Prof Usha Goswami CBE | Dyslexia, Rhythm, Language and the Developing Brain

This seminar is free to attend and is open to all, both within and outside the University. Attendance is possible both in-person and on Zoom, details of Zoom registration and physical location can be found above.

We are delighted to announce that the Centre for Human Brain Health (CHBH) will welcome Professor Usha Goswami CBE, to present a hybrid CHBH Seminar, taking place on the date and time above.
Usha is a Professor of Cognitive Developmental Neuroscience and the Director of the Centre for Neuroscience in Education at the University of Cambridge. Her full biography can be found below.

To arrange a 1:1 meeting with the speaker, please state your interest in the Zoom registration link above, or email chbh@contacts.bham.ac.uk. 

CHBH Event Host
Dr Hyojin Park

Dyslexia, Rhythm, Language and the Developing Brain

Abstract

Recent insights from auditory neuroscience provide a new perspective on how the brain encodes speech. Using these recent insights, I will provide an overview of key factors underpinning individual differences in children’s development of language and phonology, providing a context for exploring atypical reading development (dyslexia). Children with dyslexia are relatively insensitive to acoustic cues related to speech rhythm patterns. This lack of rhythmic sensitivity is related to the atypical neural encoding of rhythm patterns in speech by the brain. I will describe our recent data from infants as well as children, demonstrating developmental continuity in the key neural variables.

Speaker Biography

Usha Goswami CBE FRS FBA is Professor of Cognitive Developmental Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge. She is also founding Director of the Centre for Neuroscience in Education. After training as a primary school teacher, Usha pursued research in child psychology, taking a D. Phil. at the University of Oxford focused on reading development. Most recently, Usha has been studying the neural mechanisms underpinning language encoding. Her research goal is to understand the brain bases of dyslexia and speech and language difficulties, and the potential utility of music- and rhythm-based behavioural interventions.

This seminar is free to attend and is open to all, both within and outside the University. Attendance is possible both in-person and on Zoom, details of Zoom registration and physical location can be found above.