The Spoken Word

A team of undergraduates in the LAB Lab publishes a research digest every year, called The Spoken Word, with the aim to increase access to scientific knowledge beyond academia.

Since Fall 2018, we have published nine issues of The Spoken Word, with no signs of stopping.

Each year, we work to make scientific articles accessible to people with aphasia, their caregivers, undergraduates, and all other interested readers. We publish digitally (X and Facebook) and in print for personal distribution to our local community. We also provide audio versions of the articles (new for 2024).

It is our hope to help bridge the divide between research findings and the broader public. Enjoy!

Read the 2024 issue? Want to give us feedback? Fill out a short survey and tell us what you think!

2024 Issue:

2024Digest

Access our 2024 LAB Lab Digest here!

Articles (now featuring audio versions!):

What is Aphasia? A primer on the ins and outs of aphasia.

 

it takes a village: Caring for a loved one after stroke.

 

Needing support: Resources for living well with aphasia

 

Representation in Research: Addressing systemic issues in language science

 

Beyond Words: A conversation with UConn's Lindsay Butler, Phd and CCC-SLP

 

Plasticity in Parkinson's: Adapting to speech is always possible

 

Unlocking communication: Empowerment in aphasia

 

A peek into the members of the Language and Brain lab

2023 Issue:

The cover of the 2023 issue of The Spoken Word. It features an elderly man dancing on a green background with painted flowers in the foreground.

Access our 2023 LAB Lab Digest here!

 

Articles (audio versions on the way):

Bonds Beyond Words: The extraordinary benefit of friendship in language recovery after stroke

Living Life: Resilience and Adventure with Deidra Brown

Untangling a Speech Mystery: One experiment at a time

Meet the Head of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences Department at UConn: Dr. Derek Houston

Right or Left: Which side of the brain tells us who is talking?

Braided Science: Multiple methods to unravel aphasia therapies

Listening In: How baby talk helps infants learn speech

2022 Issue:

The cover of the 2022 issue of The Spoken Word. It features tiled versions of the LAB Lab logo and speech waveforms on purple, green, yellow, red, and beige backgrounds

Access our 2022 LAB Lab Digest here!

 

Articles:

Beyond the Clinic: Using recording technology to measure speech progress in a patient's daily life

Remote Aphasia Treatment: Speech and language therapy at home during the COVID-19 pandemic

Melodic Intonation Therapy: Harnessing the magic of music and singing to improve communication

Meet UConn's Speech Researchers:

Dr. Adrian Garcia-Sierra - Associate Professor of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Speech Perception & Language Development Lab

 

The Surface of the Brain: How the human brain tells the difference between similar speech sounds in a new language

Choose Your Own Speech Adventure: Words may be easier to understand if you can guess what's coming next

The Healing Power of Book Clubs: Communicating and connecting through shared stories

Special Issue - Summer 2021:

The cover of the special summer 2021 issue of The Spoken Word. It features an illustration of a styalized sun with speech waveforms

Access our Summer 2021 LAB Lab Digest here!

Articles:

Speech Convergence: The phenomenon of our speech becoming similar (or dissimilar) to those around us

From Brain to Speech: How new technology is restoring speech to people that are paralyzed

 

Get to know some of our speech researchers:

Matt Phillips - Senior Undergraduate Research Assistant

David Saltzman - 4th Year PhD Candidate

Nikole Giovannone - 4th Year PhD Student

Phoebe Gaston - Postdoctoral Researcher

Christopher Heffner - Assistant Professor

Spring 2021 Issue:

The cover of the spring 2021 issue of The Spoken Word. It features an illustration of line drawings of a brain and 4 different peoples' faces

Access our Spring 2021 LAB Lab Digest here!

 

Articles:

Bilingual Aphasia: What if a patient speaks multiple languages?

A Temporary Normal: An inside look at aphasia support and therapy groups in a pandemic

Language Learning: The importance of sleep and training when learning non-native speech sounds

 

Get to know some of our lab members:

Phoebe Gaston - Postdoctoral Researcher, Psychological Sciences

Anne Marie Crinnion - 1st year graduate student, Psychology - Language and Cognition

Hannah Mechtenberg - 1st year graduate student, Psychology - Language and Cognition

Spring 2020 Issue:

The cover of the spring 202o issue of The Spoken Word. It features an illustration of a speech waverform styled to look the sky

Access our Spring 2020 LAB Lab Digest here!

 

Articles:

Practice Makes Perfect: Treating Apraxia

Interview with Kacie Wittke - Speech Language Pathologist

The Role of the Brain in Learning Non-Native Speech Sounds

 

Meet UConn's Speech Researchers:

Dr. Rachel Theodore - Associate Professor of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Lab for Spoken Language Processing

Dr. James Magnuson - Professor of Psychology, Computational Cognitive Neuroscience of Language Lab

Erica Scarpati - Audiology Doctoral Student, Graduate student in the Auditory Brain Research Lab

David Saltzman - Ph.D. student in Psychology, Graduate student in the Language and Brain Lab

Fall 2019 Issue:

The cover of the Fall 2019 issue of The Spoken Word.

Access our Fall 2019 LAB Lab Digest here!

Articles:

Models of Aphasia: What can the brain tell us about aphasia?

The Role of Sleep in Learning Non-Native Speech Sounds

 

INSIDE Speech Researchers:

Dr. Carl Coehlo - Professor of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Acquired Language Disorders Lab

Dr. Erika Skoe - Associate Professor of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Auditory Brain Research Lab

Sahil Luthra - Ph.D student in Psychology,  Language and Brain Lab and the Computational Cognitive Neuroscience of Language Lab

Pamela Fuhrmeister - Ph.D. student in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Language and Brain Lab

Ashley Parker - Ph.D. student in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Auditory Brain Research Lab

 

Links to additional resources for people with aphasia and their caregivers:

Spring 2019 Issue:

The first page of the Spring 2019 issue of The Spoken Word (then called the Language and Brain Lab Digest)

Access our Spring 2019 LAB Lab Digest here!

 

Articles:

Foreign-Directed Speech: Study conducted by former LAB Lab Postdoc, Dr. Kathrin Rothermich

 

Research Spotlight:

Dr. Jennifer Mozeiko - Assistant Professor in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Aphasia Rehab Lab

Fall 2018 Issue:

The first page of the very first issue of The Spoken Word, published in Fall 2019.

Access our Fall 2018 LAB Lab Digest here!

 

Articles:

Constraint-Induced Language Therapy for Aphasia Treatment: Study conducted by Dr. Jennifer Mozeiko

 

Lab Spotlight:

Dr. Emily Myers - Professor in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences and Psychological Sciences, Language and Brain Lab!