Voice, Emotion, and Cognition Laboratory

The Voice Emotion and Cognition Laboratory directed by Miriam van Mersbergen, Ph.D., CCC-SLP uses a multidimensional approach to investigating how emotional experience and cognitive factors influence vocalization and communication. Research approaches using psychometric investigations, affective and cognitive behavioral responses, psychophysiological reactions, event-related potentials, and speech/voice measures are combined to investigate the complex relation between our inner experiences and outer expression of those experiences. Current projects include establishing reliable vocal measures of affect modulation, investigating individual differences in response to vocal mistakes, and the establishment of measures of vocal effort. Applications of this research has the potential to inform clinicians on how to adapt vocal treatments to accommodate an individual's cognitive load and temperamental style.