Objectives/hypothesis: This study assessed the kinesiographic recordings of jaw movements during reading a text in Galician and Spanish language.
Study design: Cross-sectional blind study.
Methods: A homogeneous healthy group of 25 normal stomatognathic system and native Galician participants was studied. Frontal and parasagittal plane recordings of the intraborder lateral jaw movements and during reading Galician and Spanish texts were recorded using a calibrated jaw-tracking device, kinesiograph.
Results: Although movements were similar in both languages, a greater retrusion of the jaw in the Spanish language was shown; moreover, a tendency exists for a left-side motion envelope in this right-handedness preference sample.
Conclusions: This study supports the hypothesis that speech is controlled by the central nervous system rather than by peripheral factors and that the hemispheric dominance influences the asymmetry of the speech envelope.
Keywords: Galician; Jaw motion; Kinesiography; Spanish; Speech.