Research at the Aphasia Empowerment Lab focuses on understanding language and communication changes across the lifespan, with particular emphasis on aphasia, aging, and neurodegenerative disorders. Our work integrates linguistic theory, cognitive neuroscience, and clinical speech-language pathology to examine how language production and comprehension are affected by neurological and cognitive changes.
Aphasia and Language Rehabilitation
We investigate mechanisms underlying lexical retrieval and semantic processing deficits in aphasia and develop evidence-based intervention approaches. A major line of work involves the development and evaluation of semantic training for Chinese-speaking individuals with aphasia, with ongoing efforts to examine its generalization effects and underlying cognitive mechanisms.
Linguistic Markers and Cognitive Reserve
Another major research focus is the investigation of language and communication changes in healthy aging, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and dementia. We analyze different language tasks to characterize linguistic, discourse, and acoustic features that are sensitive to early cognitive decline and disease progression. Quantitative analyses of speech and acoustic markers—including speech rate, pause patterns, and phonation measures—allow us to examine the relationships between cognitive reserve, processing speed, and motor execution. By integrating these measures across tasks and populations, we aim to improve early detection and severity staging of cognitive-communication disorders.
Across projects, our research emphasizes task complementarity and cross-linguistic perspectives, with the goal of advancing theory-driven and clinically meaningful approaches to the assessment and intervention of language disorders.