COGNITIVE SCIENCE PROGRAM

Our speech output reflects the plethora of processes that goes into its planning. Using acoustic analyses of words produced in challenging circumstances (e.g. with abnormal sensory feedback, in a non-native language, or in the presence of competitors), I will present evidence that speech can be used as a window to cognitive processes of self-monitoring and response competition. I will use neuroimaging data to further demonstrate that the brain generates goal-specific predictions for what our speech should sound like, and that mismatches in prediction activate a neural circuit that helps to correct errors online. My lab’s ongoing work with language learners and persons with communication disorders explores whether error correction mechanisms can compensate for impairments in the feedforward control of speech production.