RESEARCH

The overarching goal of this line of research is to expand human knowledge of how Parkinson’s disease (PD) effects laryngeal function in voice and swallowing to inform the development of more effective treatments to rehabilitate and/or sustain those functions. We are specifically interested in how voice and swallowing impairments manifest in different clinical phenotypes (e.g., subtypes) of PD. Our research investigates how voice and swallowing are influenced by PD tremor phenotype (e.g., tremor dominant vs. non-tremor dominant), age of onset (e.g., late onset vs. younger onset), sex, and years post-onset. A major aim of this research is to increase our understanding of how and why laryngeal function in voice and swallowing is impaired heterogeneously (differently) across the large population of people with PD.

Thijs Z, Zhang Y, Van Lierde K, Vanryckeghem M, Watts CR (in press). Self-perceived affective, behavioral, and cognitive reactions associated with voice use in people with Parkinson’s disease: A pilot study. Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35695084/

Dumican M, Watts CR, Drulia T, Zhang Y. (2023). Dysphagia presentation, airway invasion, and gender differences in a clinically based sample of people with Parkinson’s disease. Dysphagia, 38(1):353-366. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35809095/

Watts CR, Zhang Y (2022). Progression of Self-Perceived Speech and Swallowing Impairment in Early-Stage Parkinson’s Disease: Longitudinal Analysis of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale. Journal of Speech, Language, Hearing Research, 65(1): 146-158. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34851686/

Thijs Z, Watts CR (2022). Perceptual Characterization of Voice Quality in Non-Advanced Stages of Parkinson’s Disease. Journal of Voice,6(2): 293.e11−293.e18 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32703725/

Dumican M, Watts CR (2022). Swallow Safety and Laryngeal Kinematics: A Comparison of Dysphagia between Parkinson’s Disease and Cerebrovascular Accident. Journal of Parkinson’s disease,2022;12(7):2147-2159. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36120789/

Thijs Z, Zhang Y, Van Lierde K, Vanryckeghem M, Watts CR (2022). Partner Perception of Affective, Behavioral, and Cognitive Reactions to Voice Use in People with Parkinson’s Disease. Clinical Parkinsonism & Related Disorders, 9(7) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35860426/

Kim J, Watts CR (2021). A Comparison of Swallow-Related Submandibular Contraction Amplitude and Duration in People with Parkinson’s Disease and Healthy Controls. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32466679/

Panzone L, Watts CR. (2020). Regulation of Transglottal Airflow in Speakers with Parkinson’s Disease. Journal of Voice, 34 (6): 961.e1-961.e7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31350111

Dumican M, Watts CR (2020). Predicting Airway Invasion Using Screening Tools and Laryngeal Kinematics in People with Parkinson’s Disease: A Pilot Study. Journal of Parkinson’s Disease. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32538868/

Burk B, Watts CR (2019). The Effect of Parkinson’s Disease Tremor Phenotype on Cepstral Peak Prominence and Transglottal Airflow in Vowels and Speech. Journal of Voice, 33(4): 580.e11-580.e19.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29472149

Watts CR (2016). A Retrospective Study of Long-Term Treatment Outcomes for Reduced Vocal Intensity in Hypokinetic Dysarthria. BMC Ear, Nose, and Throat Disorders. 16:2. eCollection doi: 10.1186/s12901-016-0022-8.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26839511

Rousseau B, Watts CR. (2002). Susceptibility of speakers with Parkinson disease to delayed auditory feedback. Journal of Medical Speech-Language Pathology, 10(1): 41-49.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Christopher_Watts3

Watts CR, VanRyckeghem M. (2001). Laryngeal dysfunction in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. BMC Ear, Nose, and Throat Disorders, (1).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11722802

Watts CR, Dagenais P. (2001). Effects of attentional load on speech rate reduction in subgroups of speakers with Parkinson’s disease. Journal of Medical Speech-Language Pathology, 9(1): 55-61.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Christopher_Watts3

Dr. Watts is currently seeking people with PD to volunteer as participants in his research. If you have an interest in helping Endeavor Parkinsonology discover ways to fight against PD through research, please contact Dr. Watts at c.watts@tcu.edu.