Influence of Raoul Husson’s Neurochronaxic Theory on the Development of Research on the Physiological Mechanisms of Voice Production in the Soviet Union (1950s–1970s)

The influence of the neurochronaxic theory of phonation by the French physiologist Raoul Husson (1901–1967) on the development of research on voice production in the Soviet Union, mainly in the 1950s–1970s, is discussed. Husson contrasted the neurochronaxic theory with the traditional myoelastic theory of voice formation. The myoelastic theory considers the vocal folds as anautooscillating system. Vibrations are caused by the energy of the airflow. According to Husson’s concept, vibrations of the vocal cords do not depend on the subglottic pressure. The frequency of vibration of the vocal cords corresponds to the frequency of impulses arriving along the recurrent nerve. To explain the high frequency of vibration of the vocal cords, Husson used Wever’s Volley Principle. According to this principle, the activity of each subsequent nerve fiber occurs during the refractory phase of the previous fiber. The responses of all nerve fibers are summed up into the common high-frequency oscillation. In the 1950s–1970s, Soviet physiologists undertook to test the new concept proposed by Husson. They came to the conclusion that both mechanisms, myoelastic and neurochronaxic, are involved in the functioning of the vocal apparatus. However, the recurrent nerve controls vibrations of the vocal cords not directly, but indirectly. Žinkin called this control system the code principle, when a command is sent to the vocal cords to change their physical characteristics, changing the properties of the autooscillating system.