Presentation summary

Introduction :
Voice plays an important role in interpersonal communication. However, very few studies have investigated the effects of acupuncture stimulation on the voice. The purpose of this study is to clarify the effects of acupuncture stimulation on the formant frequency of Japanese vowels.

Method :
Sixteen subjects (7 males and 9 females), who gave their consent through a public recruitment, recorded the Japanese vowels /a/, /i/, /u/, /e/, and /o/ before and after the intervention, and used the recorded data as speech data. The experimental model was a double-blind crossover model. Stimulation sites were two points,LU1 and BL13. The acupuncture needles used were Seirin pyonex needles (L : 0.6 mm, Φ : 0.15 mm) and PY placebo needles. Praat was used for voice analysis and JMP Pro 18.1.1 for statistical analysis. In addition Thespeech data subject to analysis were the formant frequencies (F1, F2) of vowels.

Results :
A comparison between the stimulated and unstimulated groups showed a significant difference in the firstformant of /i/ (P=0.0342). No other vowels showed significant differences in both the first and second formants,but in the first formant, /u/, /e/, and /o/ showed signs similar to those of /i/.

Conclusion :
Acupuncture stimulation was found to alter the first formant during Japanese vowel/i/ utterance. The results ofthis study indicate several possibilities in the effects of acupuncture stimulation on Vocalization, for which thereare very few related studies, and may contribute to the future development of the field.

Suguru Nakamura 1), 2), 3) Chiharu Oono 4)
1. Teikyo Heisei University Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, JAPAN
2. Nippon Beauty Academy, JAPAN
3. Kokushikan University High Tech Research Center, JAPAN
4. Tokyo Kuretake Medical Technical College, JAPAN