Science of Learning and Art of Communication -SLAC

"The world is watching in horror as war tears through Ukraine, innocent lives are lost, and beautiful cities are destroyed.

We are in awe of the bravery of the Ukrainian people. They are an inspiration to the world as they fight for democracy.

For members of our university community who are Russian, we know you bear no responsibility for the actions of the Russian government, and we will support our students and colleagues.

UConn stands with Ukraine and our Ukrainian students, faculty, and staff."

-Radenka Maric, Interim President

Here is a recent SLAC Talk Shop with Joselyn Perez!

It Is More than a Catch-Up Game: Achievement Gaps

SLAC Talk Shop: Joselyn Perez Is More than a Catch-Up Game: Achievement Gaps

Did you miss the last Talk Shop? Check out the recording here:

SLAC Talk Shop: Kaidi Chen Individual Differences in Acoustic and Contextual Weighting in Spoken Word Recognition

Sahil Luthra published his first solo-authored paper titled "The role of the right hemisphere in processing phonetic variability between talkers" in the journal Neurobiology of Language.

Congrats to Sahil!

Check out his great work here:

The Role of the Right Hemisphere in Processing Phonetic Variability Between Talkers | Neurobiology of Language | MIT Press Sahil Luthra; The Role of the Right Hemisphere in Processing Phonetic Variability Between Talkers. Neurobiology of Language 2021; 2 (1): 138–151. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/nol_a_00028

Olivier Le Guen, Josefina Safar, and Marie Coppola published a new volume in a series titled "Emerging Sign Languages of the Americas"

Congrats to Marie and colleagues!

Check out the e-book here:

Emerging Sign Languages of the Americas by Olivier Le Guen, Josefina Safar, Marie Coppola - Books on Google Play Emerging Sign Languages of the Americas - Ebook written by Olivier Le Guen, Josefina Safar, Marie Coppola. Read this book using Google Play Books app on your PC, android, iOS devices. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read Emerging Sign Languages of the Americ...

Christina Tzeng, Lynne Nygaard, and Rachel Theodore recently published a paper in Psych Bulletin & Review titled: "A second chance for a first impression: Sensitivity to cumulative input statistics for lexically guided perceptual learning"

Check out their work below!

A second chance for a first impression: Sensitivity to cumulative input statistics for lexically guided perceptual learning Listeners use lexical knowledge to modify the mapping from acoustics to speech sounds, but the timecourse of experience that informs lexically guided perceptual learning is unknown. Some data suggest that learning is contingent on initial exposure to atypical productions, while other data suggest th...

Peter Perrino, Stormy Chamberlain, Inge-Marie Eigsti, and Holly Fitch recently published a paper in Brain and Behavior titled "Communication‐related assessments in an Angelman syndrome mouse model"

Congrats to Peter et al., and an additional big congrats to Peter for recently finishing his Ph.D.!

Check out the article here:

Communication‐related assessments in an Angelman syndrome mouse model AS model mice display rapid auditory processing impairments and produce atypical ultrasonic vocalizations. Findings suggest that language‐rescue efforts in AS populations should focus on treatments a...

Alex Paxton and her collaborators (Jennifer Roche, Alyssa Ibarra, and Michael Tanenhaus) recently had a paper accepted to the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences—a paper 7 years in the making: "Predictions of Miscommunication In Verbal Communication During Collaborative Joint Action."

Congrats to Alex and colleagues!

https://pubs.asha.org/doi/abs/10.1044/2020_JSLHR-20-00137

Erika Skoe recently was selected to receive funding in the inaugural cycle of the American Academy of Audiology's Music and Hearing Research Grant Program for her submission “The Auditory Benefits and Hazards of Being a Musician.”

Congrats Erika!

More recent accomplishments in the SLAC community:

Nicole Landi, in collaboration with the Child Mind Institute and several other UConn faculty, was awarded an NIH R01 grant -- "Effectiveness and predictors of response for a technology-based reading intervention in the home"

Congratulations to all involved!

More exciting developments in the SLAC community:

Rachel Theodore, Meghan Clayards, Shari Baum, and Morgan Sonderegger recently received a 3-year grant from the SSHRC titled -- "What makes us flexible? The role of cognitive control and sensory representations in spoken word recognition."

Congratulations to Rachel, Meghan, Shari, and Morgan!