Autonomic nervous system dysfunction has been implicated in the development and persistence of hyperfunctional voice disorders (HVDs). The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of cognitive stress, which is known to arouse the autonomic nervous system, on voice acoustics in female speakers with and without HVDs.

Adult female speakers—66 with HVDs, 66 without—were recorded while speaking with and without a cognitive stressor. Root-mean-square (RMS) of amplitude, fundamental frequency (fo), low-to-high spectral energy ratio (L/H ratio), cepstral peak prominence (CPP), and relative fo (RFF) were measured for each speaker and cognitive stress condition. Mixed-model analyses of variance and post hoc t tests were conducted to determine if cognitive stress affected voice acoustics and whether voice changes were greater for those with HVDs.

All measures differed significantly under cognitive stress for speakers with and without HVDs. RMS and CPP increased whereas fo, CPP, and RFF decreased under cognitive stress. Changes in these measures were not greater in those with HVDs.

Cognitive stress and presumed autonomic arousal affect voice similarly in female speakers with and without HVDs.