IDEALAB

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Candidates

Miren Arantzeta

m.arantzeta.perez [at] rug.nl

Academic / personal website

Supervisors:Prof. dr. Roelien Bastiaanse (University of Groningen)Prof. dr. David Howard (Newcastle University)

Seçkin Arslan

seckin.arslan [at] rug.nl

Academic / personal website

Evidentiality in the brain

Evidentiality is linguistic reference to information source, that is, how a speaker knows the informationin his statement (e.g., through ‘seeing’ or ‘being told about’ it). All languages have a way of expressingevidentiality. However, in languages such as Turkish, this feature is obligatory in the grammar. Howdoes our brain cope with several information sources in the language, especially when one speaks twolanguages? To answer this, we use EEG to record brain activity, as well as, eye-tracking and otherexperimental methods during sentence processing in Turkish. In addition, we study the loss of evidentialforms in individuals with aphasia, a speech disorder that renders normal communication impossible dueto damage to language areas of the brain. This project will not only show how evidentiality is processedin the brain, but also will reveal how bilinguals cope with it.

Supervisors:Prof. dr. Roelien Bastiaanse (University of Groningen)Dr. Claudia Felser (University of Potsdam)

IDEALAB

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Laura S. Bos

l.s.bos [at] rug.nl

Academic / personal website

People with aphasia (language impairment after brain damage) experience problems with verbs.Particularly, verbs that refer to the past are more difficult than verbs that do not, because the past eventhas to be linked to the speaker’s here-and-now (discourse-linking). We investigated this impairment ingroups of aphasic speakers of Dutch, German and Russian using pen-and-paper tests and eyetracking.We showed electrophysiological brain responses from healthy adults also reflect this discourse-relateddifference. Further research is needed to investigate what brain region is taxed more for past than non-past time reference, for the purpose of which we are carrying out an fMRI experiment.

Supervisors:Prof. dr. Roelien Bastiaanse (University of Groningen) Prof. dr. Isabell Wartenburger (University of Potsdam)

Hui-Ching Chen

huiching.chen [at] gmx.de

My research interests split into two fields, language acquisition and information structure. Therefore, myPhD project aims at unfolding questions of how children acquire information structure in a cross-linguistical perspective. German, English and Mandarin will be the target languages in my study. To

IDEALAB

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reach my goal, I will apply experimental methods, such as the picture judgement task and eye-tracking.

Supervisors:Prof. dr. Barbara Höhle (University of Potsdam)Professor Stephen Crain (Macquarie University)

Vânia de Aguiar

vaniadeaguiar [at] gmail.com

Academic / personal website My research focuses on language training in both healthy individuals and individuals with post-strokeaphasia, using behavioral techniques and neuromodulation (in particular, tDCS). We look at thebehavioral, neurofunctional (fMRI) and neurophysiological (ERPs) effects of training, aiming tounderstand both the mechanisms of item-specific improvement, and generalization. The behavioraltherapy program that we are developing (ACTION; Bastiaanse et al., 1997; de Aguiar et al., submitted)focuses on the production of verbs, verbal morphology and syntactic movement, and was shown to resulton both types of improvement. tDCS was shown to enhance item-specific effects, and we assess itspotential to enhance generalization.

Supervisors:Prof. dr. Gabriele Miceli (University of Trento)Prof. dr. Lyndsey Nickels (Macquaire University)Prof. dr. Roelien Bastiaanse (University of Groningen)Dr. Paul Sowman (Macquaire University)

Ekaterina Delikishkina

IDEALAB

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e.delikishkina [at] unitn.it

Academic / personal website

The neurofunctional correlates of naming practice

Using fMRI and TMS, I am studying how naming practice affects word retrieval processes on the neurallevel. As suggested by clinical evidence, as well as data from experiments with healthy subjects, wordsbelonging to different grammatical (nouns vs. verbs) or conceptual (objects vs. actions) categories areprocessed differently in the brain. My aim is to investigate what brain areas are affected by training ofnouns as opposed to verbs, and whether naming practice in general involves the language network orrather evokes changes in domain-general regions. Answering these questions would have clearimplications for a better understanding of both language learning in healthy individuals and languagerecovery in aphasic speakers.

Supervisors:Prof. dr. Gabriele Miceli (University of Trento)Prof. dr. Roelien Bastiaanse (University of Groningen)

Stepan Dubovoy

sdubovoy [at] uni-potsdam.de

Development of C-V Coarticulation at Preschool Age

IDEALAB

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Consonants and vowels produced in natural fluent speech can be very different from those produced inisolation. In that respect, coarticulation is an essential phonetic mechanism responsible for fluency inspeech. It is described as the influence on every realization of a phonological segment from itssurrounding. In a developmental perspective, a crucial problem is how children establish stable relationsbetween language phonemes and their phonetic realization in real speech. It is generally agreed that childproductions are less consistent compared to those in adults. This project is aimed at investigating howchildren develop adult-like coarticulatory stability, with the focus on an important period between 3 and7 years of age. Such developmental data may be helpful for early detection of speech and articulatory-based deficits.

Supervisors:Prof. dr. Barbara Höhle (University of Potsdam)Dr. Aude Noiray (University of Potsdam)Dr. Ghada Khattab (Newcastle University)

Leigh Fernandez

lfernand [at] uni-potsdam.de

There seems to be a link between the brain activity and change in pupil size, but this relationship ismurky at best. My research aims to investigate whether there is a relationship between brain activity andpupil change during language comprehension. If we can find and begin to understand this relationship itcan open new doors for conducting research with populations that may not be able to give overtresponses or cannot endure more invasive testing techniques (e.g. fMRI). For example, we may be ableto investigate cognition through pupil change with preverbal infants, and patient populations (e.g.stroke).

Supervisors:Prof. dr. Barbara Höhle (University of Potsdam)Dr. Jon Brock (Macquaire University)Prof. dr. Roelien Bastiaanse (University of Groningen)Prof. dr. Lyndsey Nickels (Macquaire University)

René Herrera

IDEALAB

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r.a.herrera.dominquez [at] rug.nl

Narrative production in temporal lobe epilepsy patients

My research focuses on the study of oral narrative production of patients suffering temporal lobeepilepsy (TLE). Previously, TLE patients’ speech has been described as circumstantial and verbose butthe underpinnings of these anomalies has not been explored in depth. In this project, narrative productionperformance will be correlated to single-word and cognitive abilities. The results will be important tounderstand of the relationship between language processes and neuropsychological abilities in TLE andneurologically intact individuals.

Supervisors:Prof. dr. Roelien Bastiaanse (University of Groningen)Dr. Peter Mariën (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)

Rimke Groenewold

r.groenewold [at] rug.nl

Academic / personal website

Nenad Jovanovic

IDEALAB

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n.jovanovic [at] rug.nl

My main interests are the acquisition of langauge in typically and atypically developing children, with afocus on syntax. At the moment, I am investigating the comprehension of passive sentences by German-speaking children and adults using eye tracking and EEG, and if the comprehension can be improvedthrough various priming techniques. The ultimate goal is to establish whether children with atypicallanguage development may benefit from priming and improve their comprehension of passive structures,and whether this effect may lead to a “spillover“ effect to other types of sentences. I am also working ona similar transfer of priming in bilinguals.

Supervisors:Prof. dr. Barbara Höhle (University of Potsdam)Dr. Kai Alter (Newcastle University)Prof. dr. James Law (Newcastle University)

Trudy Krajenbrink

trudy.krajenbrink [at] mq.edu.au

Academic / personal website

Brain damage can cause people to have difficulty spelling. My PhD focuses on 1) the nature of thedifferent types of spelling impairment, and 2) on treatment of these impairments. First, a betterunderstanding of the different types of deficits people can have, can inform our understanding of both thetype of impairment, and of the process of spelling in general. Second, treatment for these spellingimpairments usually improves the words that have been practiced in treatment, but sometimes untreatedwords also improve. Surprisingly little is known about this generalisation process: Do treated and

IDEALAB

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untreated words need to be related? Does the individual’s underlying impairment play a role? Can wepredict when generalisation will occur? The second part of my PhD aims to answer these questionsthrough a literature review, as well as a treatment study with two individuals with spelling impairments.A better understanding of generalisation will improve our comprehension of the spelling process and willhelp make treatments more effective.

Anastasia Linnik

anastasia.linnik [at] gmail.com

Discourse structure and coherence in aphasia

Humans’ ability to produce discourse is indispensable for communication. The phenomenon that makesus perceive a group of utterances or sentences put together as connected and clear speech or text is calledcoherence. We investigate the way people organize their speech in order to make it understandable, andwhat it is that impedes these processes in aphasia – a language impairment due to stroke. Some peoplewith aphasia learn to fully or partially overcome their language production difficulties over time, whilefor others language-based interactions remain unavailable, leading to significantly lower quality of life.Our project has implications for clinical practice, and is insightful in terms of еру cognitive processesinvolved in language production.

Supervisors: Prof. dr. Roelien Bastiaanse (University of Groningen)Prof. dr. Barbara Höhle (University of Potsdam)Prof. dr. Manfred Stede (University of Potsdam)

Oksana Lyalka

o.lyalka [at] newcastle.ac.uk

IDEALAB

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Mechanisms underpinning facilitation and inhibition in word retrieval

We know that retrieval of words with similar meaning differs from those with the different ones. In thisstudy I am exploring how different features of a word impact the speed of its production. First, by meansof RTs measurement I will examine whether different semantic features affect time of word retrieval.Afterward, using ERP technique I will measure whether these timing effects occur at the same timecourse or at different ones. Implementation of this research will help us understand the nature oforganization of the semantic system and may be used for developing testing and treatment tools inaphasia.

Supervisors:Prof. dr. David Howard (Newcastle University)Prof. dr. Lyndsey Nickels (Macquaire University)

Tina Marusch

tina.marusch [at] students.mq.edu.au

Academic / personal website

Language production of verbal inflectional morphology in healthy and impaired adult speakers ofGerman and English.

Supervisors: PD Dr. phil. habil. Frank Burchert (University of Potsdam)Prof. dr. Lyndsey Nickels (Macquarie University)

Michela Mosca

IDEALAB

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mosca [at] uni-potsdam.de

In my research, I focus on the mechanism that underpins multilinguals' language control. To examinethis topic, I measure switching costs during picture naming tasks with language mixing in different typesof multilinguals (bilinguals and trilinguals). Specifically, I am interested in understanding what factorsmight play an influential role during language switching (i.e. preparation time, age of languageacquisition, proficiency and status).

Supervisors:Prof. dr. Harald Clahsen (University of Potsdam) Prof. dr. Cornelis L. J. de Bot (University of Groningen)

Katharina Nimz

katharina.nimz [at] uni-potsdam.de

Sound perception and production in a foreign language: Does orthography matter?

Supervisors:Prof. dr. Adamantios Gafos (University of Potsdam)Dr. Ghada Khattab (Newcastle University)

Rui Qin

IDEALAB

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r.qin [at] rug.nl

Supervisors: Prof. dr. Ben Maassen (University of Groningen) Prof. dr. Barbara Höhle (University of Potsdam)Prof. dr. Isabell Wartenburger (University of Potsdam)

Adrià Rofes

adria.rofes [at] unitn.it

Academic / Personal website

I work on the cortico-subcortical correlates of noun and verb production in aphasia and their applicationto awake surgery procedures. I am particularly interested in improving the assessment of patients withbrain tumors before, during, and after surgery. This research is informative for clinicians and researchers.

Supervisors:Prof. dr. Gabriele Miceli (University of Trento)Prof. dr. Roelien Bastiaanse (University of Groningen)Prof. dr. Lyndsey Nickels (Macquaire University)

Molood Sadat Safavi

IDEALAB

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safavi [at] uni-potsdam.de

My current research is focused on the role of predictability in sentence processing through experimentalapproaches such as eye-tracking, self-paced reading, etc. To be specific, I investigate two contradictingaccounts of locality and expectation based on Persian complex predicates.

Supervisors:Shravan Vasishth (University of Potsdam)Prof. dr. Roelien Bastiaanse (University of Groningen)

Katalin Tamási

tamasi [at] uni-potsdam.de

Academic / personal website

We are extremely sensitive to small changes made to words; for example, we can distinguish 'baby' from'vaby' with ease. This shows that we know a lot about how words are built up. However, it is still unclearwhen and how such knowledge arises: Are children aware of word structures before they learn to speakor, rather, they learn them as their vocabulary grows? In our research, we use pupillometry to measurehow sensitive young children are to changes made to words: Are they able to appreciate the differencebetween correctly pronounced and slightly mispronounced words (such as 'baby' and 'vaby')? This way,we can determine what children know about words and maybe even track the emergence of suchknowledge.

Supervisors:Prof. dr. Barbara Höhle (University of Potsdam)Dr. Cristina McKean (Newcastle University)Prof. dr. Adamantios Gafos (University of Potsdam)

IDEALAB

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Jinxing Yue

j.yue2 [at] nlc.ac.uk

Academic / personal website

My project is to investigate the cortical rapid plasticity of human auditory cortex to form long-termmemory trace of novel word forms. Using novel tonal words derived from Mandarin Chinese, we want toknow 1) how to measure the rapid neural changes with neurophysiological method and behaviouralmeasurements, and 2) in what condition, the long-term neural plasticity would occur rapidly in humancortex.

Supervisors:Dr. Kai Alter (Newcastle University)Prof. dr. Roelien Bastiaanse (University of Groningen)Prof. dr. David Howard (Newcastle University)

Fleur van Ierschot

fleur.vanierschot [at] unitn.it

Academic / personal website

Gliomas are a type of brain tumours that are often infiltrated in crucial language areas. In order to

IDEALAB

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Miren Arantzetam.arantzeta.perez [at] rug.nl

Seçkin Arslanseckin.arslan [at] rug.nl

Adrià Rofesadria.rofes [at] unitn.it

Vânia de Aguiarvaniadeaguiar [at]gmail.com

Leigh Fernandezlfernand [at] uni-potsdam.de

René Herrerar.a.herrera.dominguez [at] rug.nl

diminish post-operative impairments, preservation of linguistic functions is monitored using directelectrical stimulation during awake surgery. Not only can essential and mediating structures be clinicallydistinguished with this procedure, but also does it provide an excellent tool to inspect neuropsychologyof language and its fundamental underlying mechanisms. My research focuses on pre-, intra- and post-surgery assessment of the crucial and complex processes of reading and writing in glioma patients whoundergo awake surgery.

Supervisors:Prof. dr. Gabriele Miceli (University of Trento)Prof. dr. Roelien Bastiaanse (University of Groningen)

???????

IDEALAB

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Oksana Lyalkao.lyalka [at] newcastle.ac.uk

Michela Moscamosca [at] uni-potsdam.de

Katharina Nimzkatharina.nimz [at] uni-potsdam.de

Rui Qinr.qin [at] rug.nl

Tina Maruschtina.marusch [at]students.mq.edu.au

Katalin Tamásitamasi [at] uni-potsdam.de

Jinxing Yue Trudy KrajenbrinkMolood Sadat Safavi

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IDEALAB

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j.yue2 [at] nlc.ac.uk trudy.krajenbrink [at]mq.edu.au

safavi [at] uni-potsdam.de

Anastasia Linnikanastasia.linnik [at]gmail.com

EkaterinaDelikishkinae.delikishkina [at] unitn.it

Fleur van Ierschotfleur.vanierschot [at]unitn.it

Stepan Dubovoy sdubovoy [at] uni-potsdam.de

Nenad Jovanovicn.jovanovic [at] rug.nl

Hui-Ching Chenhuiching.chen [at] unitn.it

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Alumni

IDEALAB

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Laura S. Bosl.s.bos [at] rug.nl

Rimke Groenewoldr.groenewold [at] rug.nl