Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39354901›Full record

ArticleThe Laryngoscope2025

Impact of Audio-Visual Complexity on Symptomatology of Laryngeal Dystonia: A Virtual Reality Study.

Jimmy Petit, Stefan K Ehrlich, Garrett Tougas, Jacob M Bernstein, Nicole E Buie, Kristina Simonyan

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The Laryngoscope, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Brain-Computer Interface Improves Symptoms of Isolated Focal Laryngeal Dystonia: A Single-Blind Study.Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Jimmy PetitDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Stefan K EhrlichDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Garrett TougasDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Jacob M BernsteinDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Nicole E BuieDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Kristina SimonyanDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.ORCID 0000-0001-7444-0437

Funding

Imaging genetics of spasmodic dysphoniaR01DC011805 · NIDCD · MASSACHUSETTS EYE AND EAR INFIRMARY · PI Kristina Simonyan · 2012 to 2026
$8.8M
Voice tremor in spasmodic dysphonia: central mechanisms and treatment responseR01DC012545 · NIDCD · MASSACHUSETTS EYE AND EAR INFIRMARY · PI SIMONYAN, KRISTINA · 2012 to 2021
$5.2M
Clinical Validation of DystoniaNet Deep Learning Platform for Diagnosis of Isolated DystoniaR01NS124228 · NINDS · MASSACHUSETTS EYE AND EAR INFIRMARY · PI Kristina Simonyan · 2022 to 2026
$2.7M
Brain Networks in DystoniaR01NS088160 · NINDS · MASSACHUSETTS EYE AND EAR INFIRMARY · PI SIMONYAN, KRISTINA · 2015 to 2019
$2.4M
Adaptive closed-loop brain-computer interface therapeutic intervention in laryngeal dystoniaR01DC019353 · NIDCD · MASSACHUSETTS EYE AND EAR INFIRMARY · PI SIMONYAN, KRISTINA · 2021 to 2025
$1.8M
NIDCD NIH HHS R01 DC011805NIDCD NIH HHS R01 DC012545NIDCD NIH HHS R01 DC019353NIDCD NIH HHS R01DC019353NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS088160NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS124228
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLaryngeal dystonia (LD) is an isolated focal dystonia characterized by involuntary spasms in laryngeal muscles selectively impairing speech production. Anecdotal observations reported the worsening of LD symptoms in stressful or vocally demanding situations.

objectivesTo examine the impact of surrounding audio-visual complexity on LD symptomatology for a better understanding of disorder phenomenology.

methodsWe developed well-controlled virtual reality (VR) environments of real-life interpersonal communications to investigate how different levels of audio-visual complexity may impact LD symptoms. The VR experiments were conducted over five consecutive days, during which each patient experienced 10 h of 4100 experimental trials in VR with gradually increasing audio-visual complexity. Daily reports were collected about patients' voice changes, as well as their comfort, engagement, concentration, and drowsiness from using VR technology.

resultsAfter a weekly VR exposure, 82% of patients reported changes in their voice symptoms related to changes in background audio-visual complexity. Significant differences in voice symptoms were found between the first two levels of the audio-visual challenge complexity independent of study sessions or VR environments.

conclusionThis study demonstrated that LD symptoms are impacted by audio-visual background across various virtual realistic settings. These findings should be taken into consideration when planning behavioral experiments or evaluating the outcomes of clinical trials in these patients. Moreover, these data show that VR presents a reliable and useful technology for providing real-life assessments of the impact of various experimental settings, such as during the testing of novel therapeutic interventions in these patients. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3 Laryngoscope, 135:787-793, 2025.

Indexed as

Dystonic DisordersLaryngeal DiseasesVirtual RealityAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle Agedbackground noiseisolated dystoniavirtual reality

Identifiers

PMID39354901
PMCPMC11729459

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.