Research

Current projects

Exploring Perceptual Category Learning in Developmental Dyslexia

THE ISRAELI SCIENCE FOUNDATION 2022-2026

Complex categorization plays a significant role in phonetic category learning by treating acoustically distinct utterances as functionally equivalent. In particular, the ability to learn to perceptually categorize speech sounds lays the foundation for the emergence of phonological skills. Therefore, the investigation of perceptual category learning in developmental dyslexia (DD) could provide important insights into the etiology of the disorder, in which phonological impairments are ubiquitous. Extant research shows that humans have multiple (i.e., explicit and procedural) category learning systems with distinct neural substrates and computational specialties and recent evidence suggests that the procedural system is involved in learning to categorize the sounds of languages

Overcoming Habits by Stimulating the Brain

JOY VENTURES FUNDING 2021-2022

Habits may be debilitating in many aspects of everyday behavior, and overcoming them may improve individuals’ well-being. Habitual behavior underlies many harmful tendencies, ranging from emotional eating to drug abuse and addiction. A promising intervention technique, which was recently demonstrated to modulate neural activity and in turn facilitate cognitive functions is transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). tDCS is a noninvasive brain stimulation method that induces polarity-dependent alterations in cortical excitability. Pertinent to the current proposal, tDCS can be applied to modulate areas involved in drug-related attention bias, even in regions that lie within the medial surface of the cortex, such as the anterior cingulate cortex.

The dynamics of procedural auditory category learning in developmental dyslexia

Binational Science Foundation funding 2016-2020

Recognizing native-language speech sounds depends upon auditory categorization. Recent research and theoretical models implicate the procedural learning system in auditory category learning. This is particularly intriguing because emerging research suggests that the phonological impairments observed in developmental dyslexia (DD) may stem from dysfunction of procedural learning and memory processes. The proposed research addresses a conceptual framework that posits that impaired procedural learning in DD impacts the dynamics of learning phonetic categories.

Developmental trajectories of acquisition consolidation and retention of auditory category learning

Binational Science Foundation-National Science Foundation funding 2018-2022

Understanding the basic mechanisms contributing to literacy attainment is critical to improving the well-being of individuals in society. Low literacy is associated with widespread socioeconomic problems including lower labor force participation, greater reliance on public assistance, and lower civic involvement. This project will examine the connection between perceptual representations, phonetic development, and language skills, with direct implications for literacy and language education.

Exploring the role of feedback timing on acquisition and consolidation of procedural learning in ADHD

The National Institute for Psychobiology in Israel funding 2018-2020

Attention-Hyperactivity Deficit Disorder (ADHD) is a developmental disorder associated with poor educational outcomes. Prominent accounts of ADHD have focused on executive functions impairments, but emerging research suggests ADHD individuals are specifically impaired on a type of learning known as procedural learning. Here we suggest an interdisciplinary effort to investigate a yet neglected issue regarding feedback-based skill learning in ADHD, satisfying the environmental needs that may maximize behavioral outcome.

How individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders cope with speech variability?

Speech perception is highly variable due to different talkers, different contexts and speaker’s rate. To complicate things further speech perception is sometimes delivered under distorted listening conditions. In the current project, we are studying the influence of contextual information on acoustic phoneme categorization in developmental dyslexia and autism.