About the Lab
The Speech Communication Laboratory is part of the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at the University of Florida. We are engaged in multidisciplinary research on the production and perception of speech by humans, especially adolescents with congenital auditory and motor deficits.
CRACKING THE SPEECH CODE
The Speech Communication Laboratory, led by Dr. Matthew Masapollo, studies the nature and development of human speech production and perception, and the nature of the signal properties that underlie successful speaker to perceiver communication. Our overarching goal is to build an integrated understanding of the physiology, acoustics, and perception of speech in order to develop theoretical models of speech processing and mechanistically driven rehabilitation protocols for those negatively affected by neurodevelopmental disabilities involving speech (e.g., stuttering, cleft palate, and congenital deafness). Our current research areas focus on the learning of speech in infants and young children, normal speech in adults, and the breakdowns of speech in adolescents with sensorimotor deficits. By combining state-of-the-art functional neuroimaging and electromagnetic articulography with behavioral measures, we are helping to elucidate the governing mechanisms involved in sensorimotor integration for speech.
Research areas
Timing, Sequencing, and Coordination of Speech Movements
How do speakers rapidly sequence and coordinate vocal tract movements to impart linguistic structure to the acoustic speech signal? What are the roles of auditory and somatosensory feedback in speech motor sequencing?
Development of Sensory-Motor Connections for Speech
How do self-generated auditory and somatosensory feedback signals associated with the motor production of speech influence the concurrent perception of speech?
Universal Biases and Experiential Influences on Phonetic Perception
What perceptual and cognitive processes allow listeners (both adult and infant) to map the input acoustic signal onto phonetic categories? What is the nature of the information that those processes operate on, and how are those processes shaped by the complex interplay between biology and experience?
Recent news
Masapollo speaks at Oaks Hearing Center
CAPS Lab PI Masapollo spoke to the Hearing Research Center at the UF Health Oaks Center. His talk was titled, “Initial exploration of speech motor…
CSD Research Day 2022
The CAPS Lab was well represented at the 2022 CSD Research Day, held on April 12th at the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions. Thanks…
CAPS at Medical SLP Grand Rounds
CAPS Lab Director, Dr. Masapollo, recently gave a talk at the UF Medical SLP Grand Rounds, titled, “MIPA: A theory of phonological acquisition and…