Cricothyroid and Vocalis Muscle Function in Some Simple Sentences
Katherine Safford Harris, Thomas Gay, Philip I. Lieberman, Masayuki Sawashima · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 1970
Using needle-electrode techniques, recordings were obtained of the vocalis and cricothyroid muscles during running speech. Their role could thus be assessed in controlling the variations of fundamental frequency that occur in some simple forms of statements and questions. Results for a few speakers show that (1) the vocalis and cricothyroid tend to behave similarly; (2) the typical terminal pitch rise for questions is accompanied by activity in both muscles; (3) a heavily stressed syllable will be accompaied by laryngeal muscle activity, but this activity is conditioned by the presence or absence in the terminal question rise. [This research was supported by the National Institute of Dental Research.]