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Research

Research Priorities

In the NENS Lab we want to understand the contribution of language experience on arithmetical and numerical cognition. Several studies using different methodological and neuroimaging approaches are currently being conducted.

The lab always welcomes applications from motivated research assistants and interested visiting students. Please contact Dr. Berteletti if you wish to join the lab in some capacity.

If you want to join our studies as a participant, go to the Participants tab to sign up!

A large white and light blue Siemens Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanner with a bed is in the middle of a room. A head coil and some padding are placed over the bed. Headphones and some cables are handing on the left of the scanner.

Arithmetic Processing and Language Modality

One major area of interest in our lab is understanding how language experience and learning affect the neural networks supporting arithmetic fluency. Through behavioral and neuroimaging studies we hope to understand how a visual language supports proficient arithmetic processing as well as the consequences of late language acquisition. Pilot fMRI data on early and late signers have been collected by Dr. SaraBeth Sullivan ('21) and Dr. Sarah Kimbley ('23), while 4th-year graduate student Casey Spelman is about to collect data on hearing participants.

A 3-year postdoc position and graduate support are available thanks to the NSF award (DRL ECR-2349782).

Please take this survey if you want to join the study as a participant or contact Dr. Berteletti if you want to apply for the postdoc position!

Acquisition of early number concepts

Our second large research project (DRL ECR-1916524) focuses on understanding the developmental trajectory of early and foundational number concepts in children who are exposed to sign language. We want to look at the role of language modality but also at of time of language acquisition. A better understanding of how sign language supports the cognitive milestones necessary for proficient numerical reasoning will allow tailored educational approaches and provide appropriate educational guidelines for policy change.

For this project, over the past three years, teams of testers have been traveling to in and out-of-state schools to collect 3- to 5-year-old responses to a large battery of tasks.

a child and a young woman sit across from each other at a short, large, round table with a red rim. In the background are visible red cabinets.

We are grateful to the schools for welcoming our team of testers and for the little champs playing along and going over all our "games".

International collaboration on how elementary teachers view finger counting in children!

We are excited to be part of a large international collaboration with Dr. Thevenot and to represent the United States. The survey involves gathering perspectives from elementary teachers nationwide on using fingers for counting. This study will inform on cultural differences and methodological approaches for teaching math in early grades.

ManyBabies 5!

How babies respond to novel or previously seen stimuli has been used to indicate their attentional abilities. However, all studies have focused on hearing children. How does visual attention differ in young deaf babies? This is how the NENS lab wants to contribute to the large-scale replication project led by the ManyBabies 5 team. We will start collecting data on infants in the spring of 2025.

Influence of Language Modality on the Neural Substrates of Social Communicative Interactions

The lab has also been the home for an exciting novel project investigating the language and social-communicative neural networks in individuals who are DeafBlind and use a tactile language to communicate, that is ProTactile ASL. The project, led by Dr. Lauren Berger, used an fNIRS dual brain imaging method (hyperscanning) where two individuals' brain activity is being recorded simultaneously while communicating and interacting.

Anyone interested in exploring dual brain scanning with the fNRIS is welcome to reach out.

Two caucasian participants sit across from each other, with legs touching in typical PT fashion while communicating using PTASL. Their faces are obscured with light tan ovals. On the left, the participant is wearing a navy blue shirt and black bottoms, with a black shower cap covering the fNIRS cap. On the right, the participant is wearing a black shirt and blue jeans, with a light purple shower cap covering the fNIRS cap. Visible cables lead from the caps to a place off-screen, to the fNIRS machine.

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