Speech-Language Neuroscience Lab

The ability to effectively produce and comprehend speech is crucial for health and wellbeing. At the UC Speech-Language Neuroscience Lab we study different aspects of normal and disordered speech production and perception. We're interested in a range of issues that make it difficult to talk or comprehending speech.

Theoretical perspectives in speech production and speech recognition underpin our research, but our ultimate aim is translational. Our goal is to develop more efficient and effective means of rehabilitation for developmental (e.g., developmental stuttering) and acquired speech disorders (e.g., associated with Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injury), and for hearing difficulties associated with ageing. These issues are non-trivial—by our estimations, world-wide over 73 million people stutter and 46 million are affected by acquired speech disorders at any one time. In addition, older adults are the fastest growing sector of the population and over 30% will exhibit hearing loss.