:Chest pulse:

A term particularly associated with the theory of speech production proposed by Stetson. The hypothesis was that each syllable is marked by a burst of activity from the muscles controlling the expiration of air. These periods of activity were known as chest pulses. Later investigations failed to confirm the presence of a chest pulse for each syllable.


Stetson R.H. (1951) Motor Phonetics. A study of Speech Movements in Action. 2nd ed. Amsterdam.