BIFURCATIONS IN EXCISED LARYNX EXPERIMENTS

Bifurcation analysis was applied to vocal fold vibration in excised la rynx experiments. Phonation onset and vocal instabilities were studied in a parameter plane spanned by subglottal pressure and asymmetry of either vocal fold adduction or elongation. Various phonatory regimes w ere observed, including single vocal fold oscillations. Selected spect ra demonstrated correspondence between these regimes and vocal registe rs noted in the literature. To illustrate the regions spanned by the v arious phonatory regimes, two-dimensional bifurcation diagrams were ge nerated. Many instabilities or bifurcations were noted in the regions of coexistence, i.e., regions in which the phonatory regimes overlap. Bifurcations were illustrated with spectrograms and fundamental freque ncy contours. Where possible, results from these studies were related to clinical observations.