Computational Brain and Language Laboratory (CBALL)

Our lab focuses on bridging brain, cognitive science and AI, spanning from fundamental brain and cognitive research to practical AI applications. Using computing techniques, we investigate mechanisms in typical and impaired language processing, language development, and construct psycholinguistic databases. In collaboration with engineers and computer scientists, we develop brain-inspired computing devices and employ AI techniques to enhance sports gaming performance and spectator experiences. In addition, in healthcare, we use natural language processing, deep learning and large language models to develop digital speech biomarkers, automate early detection of language impairments related to neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Alzheimer’s diseases) and metal health.

近期成果 Recent News and Highlights

[Jun 2025] Conference paper on "Detecting Mild Cognitive Impairment Across Languages: An Analysis of Speech Features in Chinese and English." by Lee, H. W. & Chang, Y. N., accepted to Cognitive Computational Neuroscience (CCN), Amsterdam, Netherland, as a poster presentation.
[May 2025] Conference paper on "Cross-Linguistic Activation Likelihood Estimation Analysis of fMRI and PET Studies of Reading: Similarities and Differences in English and Chinese Word Processing." by Cheng, C. F., Humphreys, G., Lambon Ralph, M. & Chang, Y. N., accepted to Society for Neurobiology of Language (SNL), Washington DC, USA, as a poster presentation.
[April 2025] Conference paper on "Reading instruction and individual differences in a computational model of Chinese character reading." by Kuo, C. E., & Chang, Y. N., accepted to CogSci 2025 as a full paper.
[April 2025] Conference paper on "Verbal fluency and distribution analysis for mild cognitive impairment detection." by Chang, Y. N., Wang, Y. H., Chou, C. J., Liu, Y. C. & Lambon Ralph, M., accepted to Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC), Toronto, Canada, as a poster presentation.
[Mar 2025] Journal paper on "Psycholinguistic norms for the dominant and secondary names of 700 LinguaPix color photographs in Mandarin Chinese" by Chang, Y. N., Cheng, L., Wang, J., Tsang, Y. J., Krautz, A. E., Yeung, S. S., Wang, S.. and Chen, H. H., accepted to Behavior Research Methods.
[December 2024] Journal paper on "Planning units in Chinese handwriting: Comparing the role of radicals and logographemes." by Wang, J., Cheng L., Chang, Y. N., Maurer, U., Wang, S., and Chen, H. H., accepted to Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition.
[November 2024] Journal paper on "Editorial: Neurocomputational models of language processing." by Hofmann Markus J. , Chang Ya-Ning , Brouwer Harm , and Zock Michael, accepted to Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
[October 2024] Congratulations to Ching-En Kuo who passed his master thesis viva!
[October 2024] Welcome Prof Saturnino Luz's (the University of Edinburgh, UK) visit to our lab and gave a talk on "Dementia, Spontaneous Speech and AI: Achievements and Challenges".
[September 2024] Journal paper on "Investigating the effects of semantic radical consistency in Chinese character naming with a corpus-based measure." by Cheng, C. F., and Chang, Y. N., accepted to Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition.
[September 2024] Journal paper on "Screening for Early Alzheimer's Disease: Enhancing Diagnosis with Linguistic Features and Biomarkers." by Chou, C. J., Chang, C. T., Chang, Y. N., Lee, C. Y., Chuang, Y. F., Chiu, Y. L., Liang, W. L., Fan, Y. M. and Liu, Y. C., accepted to Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.
[September 2024] Conference paper on "Exploring the relationships between reading instruction and individual differences in a computational model of Chinese character reading." by Kuo, C. E., Chang, Y. N, accepted to The 63rd Annual Conference of the Taiwanese Psychological Association, Taipei, October, 2024, as an oral presentation.
[Aug 2024] Conference paper on "Machine Learning in Sports Analytics: Volleyball Match Outcome Prediction." by Lin, H. Y, Lien, J. J, & Chang, Y. N. has been accepted as a full paper for International Conference on Electrical, Computer, Communications and Mechatronics Engineering (ICECCME), as an oral presentation.
[July 2024] Congratulations to Hsin-Yu Lin who passed her master thesis viva!
[July 2024] Journal paper on "Simultaneous simulations of pure, surface and phonological acquired dyslexia within a full computational model of the primary systems hypothesis." by Chang, Y. N., Welbourne, S., Furber, S., & Lambon Ralph, M., accepted to Cortex.
[June 2024] Journal paper on "Modelling individual differences in reading using an optimised MikeNet simulator: The impact of reading instruction." by Chang, Y. N., Chang, T. J., Lin, W. F., Kuo, C. E., Shi, Y. T., & Lee, H. W., accepted to Frontiers in Human Neuroscience Science.
[Jun 2024] Conference paper on "Using network analysis to differentiate mild cognitive impairment from healthy individuals." by Wang, Y. H., Cheng, C. F., Chou, C. J., Liu, Y. C., Lee, C. Y., & Chang, Y. N., accepted to Architecture and Mechanisms for Language Processing (AMLaP), Edinburgh, UK, as a poster presentation.
[May 2024] Conference paper on "Connected Speech-Based Cognitive Assessment in English and Chinese." by Garcia, S. D. L. F., Haider, F., Fromm, D., MacWhinney, B., Lanzi, A., Chang, Y. N., ... & Liu, Y. C., accepted to Interspeech, Kos Island, Greek, as a poster presentation.
[April 2024] IEEE Proceedings paper on "Sentiment-Driven LSTM Analysis of Bitcoin Price: Uncovering Insights from Tweets and Macroeconomics Data." by Hsu, C. C., Chu, J. S., Lu, P. H., & Chang, Y. N., accepted to IEEE Computers, Software, and Applications Conference (COMPSAC 2024), Osaka, Japan, , as an oral presentation.
[April 2024] Conference paper on "Exploring an Audio-based Approach for Early Detection of Alzheimer’s Disease using Chinese Speech Data." by Lee, H. W., Cheng, C. F., Wang, Y. H., & Chang, Y. N., accepted to Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC), Philadelphia, USA, as a poster presentation.
[April 2024] Conference paper on "Contrasting Manual and Automatic Approaches for Extracting Linguistic Features in Predicting Alzheimer’s Disease through Chinese Speech." by Wang, Y. H., Cheng, C. F., Chou, C. J., Liu, Y. C., & Chang, Y. N., accepted to Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC), Philadelphia, USA, as a poster presentation.
[January 2024] Congratulations to Yi-Shuan Wang, who won the Student Paper Competition at Taiwan Society of Cognitive Neuroscience Annual Meeting.
[December 2023] Prof. Chang was invited to give a talk at the 18th International Conference on the Processing of East Asian Languages (ICPEAL-18), Hong Kong. “Individual differences in a computational model of English word reading.”
[June 2023] Conference paper on "The effects of semantic radical consistency on Chinese character naming: A corpus-based approach. " by Cheng, C. F., & Chang, Y. N., accepted to Architecture and Mechanisms for Language Processing Asia (AMLaP Asia), Hong Kong, China as a talk presentation.
[May 2023] Journal paper on "Distance dependent distribution thresholding in probabilistic tractography." by Chang, Y. N., Halai, A. D., & Lambon Ralph, M. A., accepted to Human Brain Mapping.
[April 2023] Conference paper on "Examining automatic generated language features of Chinese spontaneous speech for early detection of cognitive decline." by Wang, Y. H., Chou, C. J., Liu, Y. C., Lee, C. Y., & Chang, Y. N., accepted to Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC), Amsterdam, the Netherland as a poster presentation.
[April 2023] Conference paper on "Exploring the relationships between reading instruction and individual differences in a computational model of reading." by Kuo, C. E., Shi, Y. T., Lin, W. F., & Chang, Y. N., accepted to CogSci 2023 as a full paper.
[April 2023] Prof. Chang was invited to give an online talk at Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, National Central Unversity, Taiwan. “Using speech data for early detection of cognitive decline: A preliminary result. At Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience.”
[March 2023] Prof. Chang was invited to give an online talk at the Language Group Meeting, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK. “Language features of Chinese spontaneous speech for early detection of cognitive decline.”
[Feburary 2023] Journal paper on "The influence of oral vocabulary knowledge on individual differences in a computational model of reading." by Chang, Y. N., accepted to Scientific Reports.

著作 Publications

期刊 Journals

Chang, Y. N., Cheng, L., Wang, J., Tsang, Y. J., Krautz, A. E., Yeung, S. S., Wang, S., & Chen, H. H. (2025) Psycholinguistic norms for the dominant and secondary names of 700 LinguaPix color photographs in Mandarin Chinese. Behavior Research Methods.
Wang, J., Cheng L., Chang, Y. N., Maurer, U., Wang, S., & Chen, H. H. (2025) Planning units in Chinese handwriting: Comparing the role of radicals and logographemes. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition.
Hofmann, M. J. , Chang Y. N., Brouwer, H., & Zock, M. (2024) Editorial: Neurocomputational models of language processing. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
Cheng, C. F. & Chang, Y. N. (2024). Investigating the effects of semantic radical consistency in Chinese character naming with a corpus-based measure. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition.
Chou, C. J., Chang, C. T., Chang, Y. N., Lee, C. Y., Chuang, Y. F., Chiu, Y. L., Liang, W. L., Fan, Y. M., & Liu, Y. C. (2024). Screening for Early Alzheimer's Disease: Enhancing Diagnosis with Linguistic Features and Biomarkers. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.
Chang, Y. N., Welbourne, S., Furber, S., & Lambon Ralph, M. (2024). Simultaneous simulations of pure, surface and phonological acquired dyslexia within a full computational model of the primary systems hypothesis. Cortex.
Chang, Y. N., Chang, T. J., Lin, W. F., Kuo, C. E., Shi, Y. T., & Lee, H. W. (2024). Modelling individual differences in reading using an optimised MikeNet simulator: The impact of reading instruction. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
Chang, Y. N., Halai, A. D., & Lambon Ralph, M. (2023). Distance-dependent distribution thresholding in probabilistic tractography. Human Brain Mapping.
Chang, Y. N. (2023). The influence of oral vocabulary knowledge on individual differences in a computational model of reading. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 1680.
Chang, Y. N., & Lambon Ralph, M. (2020). A unified neurocomputational bilateral pathway model of spoken language production in healthy participants and recovery in post-stroke aphasia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Chang, Y. N., Taylor, J. S. H., Rastle K., & Monaghan, P. J. (2020). The relationships between oral language and reading instruction: Evidence from a computational model of reading. Cognitive Psychology, 123, 101336.
Chang, Y. N. & Lee, C. Y. (2020). Age of Acquisition Effects on Traditional Chinese Character Naming and Lexical Decision. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 1-8.
Chang, Y. N., Monaghan, P. J., & Welbourne, S. (2019). A computational model of reading across development: Effects of literacy onset on language processing. Journal of Memory and Learning, 108, 104025.
Chang, Y. N., & Monaghan, P. J. (2018). Quantity and quality of pre-literacy language exposure both affect literacy development: Evidence from a computational model of reading. Scientific Studies of Reading, 1-19
Chang, Y. N., & Lee, C. Y. (2017). Semantic ambiguity effects on traditional Chinese character naming: A corpus-based approach. Behavior Research Methods. 1-13.
Monaghan, P. J., Chang, Y. N., Welbourne, S., & Brysbaert, M. (2017). Exploring the relations between word frequency, language exposure, and bilingualism in a computational model of reading. Journal of Memory and Language, 93, 1-21
Chang, Y. N., Welbourne, S., & Lee, C. Y. (2016). Exploring orthographic neighborhood size effects in a computational model of Chinese character naming. Cognitive Psychology, 91, 1-23
Chen, W. -F., Chao, P., Chang, Y. N., Hsu, C. H., & Lee, C. Y. (2016). Effects of orthographic consistency and homophone density on Chinese spoken word recognition. Brain and Language, 157-158, 51-62.
Chang, Y. N., Hsu, C. H., Chen, C. L., & Lee, C. Y. (2016). The psycholinguistic database for traditional Chinese character naming. Behavior Research Methods, 48(1), 112-122.
Lee, C. Y, Hsu, C. H., Chang, Y. N., Chen, W. -F., Chou, P. -C. (2015). The feedback consistency effect in Chinese character recognition: evidence from a psycholinguistic norm. Language and Linguistics, 16(4), 535-554.
Chang, Y. N., Furber, S., & Welbourne, S. (2012). Modelling normal and impaired letter recognition: Implications for understanding pure alexic reading. Neuropsychologia, 50(12), 2773-2788.
Chang, Y. N., Furber, S., & Welbourne, S. (2012). “Serial” effects in parallel models of reading. Cognitive Psychology, 64(4), 267-291.

研討會論文 Conference Papers

Lee, H. W. & Chang, Y. N (2025). Detecting Mild Cognitive Impairment Across Languages: An Analysis of Speech Features in Chinese and English. 2025 Cognitive Computational Neuroscience (CCN).
Kuo, C. E., & Chang, Y. N. (2025). Reading instruction and individual differences in a computational model of Chinese character reading. Proceedings of the 45th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, Cognitive Science Society, Austin, TX, U.S.A.
Lin, H. Y, Lien, J. J, & Chang, Y. N. (2024). Machine Learning in Sports Analytics: Volleyball Match Outcome Prediction. 2024 International Conference on Electrical, Computer, Communications and Mechatronics Engineering (ICECCME).
Garcia, S.D.L.F., Haider, F., Fromm, D., MacWhinney, B., Lanzi, A., Chang, Y. N., Chou, C.J. and Liu, Y.C. (2024). Connected Speech-Based Cognitive Assessment in Chinese and English. Proceedings of Interspeech.
Hsu, C. C., Chu, J. S., Lu, P. H., & Chang, Y. N. (2024). Sentiment-Driven LSTM Analysis of Bitcoin Price: Uncovering Insights from Tweets and Macroeconomics Data. 2024 IEEE 48th Annual Computers, Software, and Applications Conference (COMPSAC).
Kuo, C. E., Shi, Y. T., Lin, W. F., & Chang, Y. N. (2023). Exploring the relationships between reading instruction and individual differences in a computational model of reading. Proceedings of the 44th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, Cognitive Science Society, Austin, TX, U.S.A.
Branzi, F., Chang, Y. N., Gaele, C., & Alexopoulou, T. (2021). The impact of L2 proficiency on cross-language influence during L2 word processing. Cambridge Open Engage.
Chang, Y. N., & Lambon Ralph, M. A. (2019). A computationally implemented mechanistic account of post-stroke aphasia. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
Chang, Y. N., Taylor, J. S. H., Rastle, Kathleen, & Monaghan, P. J. (2017). Exploring the relations between oral language and reading instruction in a computational model of reading. In G. Gunzelmann, A. Howes, T. Tenbrink, & E. Davelaar (Eds.), Proceedings of the 39th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, Austin, Tx: Cognitive Science Society.
Monaghan, P. J., Chang, Y. N., & Welbourne, S. (2017). Different processes for reading words learned before and after onset literacy. In G. Gunzelmann, A. Howes, T. Tenbrink, & E. Davelaar (Eds.), Proceedings of the 39th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, Austin, Tx: Cognitive Science Society.
Chang, Y. N., Monaghan, P. J., & Welbourne, S. (2016). Effects of experience in a developmental model of reading. In A. Papafragou, D. Grodner, D. Mirman, & J. C. Trueswell (Eds.), Proceedings of the 38th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, Austin, Tx: Cognitive Science Society.
Lee, C. L., Chang, Y. N., Liu, C. L., Lee, C. Y., & Hsu, J. Y. J. (2014). Unsupervised clustering of morphologically related Chinese words. In P. Bello, M. Guarini, M. McShane, & B. Scassellati (Eds.), Proceedings of the 36th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, Quebec City, Canada, July 2014.
Chang, Y. N., Lambon Ralph, M., Furber, S., & Welbourne, S. (2013). Modelling graded semantic effects in lexical decision. In M. Knauff, M. Pauen, N. Sebanz, & I. Wachsmuth (Eds.), Proceedings of the 35th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society (pp. 310-315). Austin, Tx: Cognitive Science Society.
Chang, Y. N., Furber, S., & Welbourne, S. (2012). Generating realistic codes for use in neural network models. In N. Miyake, D. Peebles, & R.P. Cooper (Eds.), Proceedings of the 34th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society (pp. 198-203). Austin, Tx: Cognitive Science Society.

演講 Talks

邀請演講 Invited Talks

Chang, Y. N. “Understanding Language: Connecting brain, behaviour, and computation” At the NeuroAI Workshop: Brain & AI: A Dialogue on the Essence of Intelligence, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, Jul 2025.
Chang, Y. N. “Cognitive Science and AI: Exploring the dual routes to intelligence”, Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan, May 2025.
Chang, Y. N. “Briding Brain, Behaviour and Computation: Neurocomputational Models of Language Processing” At the International Symposium: Bridging Neuroimaging and Computational Models in Psychological Processing, National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan, February 2025.
Chang, Y. N. “Utilising Chinese Speech Data for Early Detection of Cognitive Decline” At Institute of Allied Health Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, November 2024.
Chang, Y. N. “Individual differences in a computational model of word reading: English and Chinese” At Department of Psychology, National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan, June 2024.
Chang, Y. N. “Computational Modelling Approaches to Language Processing” At Department of Psychology, National Chengchi University, Taiwan, May 2024.
Chang, Y. N. “Large language models: An overview” At Department of Electrical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan, April 2024.
Chang, Y. N. “A mobile device-based automatic AI assessment for rapid screening of language abnormalities using Chinese spontaneous speech” At the Google Pixel Test Engineering x NCKU Machine Learning Seminar, Taipei, Taiwan, March, 2024.
Chang, Y. N. “Individual differences in a computational model of English word reading” At the 18th International Conference on the Processing of East Asian Languages (ICPEAL-18), Hong Kong, December, 2023.
Chang, Y. N. “Using Speech Data for Early Detection of Cognitive Decline: A Preliminary Result” At Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, National Central University, Taiwan, April, 2023.
Chang, Y. N. “Language Features of Chinese Spontaneous Speech for Early Detection of Cognitive Decline” At Language Group Meeting, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK, March 2023.
Chang, Y. N. “Cognitive Science and AI” At X-Communication Teaching Social Group, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, November 2022.
Chang, Y. N. “Oral language, reading instruction, and individual differences in a computational model of word reading” At Department of Psychology, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, November, 2021.
Chang, Y. N. “Oral language, reading instruction and literacy development in a computational model of word reading” At Virtual Psycholinguistic Forum, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, October, 2020.
Chang, Y. N. “Examining influences of language development in a computational model of word reading” Childhood Development Forum, Cambridge, UK, Mar 2019.
Chang, Y. N. “Exploring oral language, reading instruction and literacy development in a computational model of reading” Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford, UK, Mar 2019.
Chang, Y. N. “Towards formal, neuroanatomically-constrained computational models of aphasia and recovery” Language, Brains & Machines Workshop, Cambridge, UK, Oct 2018.

會議演講 Conference Talks

Kuo, C. E., Chang, Y. N. Exploring the relationships between reading instruction and individual differences in a computational model of Chinese character reading. Talk presented at Symposium: Neural Network Modelling Applicaitons in Psychology at The 63rd Annual Conference of the Taiwanese Psychological Association, Taipei, October, 2024.
Chang, Y. N. Neurocomputational modelling of language processing. Talk presented at Nanosymposium: Language, Cognition and Modelling at the Taiwan Society for Neuroscience: Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Congress (TSfN), Taipei, August, 2024.
Cheng, C. F., & Chang, Y. N. The effects of semantic radical consistency on Chinese character naming: A corpus-based approach. Talk presented at Architecture and Mechanisms for Language Processing Asia (AMLaP Asia), Hong Kong, December, 2023.
Chang, Y.N., & Lambon Ralph. A computationally implemented mechanistic account of post-stroke aphasia recovery. Talk presented at Academy of Aphasia 57th Annual Meeting, Macau, October, 2019.
Chang, Y. N., & Monaghan, P. J. Quality and quantity in language development: Examining influences in a computational model of literacy development. Talk presented at the Annual Meeting of Psychonomic Society, Amsterdam, Netherland, May, 2018
Chang, Y. N., Monaghan, P. J., & Welbourne, S. Relation between early language exposure and vocabulary size with literacy development in a computational model of reading. Talk presented at Society for Scientific Study of Reading, Halifax, Canada, July, 2017
Chang, Y. N., Monaghan, P. J., & Welbourne, S. Age of acquisition effects in the triangle model of reading. Talk presented at the UKOG Workshop, Bristol, UK, September, 2015
Chang, Y. N., Lambon Ralph, M., Furber, S., & Welbourne, S. Modelling graded semantic effects in lexical decision. Talk presented at Cognitive Science Society, Berlin, German, August 2013.
Chang, Y. N., Furber, S., & Welbourne, S. Generating realistic codes for use in neural network models. Talk presented at Cognitive Science Society, Sapporo, Japan, August 2012.
Chang, Y. N., Furber, S., & Welbourne, S. Predicting reaction times of pure alexia patients. Talk presented at the Neuroscience Research Institute Showcase, Manchester, UK, June 2011.
Chang, Y. N., Furber, S., & Welbourne, S. Emergent length effects in a parallel reading model. Talk presented at the British Neuropsychological Society, London, UK, October 2010.

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