I am interested in using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and behavioral paradigms to identify the neural bases and development of language processes and cognitive control with conflicting language processes in different populations (e.g., older vs. younger readers; normal vs. impaired readers; native language users vs. second language learners; children with autism; children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; patients with schizophrenia).
My research projects have looked at the development of orthographic, phonological, and semantic representations. The central question asks how lexical processing becomes more automatic with development. My approach is to evaluate the similarities and differences between older and younger children by using behavioral paradigms. This approach has provided evidence for more efficient mappings between lexical systems of older children during semantic judgments among Chinese-speaking children.
Moreover, the central question asks whether this growing automaticity reflects increasing specialization in brain regions associated with linguistic representations. My approach is to explore elaborated lexical representations in certain brain regions over age by using fMRI. Altered language networks have also been found for impaired readers such as children with autism during semantic judgments. Recently, I start to pay attention to the interface of semantics and syntax using Chinese classifiers.
Finally, my projects have been examining effective connectivity between brain regions for language processing and cognitive control. Complex cognitive functions are subserved by large-scale distributed networks. I aim to study the distribution of the activation across the network. The ongoing projects use effective connectivity to compare the interactions between brain regions to understand their language abilities for adults vs. children, as well as for healthy participants vs. participants with language disorders.