Brain, Learning and Language Laboratory

For some children, learning language is very challenging. A language disorder or learning disorder can make it difficult to learn spoken or written language.  Children who are deaf or hard of hearing can also experience difficulties learning language.  Finally, some children from low income or disadvantaged backgrounds may also struggle to learn language.

In each of these situations, the brain's ability to learn language is affected. In our lab, we study how the brain learns language and what might be different in the case of a language disorder or language delay. We specifically study the brain's ability to learn patterns of information in the environment. These learning abilities are crucial to successfully learn the sound patterns and rules found in language. We are also interested in whether it is possible to improve the brain's ability to learn patterns, as a way to treat language disorders.