aphasia research center

@ University of Maryland, College Park

Principal Investigator

The ability to speak is one of the most intriguing and complex functions of the human brain. When this ability is hindered due to brain injury, it can have a devastating impact on the person's quality of life. The overarching goal of our research is to improve communication outcomes for individuals whose ability to speak has been impacted by brain injury, a condition called aphasia. We are specifically interested in sentence production and word retrieval abilities and their breakdown in aphasia, language learning and training-induced neural plasticity, and their interaction with bilingualism and cognitive mechanisms.

Our studies focus on neurologically healthy individuals and those with stroke-induced left hemisphere injury (a condition called aphasia). Most of our research uses on behavioral paradigms, but we also utilize cognitive neuroscience methods (including MEG, and fMRI).

Please explore our research, publications, who we are, and how you can participate or contact us. Our companion website for bilingual language assessment is here.

Learn about our newest Neurocognitive Mechanisms of Sentence Production Impairment in Aphasia study.

FEATURED PUBLICATION

Decoupling of domain general cognitive control and word retrieval in aphasia in Journal of Speech Language & Hearing Research

This study, for the first time, shows that processing speed is compromised in individuals with aphasia. The above image, which summarizes the findings, shows that individual differences in processing speed, cognitive control, and language abilities predict word retrieval speed.

RECENT FUNDING

Neurocognitive Mechanisms of Sentence Production Impairment in Aphasia--Yasmeen Faroqi-Shah, L. Robert Slevc, Christian Brodbeck-- by National Institutes of Health, 2023

This project is aimed at aimed at understanding the neural disruptions in agrammatic aphasia. Employing advanced magnetoencephalography (MEG), it challenges longstanding theories and promises possibilities of new pathways for treating aphasia.

FEATURED PROJECT

Diagnostic Markers of Language Impairment in Bilingual Adults by National Institutes of Health, R-21.

This project is a psychometric investigation of clinical language measures in English for Spanish-English speaking bilingual adults across multiple language domains. The outcomes of this project will improve diagnostic accuracy and therefore reduce health disparities for bilingual adults with aphasia.

CALM REGISTRY

The Aphasia Research Center is part of an initiative at the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences to establish a registry of participants interested in participating in a variety of often paid studies. Learn more about CALM here.

Participate in our research by emailing us [aphasia@umd.edu], [bilingual@umd.edu], or filling out this contact form.

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