the tympanum), relative tympanum diameter (78% vs. 41% of eye diameter), shape of the postchoanal prevomerine palate, shape of the footplate of the columella, length of prepollex, and by other subtle osteological features. Morphological comparisons suggest that a specimen from Ambolokopatrika assigned to R. serratopalpebrosa in previous genetic studies might belong to yet another undescribed species, closely related to R. vaventy sp. nov., whereas DNA sequences of the topotypic R. serratopalpebrosa remain unknown. We therefore emphasise the need for collecting additional material from high altitudes of the Marojejy massif to understand the systematics, as well as the natural history, of this poorly known species. For the new species described herein, we propose a Red List threat status of Vulnerable, in line with other Marojejy endemics from a similar altitude.

Prevalance of soft Palatemorphology - A Unique Cephalometric Study

Soft palate as part of nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal apparatus has an important role in phonation, deglutition and respiration. Its varied morphology is implicated in variety of diseases. Therefore, it is essential to establish the morphology of soft palate in normal patients to establish the variations in its morphology in various diseases. The present study aims to investigate the various shapes of soft palate and to find out predominant shape in pediatric group and adult group in Sunam population. The study population comprised of 70 patients at random that includes 35 adult patients group of age between 15–28 yrs and 35 pediatric out of which type 2 (rat tail-shaped soft palate) was the most frequent type in 16 cases (22.9%) in pediatric patient group and in 14 cases (20.0%) in adult patient group, which was an unusual finding. These findings can be used as patients group of age between 7–14 yrs, references for the research of velopharyngeal closure in cleft palate individuals and for the aetiological research of OSAS and other conditions.

Palatal Morphology Can Influence Speaker-Specific Realizations of Phonemic Contrasts

The purpose of this study was to further explore the understanding of speaker-specific realizations of the /s/-/ʃ/ contrast in German in relation to individual differences in palate shape. Two articulatory experiments were carried out with German native speakers. In the first experiment, 4 monozygotic and 2 dizygotic twin pairs were recorded by means of electromagnetic articulography. In the second experiment, 12 unrelated speakers were recorded by means of electropalatography. Interspeaker variability in the articulatory distance between the sibilants was measured and was correlated with several parameters of the palate shape. The results were twofold: (a) Similar palatal morphologies as found in monozygotic twins yield similar articulatory realizations of the /s/-/ʃ/ contrast regarding vertical and horizontal distance of the target tongue tip positions, and (b) the realization of the contrast was influenced by palatal steepness, especially the inclination angle of the alveolo-palatal region. Speakers with flat inclination angles mainly retracted their tongue to realize the contrast, whereas speakers with steep inclination angles also elevated their tongue. The articulatory realization of the sibilant contrast is influenced not only by speaker-specific auditory acuity, as previously observed, but also by palatal shape morphology, which affects the somatosensory feedback speakers receive.

Interspeaker Variability in Hard Palate Morphology and Vowel Production

Differences in vocal tract morphology have the potential to explain interspeaker variability in speech production. The potential acoustic impact of hard palate shape was examined in simulation, in addition to the interplay among morphology, articulation, and acoustics in real vowel production data. High-front vowel production from 5 speakers of American English was examined using midsagittal real-time magnetic resonance imaging data with synchronized audio. Relationships among hard palate morphology, tongue shaping, and formant frequencies were analyzed. Simulations were performed to determine the acoustical properties of vocal tracts whose area functions are altered according to prominent hard palate variations. Simulations revealed that altering the height and position of the palatal dome alters formant frequencies. Examinations of real speech data showed that palatal morphology is not significantly correlated with any formant frequency but is correlated with major aspects of lingual articulation. Certain differences in hard palate morphology can substantially affect vowel acoustics, but those effects are not noticeable in real speech. Speakers adapt their lingual articulation to accommodate palate shape differences with the potential to substantially affect formant frequencies, while ignoring palate shape differences with relatively little acoustic impact, lending support for acoustic goals of vowel production.

3-D shape analysis of palatal surface in patients with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate

Facial development of patients with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate (UCLP) is associated with many problems including deformity of the palate. The aim of this study was to evaluate palatal morphology and variability in patients with UCLP compared with Czech norms using methods of geometric morphometrics. The study was based on virtual dental cast analysis of 29 UCLP patients and 29 control individuals at the age of 15 years.The variability of palatal shape in UCLP patients was greater than that in nonclefted palates. Only 24% of clefted palates fell within the variability of controls. The palatal form of UCLP patients (range from 11.8 to 17.2 years) was not correlated with age.Compared with control palates, palates of UCLP patients were narrower, more anteriorly than posteriorly. Apart from the praemaxilla region, they were also shallower, and the difference increased posteriorly. The UCLP palate was characterised by the asymmetry of its vault. The maximum height of the palatal vault was anterior on the clefted side, whereas it was posterior on the nonclefted side. The slope of the UCLP palate was more inclined compared with the control group. The praemaxilla was therefore situated more inferiorly.

Differences in Growth Generate the Diverse Palate Shapes of New World Leaf-Nosed Bats (Order Chiroptera, Family Phyllostomidae)

New World leaf-nosed bats (Family Phyllostomidae) display incredible craniofacial diversity that is associated with their broad range of dietary preferences. The short and broad palates of highly frugivorous bats are functionally linked to high bite forces, and the long and narrow palates of nectarivorous bats to flower feeding. Although the functional correlates and evolutionary history of shape variation in phyllostomid palates are beginning to be understood, the specific developmental processes that govern palate diversification remain unknown. To begin to resolve this issue, this study quantified palate morphology in seven phyllostomid species from a range of developmental stages and in adults. This sample includes species with short and broad, long and narrow, and intermediate palate shapes, and thereby covers the range of palate shapes displayed by phyllostomids. Results indicate that while initial palate shape (i.e., width vs. length) varies among species, the pattern of this variation does not match that observed in adults. In contrast, the relative growth of palate width and length in developing phyllostomids and the ratio of these axes in adults are significantly correlated. These and other results suggest that evolutionary alterations in patterns of palate growth have governed the diversification of palate shapes in adult phyllostomids. This implies that the diverse palate shapes of phyllostomids are the result of relatively subtle evolutionary changes in later rather than earlier development events.

Morphological Variation in the Adult Hard Palate and Posterior Pharyngeal Wall

Adult human vocal tracts display considerable morphological variation across individuals, but the nature and extent of this variation has not been extensively studied for many vocal tract structures. There exists a need to analyze morphological variation and, even more basically, to develop a methodology for morphological analysis of the vocal tract. Such analysis will facilitate fundamental characterization of the speech production system, with broad implications from modeling to explaining interspeaker variability. A data-driven methodology to automatically analyze the extent and variety of morphological variation is proposed and applied to a diverse subject pool of 36 adults. Analysis is focused on two key aspects of vocal tract structure: the midsagittal shape of the hard palate and the posterior pharyngeal wall. Result Palatal morphology varies widely in its degree of concavity but also in anteriority and sharpness. Pharyngeal wall morphology, by contrast, varies mostly in terms of concavity alone. The distribution of morphological characteristics is complex, and analysis suggests that certain variations may be categorical in nature. Major modes of morphological variation are identified, including their relative magnitude, distribution, and categorical nature. Implications of these findings for speech articulation strategies and speech acoustics are discussed.

Reply to Sverre Stausland Johnsen, Janne Bondi Johannessen and Bert Vaux

This is a reply to the comments by Sverre Stausland Johnsen, Janne Bondi Johannessen, and Bert Vaux to our article from 2008 entitled “Norwegian retroflex stops in a cross linguistic perspective” (Simonsen, Moen, & Cowen, 2008). We focus on methods, and discuss advantages and problems in the use of EPG and EMA in investigations of articulation and articulatory variation. We argue that the variations found in our data are not the results of dialect variation, but rather a result of the morphological differences in palate shape between individual speakers.

Coblation-assisted soft palatal webbing flap uvulopalatoplasty: a new technique for the treatment of snoring

Until now, no single palatoplasty procedure has been proven to have the ideals that justify its use over the others. This study assessed a modified uvulopalatoplasty based on a soft palatal webbing flap to improve the short- and long-term results in cases of snoring. In accord with institutional review board approval, 93 patients complaining of snoring and/or mild obstructive sleep apnea were treated with this modified uvulopalatoplasty between April 2006 and June 2010 and fitting certain preoperative criteria, with minimum follow-up period of 6 months. All patients had preoperative subjective assessment of snoring, daytime sleepiness, and polysomnogram, if needed. Main parameters included subjective improvement of snoring, subjective assessment of postoperative pain, shape of the postoperative new palate, and postoperative complications. All statistical analyses were performed using <i>T</i> test. Data are displayed as means ± standard deviation. Statistical significance was accepted when <i>P</i> < 0.05. Eighty-seven patients completed the study; 5 patients did not continue the follow-up period. Eighty (91.9%) patients complained of snoring, whereas 7 (8.1%) patients were found to have mild obstructive sleep apnea in the sleep study. Snoring was cured in 68 (78%) patients, improved in 14 (16%) patients, and failed to improve in 5 (6%) patients. No recurrence of snoring was observed during the 6 months of follow-up. Postoperative pain was reduced in both duration and severity. No distortion of the shape of the new palate was observed because of significant fibrosis in all patients. No patient demonstrated clinically significant postoperative velopharyngeal incompetence after 6 months of follow-up. No major perioperative complications occurred. This new surgical technique may be an effective method to cure snoring, with elimination of the possibility of snoring recurrence, reduction of severity of postoperative pain, and maintenance of the dimensions of the oropharynx and postnasal space.

A computed tomography-based comparative cephalometric analysis of the Italian craniofacial pattern through 2,700 years

The aim of our study was to define the changes in morphovolumetric features of neurocranium, basicranium and splanchnocranium in the population of Campania, southern Italy, over the last 2,700 years. This was a very intense period for this region from both historical and evolutionary perspectives and was marked by the succession of colonisations, dominations and invasions by several European and non-European peoples, events that profoundly influenced the original genetic heritage, which subsequently became more complex. Unlike most previous authors, we based our craniometric comparative analysis on multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) studies of contemporary and ancient series dating to between the seventh and fifth centuries B.C. of skulls found in the Etruscan necropolis of Pompei and Pontecagnano. MDCT is extremely reliable in identifying landmarks and measuring linear and angular indices through the use of multiplanar and tridimensional reformations. While highlighting a remarkable stability of 22/32 of the indices considered, as an effect of the role of the genetic heritage in preserving morphovolumetric features in a given population, statistical analysis showed some interesting results: the main changes concerned the splanchnocranium and the occlusion, indicating a higher sensitivity of these districts to environmental factors, mainly related to diet. Conversely, neurobasicranial complex morphovolumetric features remained amazingly intact. In particular, the neurocranium increased in overall capacity in response to the growing brain and changed shape with a progressive shift to a dolichocranic, flattened frontal pattern; the basicranium shape was preserved, as indicated by the stability of the cranial base (NSBa) angle over time. The splanchnocranium, on the contrary, has undergone a dramatic involution, even conditioning gnathic structures with changes in palatal shape (more acute) and in the relationship between the jaws on the sagittal plane, resulting in increased prevalence of Angle's class I and III malocclusions.

Interrelationship between the position of impacted maxillary canines and the morphology of the maxilla

The aim of this study was to examine whether there is a relationship between the position of impacted maxillary canines and the morphology of the maxilla. The palatally impacted canine group included 18 boys and 27 girls with an average age of 12 years 9 months (±2 years 1 month). The buccally impacted canine group comprised 19 boys and 26 girls with an average age of 12 years 2 months (±1 year 4 months). Arch length/intermolar width × 100 was used as the value for comparison of maxillary arch shapes, and palatal vault depth/intermolar width × 100 was used to compare the shapes of palate between the 2 groups. Each category was directly measured from the diagnostic model. Both the arch length/intermolar width × 100 and the palatal vault depth/intermolar width × 100 formulas showed statistically significant differences (P <0.0001), indicating differences in the shape of maxillary arch and the palatal vault between the 2 groups. The shape of the maxillary arch was narrower and longer in the palatally impacted canine group compared with the buccally impacted canine group, and the palatally impacted canine group had a deeper palatal vault than did the buccally impacted canine group.

Morphological analysis of the maxillary arch and hard palate in edentulous maxilla of South Indian dry skulls

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the role of aging\edentulousness on the maxillary arch, the size of the alveolar process, the shape and thickness of the hard palate in the South Indian dry skulls to customize more appropriate treatment of elderly edentulous patients. One hundred dry skulls were divided into dentate and edentulous groups and were subgrouped into male and female. They were subjected to various morphological and morphometrical analyses. The data have revealed a more significant reduction in the depth and width (p < 0.001) of the arch corresponding to the reduction in the size and thickness of the alveolar process (p < 0.001) in the edentulous skull. Further, a significant reduction in the size and thickness (p < 0.001) of the hard palate was observed in the edentulous skull. The data clearly indicate the effect of tooth loss in the horizontal regression of the maxilla. Furthermore, it may enhance the bone resorption that can ultimately result in the marked reduction of the width and depth of the alveolar arch concomitant with the alteration of the hard palate. These changes may subsequently alter the facial appearance in the elderly population. The observed data from specific group of population may provide relevant data for their comparative analysis between different populations for a better understanding of their regional differences with respect to environmental and social influence. Moreover, the data can provide a better idea to evaluate a promising treatment strategy in prosthodontics and orthodontics in South India.

Palatal Development and Orofacial Function: Possible Effects of Preterm Care

Understanding of the impact of disordered palatal and orofacial development on preterm neonatal survivors is increasing. Optimal clinical assessment and management requires neonatologists to have a sound knowledge of: normal palatal development; potential causes for disordered development, including iatrogenic causes; factors to assess on newborn examination; and optimal multidisciplinary follow-up for feeding, orthodontic, and speech-language development. Key findings quantify harmful effects of intubation on palatal shape, tooth eruption/morphology, and speech; further studies are required to delineate the effect on swallowing. The evidence base is discussed for preterm care and palatal and orofacial development in preterm and low-birthweight infants. Current knowledge is limited by lack of uniformity of definition and measurement tools. Guidance is summarized for practical management and follow-up of preterm and low-birthweight infants requiring intubation.

Variability in palatal shape and size in patients with bilateral complete cleft lip and palate assessed using dense surface model construction and 3D geometric morphometrics

Bilateral complete cleft lip and palate (BCLP) is the most severe of the common orofacial clefts and is associated with the greatest deformity during development. The aim of this study was to use geometric morphometrics to evaluate palatal shape and size variability in patients with BCLP in comparison to nonclefted Czech boys. The variability of palatal size and shape in BCLP patients was greater when compared with the nonclefted population. Though palate variability in BCLP was wide, nonclefted palatal shapes were generally different (a high, wide and vaulted palate) and fell almost outside the range of BCLP variability. The palatal size and shape of BCLP patients (range from 12.1 to 16.5 years) was not correlated with age.A comparison of the mean shapes of the clefted and nonclefted groups showed that the BCLP palate is flatter and narrower. The most notable size difference was found in the area between the maxilla and premaxilla. This phenomenon is associated with the persisting separation of the premaxilla from the rest of the palate. The shape of the palatal configuration of the premaxilla and adjacent area was concave in the nonclefted group and convex in BCLP patients.

Various Shapes of Soft Palate: A Lateral Cephalometric Study

ABSTRACT Objective Though the soft palate presents with varied morphology, very few studies have described its diversity. The aim of our study was to investigate various shapes of soft palate in normal individuals. Methods The study comprised of 80 individuals requiring orthodontic treatment but without any speech abnormality, whose age ranged from 9 to 31 years. Velar shape was examined on digital lateral cephalograms and was allocated to one of the six patterns as described by You M et al. The difference in proportion of each type and also difference between genders were studied. Results The normal soft palate can be classified into six types based on its shape. Type 2—rat-tail shape is most common in both the genders. There is no significant difference in proportion of various shapes of soft palate between genders. Conclusion Soft palate may have variable morphology. Knowledge of varied spectrum of velar morphology may help in successful functional and structural repair in cleft palate cases, and shed some light towards the causes of obstructive sleep apnea and related disorders.

Aquatic feeding in a terrestrial turtle: a functional-morphological study of the feeding apparatus in the Indochinese box turtle Cuora galbinifrons (Testudines, Geoemydidae)

The Indochinese box turtle Cuora galbinifrons is regarded as a purely terrestrial species, but our results demonstrate that it can feed both on land and in water. The inverse relationship between the relative development of the hyoid apparatus and the tongue found in the most investigated chelonians is not valid in the Indochinese box turtle. Our morphological analysis of the feeding apparatus reveals that the palate shape and the design of the tongue are consistent with terrestrial feeders, but the construction of the hyoid complex is more characteristic of aquatic feeders. Previous studies have demonstrated that tongue enlargement negatively impacts the capacity of the turtles to suction feed. The present study focuses on the aquatic intraoral prey transport kinematic patterns. Our analysis is based on high-speed films with 250 fr/s and high-speed cineradiography with 50 fr/s. The aquatic intraoral food transport mechanisms differ depending on prey size: small items are transported predominantly by “inertial suction”, whereas larger items are moved by the tongue—normally a clear terrestrial strategy. As the genus Cuora is ancestrally aquatic, the use of lingual food transport in the aquatic environment is presumably an aberrant modus typical only for the most terrestrial among the Asian box turtles.

Dependency of compensatory strategies on the shape of the vocal tract during speech perturbed with an artificial palate.

When adapting to an articulatory perturbation, different speakers may use different strategies. This study investigates the hypothesis that the choice of strategy depends on vocal tract shape. Vowel production was perturbed with prostheses that changed palatal shape. Three speakers had a prosthesis that effectively moved the alveolar ridge posteriorily; three others had a prosthesis that effectively flattened the palate. EMA recordings of speakers’ adaptive behavior showed that during the production of the vowel /y/, the speakers with the alveolar prosthesis compensated by using increased lip protrusion. The speakers with the flat prosthesis used about the same amount of lip protrusion as without perturbation. We hypothesize that this is because for the first group of speakers the main constriction in the vocal tract was moved forward due to the changed palatal outline: the front cavity became too short, which was compensated for by more lip protrusion. This hypothesis is being explored by determining whether the DIVA speech production model will produce compensations like the subjects when the model’s vocal tract is adapted to fit individual vocal tract shapes using detailed information about the subjects’ vocal tracts from MRI recordings. Complete results will be reported and discussed. [Work supported by DAAD, NIH.]

Facial Profile Shape, Malocclusion and Palatal Morphology in Malay Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients

To test the null hypothesis that there is no difference in facial profile shape, malocclusion class, or palatal morphology in Malay adults with and without obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Subjects were 120 adult Malays aged 18 to 65 years (mean +/- standard deviation [SD], 33.2 +/- 13.31) divided into two groups of 60. Both groups underwent clinical examination and limited channel polysomnography (PSG). The mean OSA and control values were subjected to t-test and the chi square test. Physical examination showed that 61.7% of the OSA patients were obese, and 41.7% of those obese patients had severe OSA. The mean body mass index (BMI) was significantly greater for the OSA group (33.2 kg/m2 +/- 6.5) than for the control group (22.7 kg/m2 +/- 3.5; P < .001). The mean neck size and systolic blood pressure were greater for the OSA group (43.6 cm +/- 6.02; 129.1 mm Hg +/- 17.55) than for the control group (35.6 cm +/- 3.52; 114.1 mm Hg +/- 13.67; P < .001). Clinical examination showed that the most frequent findings among OSA groups when compared with the control group were convex profiles (71.7%), Class II malocclusion (51.7%), and V palatal shape (53.3%), respectively; the chi square test revealed a significant difference in terms of facial profile and malocclusion class (P < .05), but no significant difference in palatal shape was found. The null hypothesis is rejected. A convex facial profile and Class II malocclusion were significantly more common in the OSA group. The V palatal shape was a frequent finding in the OSA group.

On the relationship between palate shape and articulatory behavior

In this study the acoustic and articulatory variabilities of speakers with different palate shapes were compared. Since the cross-sectional area of the vocal tract changes less for a slight change in tongue position if the palate is domeshaped than if it is flat, the acoustic variability should be greater for flat palates than for domeshaped ones. Consequently, it can be hypothesized that speakers with flat palates should reduce their articulatory variability in order to keep the acoustic output constant. This hypothesis was tested on 32 speakers recorded via electropalatography (EPG) and acoustics. The articulatory and acoustic variability of some of their vowels and /j/ was measured. Indeed, the results show that the speakers with flat palates reduce their variability in tongue height. There is no such trend in acoustic variability.

How to stretch and shrink vowel systems: Results from a vowel normalization procedure

One of the goals of phonetic investigations is to find strategies for vowel production independent of speaker-specific vocal-tract anatomies and individual biomechanical properties. In this study techniques for speaker normalization that are derived from Procrustes methods were applied to acoustic and articulatory data. More precisely, data consist of the first two formants and EMMA fleshpoint markers of stressed and unstressed vowels of German from seven speakers in the consonantal context /t/. Main results indicate that (a) for the articulatory data, the normalization can be related to anatomical properties (palate shapes), (b) the recovery of phonemic identity is of comparable quality for acoustic and articulatory data, (c) the procedure outperforms the Lobanov transform in the acoustic domain in terms of phoneme recovery, and (d) this advantage comes at the cost of partly also changing ellipse orientations, which is in accordance with the formulation of the algorithms.