Updates From The NERD Lab

As the academic year comes to a close, lab work nonetheless continues! Rylan Batten and Derrick Nguyen presented two talks at the Show-Me Mental State Conference held on May 29th in Columbia, Missouri. The conference celebrates collaborative research in psychology, cognition and neuroscience between faculty and students from the University of Missouri - Columbia and Washington University of St. Louis for a series of brief, engaging presentations and discussions. We extend our thanks to Dr. Nicholas Gaspelin, Chenye Bao, Kellen Hendrix, and Xiaojin Ma of the University of Missouri–Columbia Psychology Department for organizing this year's event. The next conference will be hosted by Washington University of St. Louis in 2028.

At our final lab meeting, Rylan Batten and Derrick Nguyen presented a parting gift to our only graduating senior this semester in recognition of her hard work and contributions. Rylan and Derrick presented to Allana Chitwood for her support in the lab from the past two years. We are incredibly proud of Allana thrilled that she will be continuing their academic journeys in the Master’s program here at Mizzou. We look forward to seeing her around campus next year!

This semester, the NERD Lab submitted two projects to present at Mizzou's 2026 Show Me Research Week as well as one project to the Missouri Speech and Hearing Association 2026! NERD Lab Undergraduate Research Assistants Bethany Perry and Brooke Moss presented a project as a pair, and Allana Chitwood presented solo. The following week, Allana also presented at Missouri Speech and Hearing Association in St. Louis! We are incredibly proud of everyone, including both returning and new lab members, who had the opportunity to represent the lab!

At the Neuroscience Graduate Student Organization (NGSO)’s 1st Annual Valentine’s Day Data Blitz, Derrick Nguyen, Lab Manager of the Neuroscience of Education Research on Development (NERD) Lab, delivered a 2-minute presentation highlighting how gestures play a critical role in shaping and enriching speech and perception. His engaging, Valentine's Day‑themed presentation fit the spirit of the event while communicating research to many other students, staff, and faculty across Mizzou's neuroscience program.

On December 1st, Lab Director Dr. Laura M. Morett presented “Neural Bases of Abnormalities in Gesture–Speech Integration and Impacts on Communication in Autism Spectrum Disorder” in the Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health Building (Atkins Family Seminar Room). The talk highlighted evidence that atypical activity in inferior frontal gyrus and posterior superior temporal sulcus—regions supporting multimodal integration and language—contributes to gesture–speech integration challenges in children with ASD. This Neuroscience Seminar is a NextGen Precision Health and Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program partnership designed to convene Mizzou’s neuroscience community, showcase cross-disciplinary work, and catalyze collaboration. This is the second year in a row Dr. Morett was invited to deliver a presentation, and we’re proud to spotlight Dr. Morett’s research and community partnerships that showcases the lab's work!

Right before the Thanksgiving holidays, Lab Director Dr. Laura M. Morett and Lab Manager Derrick Nguyen travelled to Denver, Colorado to attend the 66th Psychonomics Annual Meeting held between November 20th to November 23rd 2025. The NERD Lab is proud to have a talk delivered by Dr. Laura M. Morett and a poster presented by Derrick Nguyen.

Dr. Morett's Talk:

• Morett, L. M., Getz., L. M., Karlin, R., Nguyen, D. (2025, July). Observing Pitch Gestures During Auditory Training with Non=Speech Analogs Enhances Subsequent L2 Lexical Tone Categorization. Presented at the Psychonomic Society's 66th annual meeting in Denver, Colorado.

Poster Presentation

• Nguyen, D., Young, S.E., Earle F.S., & Morett, L. M. (2025, November). Sleep Consolidation Improves L2 Lexical Tone Categorization, but Observing Pitch Gestures Modulates Gains. Presented at the Psychonomic Society's 66th annual meeting in Denver, Colorado.

Rylan Batten and Dr. Laura M. Morett recently presented at the Speech, Language and Hearing Science Department’s Rotating Lecture Series on November 14th in Clark Hall. As part of the series of presentations, the department provides an opportunity for research and clinical faculty members to present updates in their research and field, bridging research and practice for anyone in attendance. Our NERD Lab members presented updates on a few projects revolving our EEG study and online behavioral studies!

On October 17th, at a reception hosted by the offices of the President and Provost, Dr. Laura M. Morett (front row, third from right) was recognized as one of three Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences Department faculty members who received promotions and/or tenure in the 2024-2025 academic year! 

Kicking off the academic year with a strong start, our team shared fresh insights on language, gesture, and neurodevelopment this month at two conferences this month: the Society for the Neurobiology of Language (SNL 2025), held at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC (September 12–14), and the 20th Annual Thompson Center Autism Conference (TCC), held in St. Charles, MO (September 11–12). Across our posters, lab members highlighted ongoing work on gesture–speech integration, tone learning, and neural measures of language processing—continuing our lab’s mission to link multimodal communication with real-world outcomes.

We are so proud of to have our lab director Dr. Laura M. Morett and PhD Research Assistant Rylan Batten present at SNL 2025, and we are also proud of our newest lab member PhD Research Assistant April Heien made her presentation debut at TCC.

Presentations:

• Farran, B.M., Sheinkopf, S.J., & Morett, L. M. (2025, September). Neural Bases of Gesture and Speech Processing in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An fNIRS Study. Presented at the 17th annual meeting of the Society for Neurobiology of Language in, Washington, D.C.

• Batten, R., Farran, B.M., & Morett, L. M. (2025, September). The Effect of of Pitch Gestures on Sensitivity to Lexical Tone: An N400 Study. Presented at the 17th annual meeting of the Society for Neurobiology of Language in, Washington, D.C.

• Heien, A., Nguyen D., & Morett, L. M. (2025, September). Relating the Neural Mechanisms of Social Processing Impairments to Gesture-Speech Integration Difficulties in ASD: A Pilot Study. Presented at the 20th annual Thompson Center Conference in St. Charles, MO.

🧠 International Society of Gesture Studies 2025

Our lab director Dr. Laura M. Morett presented a poster and two talks from three NERD Lab accepted submissions at ISGS 2025 in Nijmegen, Netherlands, sharing insights from our ongoing research on gesture and language. 

Dr. Morett presented two talks:

• Batten, R., Farran, B.M., & Morett, L. M. (2025, July). Congruent pitch gestures enhance the phonological and semantic processing of L2 Mandarin words in L1 English speakers. Presented at the 10th meeting of the International Society of Gesture Studies in, Nijmegen, Netherlands.

• Farran, B.M., Sheinkopf, S.J., & Morett, L. M. (2025, July). Neural Mechanisms of Multimodal Communication in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Insights from Gesture-Speech Integration. Presented at the 10th meeting of the International Society of Gesture Studies in, Nijmegen, Netherlands.

As well as one poster:

• Nguyen, D., Young, S.E., Earle F.S., & Morett, L. M. (2025, July). Observing Pitch Gestures Facilitates Delayed L2 Lexical Tone Categorization an Discrimination in Novel Words. Presented at the 10th meeting of the International Society of Gesture Studies in, Nijmegen, Netherlands.

🧠 New fNIRS Experiment Development 

We also welcomed summer volunteer Niles Johnson who collaborated with Bash (our postdoctoral researcher) and Derrick (our lab manager) on a new fNIRS project. This newer study is set to run later this year and will expand our understanding of neural responses during language processing. Stay tuned for more updates as the project unfolds!