Current Lab Members
professor Patti Adank: Principal Investigator
My research focuses on the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying the robustness and flexibility of human spoken language The acoustic speech signal is inherently variable, for instance due to background noise, differences in speakers’ anatomy and physiology, speaking style, regional or socio-economic background, or language background. Yet speech perception remains remarkably stable, and listeners are even able to quickly adapt to novel variation sources of the acoustic signal, such as a speaker’s foreign or regional accent.
I combine behavioural and neuroimaging research. My behavioural research consists of studies on speech perception and production and my neuroimaging research focuses on the neural bases of on-line adaptation in spoken language comprehension and production. Past neuroimaging studies have reported the involvement of neural bases for speech production in speech comprehension tasks. However, this involvement is only present under adverse listening conditions, such as speech in noise, or when the signal has been distorted, for instance by time-compressing it. In my research I test the possibility that this involvement of production regions is specific to on-line adaptation and learning and underlies the robustness of human speech comprehension. My present and future research uses traditional psycholinguistic paradigms, and functional neuroimaging methods such as fMRI, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation.
Recently, I got interested in the role of vocal imitation in speech and am exploring the possibility that both overt and covert imitation may optimise speech perception.
I combine behavioural and neuroimaging research. My behavioural research consists of studies on speech perception and production and my neuroimaging research focuses on the neural bases of on-line adaptation in spoken language comprehension and production. Past neuroimaging studies have reported the involvement of neural bases for speech production in speech comprehension tasks. However, this involvement is only present under adverse listening conditions, such as speech in noise, or when the signal has been distorted, for instance by time-compressing it. In my research I test the possibility that this involvement of production regions is specific to on-line adaptation and learning and underlies the robustness of human speech comprehension. My present and future research uses traditional psycholinguistic paradigms, and functional neuroimaging methods such as fMRI, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation.
Recently, I got interested in the role of vocal imitation in speech and am exploring the possibility that both overt and covert imitation may optimise speech perception.
Han WanG: PhD Candidate
I am fascinated by the unparalleled ability of human listeners to maintain robust speech perception under, and quickly adapt to, diverse challenging listening conditions. My current project combines fMRI and TMS with behavioural methods to outline the neural networks associated with understanding speech in the presence of specific acoustic/cognitive distortions, and explore the dynamic relationship between individual speech perception, hearing ability and cognitive capacity. This line of studies may also foster the possibility of developing new therapeutic interventions that will be beneficial for individuals with impaired hearing and speech perception, e.g. following a stroke.
Before working with Profs Patti Adank and Stuart Rosen at UCL, I was interested in emotional speech, on which I did the projects of my BA Japanese at North China Institute of Science and Technology and MA Linguistics at Nagoya University.
Before working with Profs Patti Adank and Stuart Rosen at UCL, I was interested in emotional speech, on which I did the projects of my BA Japanese at North China Institute of Science and Technology and MA Linguistics at Nagoya University.
Hannah Wilt: phd CANDIDATE
Having always been fascinated by language learning and development, I came to UCL in 2015 to complete my BSc in Psychology and Language Sciences. Throughout the degree, I grew a particular interest in neuroscience, and am currently on the MRes Speech, Language and Cognition programme. My research investigates the involvement of the motor cortex in learning to perceive non-native speech sounds. My MRes project explores this mechanism through a behavioural paradigm utilising the stimulus-response compatibility task, while my PhD research will employ further methods including transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and eventually machine learning.
SHENGYUE XIONG: MSc student
I am currently a MSc student studying Speech Sciences at UCL. I am fascinated by speech perception and production, and the relationship between language and brain. Now I am working on the research project “The role of phonological processing in understanding degraded speech” under the supervision of Prof. Patti Adank and Han Wang.
Before I came to the UK, I was passionate about linguistics and language sciences. I finished my Bachelor’s degree at Shandong University in China. Then, I joined THUNLP group as a research assistant in Tsinghua University, and as a visiting student in the Laboratory of Phonetics and Language Sciences in Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Before I came to the UK, I was passionate about linguistics and language sciences. I finished my Bachelor’s degree at Shandong University in China. Then, I joined THUNLP group as a research assistant in Tsinghua University, and as a visiting student in the Laboratory of Phonetics and Language Sciences in Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
XIYUAN LI: MSC STUDENT
I am interested in the intersection between neuroscience and speech sciences. My research interest lies in the neural mechanism underlying speech perception and speech production and how speech sounds are represented in the brain. I am currently working on a project that investigates speech perception in noise under the supervision of Dr. Patti Adank and Han Wang.
Before coming to UCL, I completed my BA in Linguistics and Speech Sciences in the HKPU and my MPhil in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics in the University of Cambridge.
Before coming to UCL, I completed my BA in Linguistics and Speech Sciences in the HKPU and my MPhil in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics in the University of Cambridge.
Rina cheng: msC STUDENT
Rina Cheng is an MSc student in Language Sciences at UCL. She is working with Patti and Han on the roles of phonological processing in recognising degraded speech for her MSc project.
luqman tajul azmir: Final-year BSc student
Upon embarking on my undergraduate journey, I began to develop a great interest in cognitive neuropsychology and developmental psychology. My research investigates the influence of monetary incentives on manual automatic imitation in a Stimulus-Response Compatibility (SRC) task under the brilliant supervision of Prof Patti Adank and Hannah. This topic fascinates me as it explores whether automatic imitation is truly automatic or could the rewards induce cognitive control when observing an action.
anne-charlotte ziegler: Final-YEar BSc Student
Anne-Charlotte is currently an undergraduate student at UCL in the BSc Psychology and Language Sciences program. She is interested in the cognitive mechanisms underlying the automatic imitation of speech. Under the supervision of Patti and Hannah, her third-year research project is focused on this particular topic.
Collaborators
Dr Helen Nuttall: Lecturer in Psychology, Lancaster UNiversity
I am passionate about speech, ears, brainstems, and brains. I currently work on Dr Adank and Dr Devlin's grant: 'Investigating speech motor resonances in spoken language understanding'. As part of this grant, my research focuses on establishing the role of the motor system in speech perception, and how motor areas work in concert with auditory regions to assist speech perception under challenging listening conditions. TMS, in combination with behaviour and neurophysiology, affords us a unique insight into the function of the neurobiological substrates involved in the speech processing network. In my PhD, I looked at how speech is represented in the subcortical auditory system, and how the subcortical representation of speech is modulated by peripheral and cortical influences. I will combine TMS with EEG in my future work to study the peripheral, subcortical, and cortical linkages in speech processing in adverse listening conditions.
distinguished alumni
Post-doctoral researchers:
Dr Anthony Trotter - currently a teaching fellow at KCL
Dr Helen Nuttal - currently a lecturer at Lancaster University
Dr Sylvia Vitello - currently a researcher at Cambridge University Press and Assessment
PhD students:
Dr Yuchunzi (Shego) Wu - currently a postdoctoral researcher at New York University Shanghai
Dr Gwijde Maegherman - currently an experimental officer at UCL
Dr Maximilian Paulus - currently a data scientist at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Dr Dan Kennedy-Higgins - currently a teaching fellow at KCL
Julie Joubert - currently a research assistant at UCL
MSc and MRes students:
Rongru Chen - MSc Language Sciences
Yu Yan - MSc Language Sciences
Alanoud Aldhuwaihy - MSc Language Sciences
Eliza Langenbach- MSc Language Sciences
Hayley Tseng - MSc Student
Anna Krivoshlykova - MSc Student
Grace Washbourn - MSc Speech and Language Sciences
Adam Ruzicka - MRes SLC
Jasmine Virhia - MSc Language Sciences
Amy Hall - MSc Language Sciences
Dr Anthony Trotter - currently a teaching fellow at KCL
Dr Helen Nuttal - currently a lecturer at Lancaster University
Dr Sylvia Vitello - currently a researcher at Cambridge University Press and Assessment
PhD students:
Dr Yuchunzi (Shego) Wu - currently a postdoctoral researcher at New York University Shanghai
Dr Gwijde Maegherman - currently an experimental officer at UCL
Dr Maximilian Paulus - currently a data scientist at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Dr Dan Kennedy-Higgins - currently a teaching fellow at KCL
Julie Joubert - currently a research assistant at UCL
MSc and MRes students:
Rongru Chen - MSc Language Sciences
Yu Yan - MSc Language Sciences
Alanoud Aldhuwaihy - MSc Language Sciences
Eliza Langenbach- MSc Language Sciences
Hayley Tseng - MSc Student
Anna Krivoshlykova - MSc Student
Grace Washbourn - MSc Speech and Language Sciences
Adam Ruzicka - MRes SLC
Jasmine Virhia - MSc Language Sciences
Amy Hall - MSc Language Sciences