Research
In the Aging, Memory, and Language lab, we pursue two main lines of research. The first line is basic language and memory research in healthy young adults. In this area, we have examined semantic processing (i.e., understanding meanings of words/phrases), working memory, source memory errors, and the interactions between executive functions and language processing. The second line of research examines cognitive processes in healthy aging, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and aphasia. A current project involves studying how working memory interacts with language and retrieval from episodic memory in both healthy adults with naturally high and low working memory spans and individuals with working memory deficits.

Research
The Aging and Adult Language Disorders Lab is concerned with the interaction between cognitive functions, such as memory and attention, and language processing ability in healthy aging adults as well as individuals with aphasia. Two main lines of research are conducted in the lab. The first line focuses on the relation between working memory and auditory comprehension in adults with aphasia. The second line focuses on the interaction between cognitive and linguistic changes in healthy adults as they age. We are interested in identifying how normal changes in cognitive function affect discourse comprehension and production.

Research
In the Auditory Physiology Laboratory lab, we study the hearing mechanisms of the auditory periphery, the inner ear, in order to develop more efficient clinical tools for differential diagnosis of hearing losses of various origins. An important aspect of inner ear function is its transduction of sound to electrical signal. Therefore, the research in this lab is focused on measuring the transduction process of the inner ear using noninvasive methods, such as, otoacoustic emissions and auditory evoked potentials. In animal models of different inner ear pathologies, cochlear transduction and hearing loss are assessed by analyzing the otoacoustic emissions and evoked potentials. Characteristic of changes in these physiologic measures due to known inner ear pathology will lay a foundation for future clinical applications of these techniques.

Research

Research
Research in the Child Language Lab focuses on early literacy development and assessment and treatment of language disorders in preschool and school age children. One line of research is investigating lexical acquisition deficits in preschoolers with specific language impairment (SLI). Our program of research is designed to develop methods for identifying the individual word-learning deficits of young children with SLI, to evaluate prescriptive treatments targeting those deficits, and to investigate the relationship between word learning and alphabet learning, a foundational early reading skill. A second line of research is investigating how best to improve reading success in elementary school by preparing young children to become readers. The first objective is to train preschool teachers and other early childhood professionals in effective literacy techniques. The second objective is to teach families how to support their children’s early literacy growth.

Research
The Child Language Research lab conducts research on how young children acquire language across linguistic contexts. This research examines a wide range of language areas (e.g. phonology, morphology, syntax) in a wide range of children (e.g. monolingual and bilingual development, typically developing children and children with language impairment). Data include the recording and transcription of language samples from children, and also the use of archival databases.

Research
Our laboratory investigates many aspects of speech, voice and music perception by patients fit with cochlear implants and by normal-hearing subjects listening to simulations of cochlear implants. One line of research focuses on neural plasticity in children. In this work, we use cortical auditory-evoked potentials to assess the development, deterioration and plasticity of central auditory pathways in normal-hearing children, children with hearing-impairments and profoundly deaf children fit with cochlear implants. Our second line of research, which has been ongoing for 13 years, involves the perception of speech when speech is transmitted by only a few channels of stimulation – the case in patients with cochlear implants. We are also currently trying to make music sound better for implant patients. Additionally, we are moving to a series of studies with the newest type of implant patient – those with residual low-frequency acoustic hearing.

Research
Our laboratory investigates many aspects of speech, voice and music perception by patients fit with cochlear implants and by normal-hearing subjects listening to simulations of cochlear implants. One line of research focuses on neural plasticity in children. In this work, we use cortical auditory-evoked potentials to assess the development, deterioration and plasticity of central auditory pathways in normal-hearing children, children with hearing-impairments and profoundly deaf children fit with cochlear implants. Our second line of research, which has been ongoing for 13 years, involves the perception of speech when speech is transmitted by only a few channels of stimulation – the case in patients with cochlear implants. We are also currently trying to make music sound better for implant patients. Additionally, we are moving to a series of studies with the newest type of implant patient – those with residual low-frequency acoustic hearing.

Research

Research
The Motor Speech Disorders Laboratory is currently pursuing two lines of research in the area of motor speech disorders. The first line examines how listeners perceptually deal with different types and severities of dysarthria. The ultimate goal of this research is to develop a dysarthria-specific intervention model that takes into account the perceptual needs of the listener. The second line of research focuses more on the production aspects of speech. Our motor control studies include the effects of drugs and surgery (DBS) on speech in Parkinson’s and other movement disorders; speech production deficits in hereditary diseases; and patterns of cortical-muscular coherence during speech and non-speech tasks.

Research

Research
In the Pediatric Amplification Laboratory, studies regarding the amplification needs of both children and adults are conducted as well as research to determine the development of speech perception in children with hearing loss. Three lines of research are currently underway. First, we are interested to see if a child's ability to learn new words improves when they receive a clearer speech signal provided by the extended high-frequency response. Second, we are studying hearing-impaired listeners' ability to bind (cohere) the parts of speech during perception relative to listeners with normal hearing. Third, we are studying the effort required by hearing-impaired children to perceive and comprehend speech compared to normal-hearing children.

Research
Research in the Psychoacoustics Laboratory is concerned mostly with the way in which the auditory system processes temporally dynamic or time-varying sounds. Recent research also has focused on the perceptual consequences of a form of amplitude compression that is observed in the cochlea of the inner ear. The laboratory primarily focuses on auditory processing by individuals with normal hearing, where the goal is to understand basic aspects of hearing and to relate the behavioral results to underlying physiology. A considerable amount of research also addresses the effects of cochlear hearing loss on auditory perception in order to understand the limitations imposed by hearing loss and to provide a strong basis for the development of signal-processing strategies for assistive-listening devices (e.g., hearing aids). Finally, some of the research in the laboratory is concerned with how the normal aging process affects the perception of sound. This research is motivated by the general trouble that older individuals have understanding speech, particularly in difficult listening situations, and the importance of communication to the well being of those individuals.