Abstract
Weakness and fatigue of the speech production system may contribute to articulatory imprecision timing difficulties in the speech of people with Parkinson's disease. Nineteen individuals with Parkinson's disease 19 healthy matched control subjects were tested for strength and endurance of the tongue. Tongue function was evaluated by the Iowa Oral Performance Instrument, a pressure-sensing device. In addition, speech was evaluated for articulatory imprecision, overall speech defectiveness, and speech rate. Subjects with Parkinson's disease were found to have lower tongue strength but comparable tongue endurance when compared to match control subjects. The contributions of peripheral and central processes of fa5igue are discussed in light of the present finds. The subject groups did not differ significantly for overall speech defectiveness or interpause speech rate, but he speech articulation of the subjects with Parkinson's disease was perceived as less precise than that of the control subjects. Because most of the subjects in this investigation had perceptibly normal or mildly disordered speech, a potential relationship between tongue function and speech proficiency could not be examined adequately.

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