Neurological disorders encompass dementia (Alzheimer), cerebrovascular diseases, multiple sclerosis, movement disorders (Parkinson's, Huntington’s chorea, Ataxia), motor-neuron diseases (ALS) among others (Prion diseases, Spinocerebellar Ataxia, Hydrocephalus, Spinal Muscular Atrophy...). These diseases are the main cause of disability worldwide and the second leading cause of death. The number of deaths and the number of people with disabilities due to neurological diseases has increased significantly over the past three decades. Moreover, population growth and aging are expected to further increase these number globally.

Early diagnosis and prompt therapeutic interventions can often lead to better prognosis and improve quality of life. However, current diagnostic techniques imply clinical procedure that can be invasive, can be costly and are incompatible with frequent or wide scale applications.

Thus, it is paramount to find effective low-cost assessment strategies for improving early disease detection-especially in pre-clinical stages, for tracking disease progression, and for optimizing the efficacy of therapeutic approaches.

Voice communication, as it involves cognitive and neuromotor mechanisms, is one of the first human capacities to be affected by neurological disorders. Due to its naturalness in daily use and the simplicity of the acquisition mechanisms, the analysis of voice and speech using automatic computational tools is an approach that can respond to the challenges posed by neurological diseases.

Therefore, it is important and urgent to invest in the development of this technological approach, developing more comprehensive and robust solutions for the detection, diagnosis and monitoring of these pathologies.

Assessment of Neurological functions based on speech seems to be a well-suited approach to achieve faster and wide examination and help clinicians to tackle the growing challenge of neurological disorders.

Topics of Interest

Authors are invited to submit original, unpublished papers on topics including but not limited to:
-Speech and Languages resources as well as tools that help to create these resources in the context of neurological disorders.
-Speech and language biomarkers that can provide information about the disease
-Models for classification or regression on clinical or pre-clinical stages
-Language based systems that can help to monitor, track or assist people with neurological diseases
-Speech and language-based approaches to tackle neurological diseases’ challenges