Spasmodic Dysphonia: Evidence concerning a Neurological Cause

The term spasmodic dysphonia is a recent one, suggested by Aronson et al. (1968b), as a replacement for the term spastic dysphonia. The new term was advocated because "the term spastic is commonly used to imply disease of ... pyramidal pathways", while the neurological evidence in the Aronson research concerned the extrapyramidal system. Further, Aronson et al. observed that "the strained voice quality in this disorder waxes and wanes from moment to moment in a spasmodic fashion". Spasmodic dysphonia, then, seems an appropriate descriptive term. Since pyramidal involvement appears to be minimal, and since even extrapyramidal involvement in the disorder is not widely acknowledged, the new term for the disorder may well enjoy widespread use in future.