NCVS Insights
NCVS Insights is a monthly publication dedicated to the advancement of science in the study of voice and speech production. Each month we will feature at least 2 new articles that offer cutting-edge insight into the field of voice and speech. From the biology and physiology of vocal sounds to the physics and engineering at the heart of sound production, NCVS Insights will provide unique insights from the brightest names in the field. See below for our past issues.
Edited by Dr. Marco Guzman and Dr. Miriam van Mersbergen
Online ISSN: 2996-122X
Dr. Marco Guzman
Short Bio
Dr. Guzman is a voice pathologist with twenty-three years of clinical and academic experience. He received his Ph.D. in Vocology from the Tampere University, Finland. He also holds a certification in vocology from the University of Iowa and National Center for Voice and Speech (USA). Dr. Guzman joined the faculty at the Universidad de los Andes, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders in 2018 following a 15-year academic career at the University of Chile. He also works as a clinician in the Department of Otolaryngology, Las Condes Clinic, Chile. Moreover, He joined the Tampere University (Finland) as Adjunct Professor in 2018. Since 2022, Dr. Guzman is part of the faculty at the Summer Vocology Institute (University of Utah, USA). Additionally, Marco Guzman is faculty member at the Master of Clinical Vocology at the University of Bologna (Italy). Dr. Guzman is an active and worldwide recognized researcher and author of numerous scientific articles and book chapters related to the underling physiology of semi-occluded vocal tract exercises, physiologic voice therapy, and supraglottic narrowing during singing and speaking voice. Dr. Guzman is frequent speaker and lecturer at national and international meetings on topics related to assessment and management of voice disorders. He belongs to the editorial board of the Journal of Voice and to the Pan American Vocology association (PAVA) Advisory Board.
Dr. Miriam van Mersbergen
Short Bio
Miriam van Mersbergen is Associate Professor in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Memphis where she teaches Anatomy & Physiology or the Speech Mechanism, Voice Disorders, and Dysphagia. She began her academic career studying music and communication arts at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After a brief career in music she returned to academia and studied speech language pathology and vocology at The University of Iowa. She worked as a voice therapist in Chicago and Milwaukee before commencing doctoral studies in speech language hearing sciences and psychology at the University of Minnesota. In her current position at the University of Memphis, she is the director of the Voice, Emotion, & Cognition Laboratory where her research investigates emotional and cognitive influences on voice production. She integrates electroencephalographic, psychophysiological, acoustic, and aerodynamic measures to capture mind, body, voice interactions. She maintains an active clinical career specializing in voice, breathing, and cough disorders and continually yearns for more time to pursue her singing career.
NCVS Insights Articles
Voice and Artificial Intelligence: The Role of Vocologists
Artificial intelligence is reshaping voice science, from clinical assessment and vocal biomarkers to forensic analysis and human–AI interaction. This article examines the critical role of vocologists in guiding ethical development, ensuring data quality, and preserving the authenticity and diversity of the human voice as AI technologies accelerate.
On Whistle Register
Few sounds in the human voice are as mysterious—or as mesmerizing—as the whistle register. In this month’s NCVS Insights, Dr. Ingo Titze explores the science behind this elusive vocal phenomenon, unveiling a new hypothesis that could explain how singers reach frequencies well beyond the typical human range.
Ambulatory Voice Assessment: Challenges, Opportunities, and Future Directions
Continuous recording of voice on a daily basis has emerged as a new paradigm in voice assessment over the past decades. As an example, the ubiquity of smartphone technology has opened new possibilities to record, store, and process raw voice data, enabling researchers to investigate voice features in an ambulatory scenario with app-type software.
Human beatbox, the art of pushing back the limits of vocal possibilities
Human voice is undoubtedly the cheapest musical instrument in the world : everyone is born with it, and can train and develop it to suit his or her own aesthetic needs. Beyond its communicative functions, the human vocal instrument is capable of producing a wide variety of sounds, and imitating all kinds of other musical instruments.
Rethinking Voice Assessment for Practical Bedside Solutions
Advancements in voice assessment enhance diagnosis and clinical accuracy by complementing clinician expertise with objective data, yet many clinicians still rely primarily on subjective methods—not by choice, but because existing tools fail to integrate into workflows that provide practical clinical benefit. Nowhere is this challenge more evident than in hospital
Sex-related vocal attributes and specificities of the female voice
Sex-specific morphological differences in the three main subsystems of the vocal apparatus—namely the respiratory, oscillatory, and resonatory systems—affect both the production and perception of the voice. These differences should be taken into account by anyone concerned with vocal function and health and are therefore here explored.
The Vagus Nerve and Voice
Chapter three, “Vibratory Vagus Nerve Stimulation” from the recently released book, Sing and Shout for Health, Scientific Insights and Future Directions for Vocology explores the relationship between the vagus nerve, vocalization, vibratory stimulation, and the autonomic nervous system. The chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the vagus nerve, its anatomical relevance, and its role in the
Should We Keep Saying that Supraglottic Tissue Displacement is a Sign of Hyperfunction and Harmful for Voice?
Clinically, vocal hyperfunction has not only been associated with glottal-related variables but also with supraglottic tissue displacement or supraglottic activity. The latter is still one of the basic paradigms for evaluation of laryngeal hyperfunction in some places in the world.
Singing Training Shapes the Brain
Have you ever marveled at the brilliance, precision and ease of a seasoned singer singing an intricate musical piece? Largely, the ability to sing at a high level is closely related to how singing training shapes the brain. By engaging in singing training, our brain undergoes a series of structural and functional changes to adapt to new circumstances, challenges and demands;
Voice and Speech in Space
We were part of an inspirational conference at the Houston Space Center on October 4, 2024. It was the annual meeting of the Pan American Vocology Association. Many themes were developed with aspirations beyond an earth existence. Two scientists, Arian Shamei and Bryan Gick, conducted a panel discussion on the topic Beyond Earth: The Physiology of Speech and Voice in Outer Space.
Research: The Guarded Excitement of Discovery
Working in both the sciences and the performing arts brings about a challenge not often appreciated – the dichotomy of how you conduct and present your work in these two areas. There are two distinct cultures that need to be understood. In the simplest terms, in science you understate your work, whereas in the performing arts you overstate it.
The Vocal Membranes May Explain Why Humans are So Talkative
Humans are talkative animals. We enjoy chatting with family, friends, and colleagues over daily happenings. Verbal communication is one of the major means to express ourselves.
Searching for the Causes of Chest-Falsetto Register Breaks Under Anechoic Conditions
The origin of the breaks between chest and falsetto registers has remained one of the most controversial themes in voice science. The search for the causes of register breaks is reminiscent of a detective story. Discover the next chapter in the story.
Exploring Neuromuscular Changes in the Larynx: Insights from Rat Ultrasonic Vocalizations
The study of rat ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) provides a unique window into understanding the neuromuscular changes in the human larynx that occur with aging. Rats communicate with each other using USVs to convey positive and negative affective states in a variety of communication situations, such as juvenile play, mating, and alerting one another to threats (Brudzynski, 2013).
Anatomy of a Spectrogram
This video provides a brief explanation of how spectrograms are constructed as a collection of individual spectra from consecutive points in time across a speech waveform. The difference between “narrow-band” and “wide-band” spectrograms is also explained based on choice analysis window duration. Three-dimensional animations of waveforms, spectra, and spectrograms are used throughout the video to demonstrate spectrographic representations of sound.
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