Dr. Christine Brennan is a developmental cognitive neuroscientist and speech-language language pathologist investigating the brain systems supporting language development and speech processing. Using a combination of behavioral and neuroimaging methods, her research aims to better understand the process by which the auditory cortex encodes phonemes and how it synthesizes phonemes into words. Additionally, she is interested in how these processes are affected by experience and skill, including language and reading experience, reading instruction method, and phonological awareness skill. Her current project investigates differences in phonological representation in the auditory cortex of children with and without dyslexia to better understand what underlies this disability and to develop treatments that are better at addressing these underlying issues.
keywords
dyslexia, speech processing, phonological skill, neuroscience, brain activation, fMRI, reading development, reading skill, reading instruction, reading intervention, special education, speech and language impairment, developmental disabilities, speech and language intervention
SLHS 4576 - Communication Neuroscience
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2018 / Spring 2019 / Spring 2020
Provides an introduction to neuroscience with an emphasis on the systems that support human communication including speech perception and production, language, memory and cognition. Topics areas will include auditory processing, language, memory and motor systems. Development of brain systems and structures will be explored, as well as neurologically based disorders. Neuroscientific methods surveyed will include MRI, fMRI, EEG, MEG, NIRS, lesion studies and electrophysiology.
SLHS 5242 - Language Disorders in School Age Children
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2018 / Fall 2019 / Spring 2020
Addresses the nature, assessment, and treatment of developmental language disorders in school age children. Recommended prerequisite: undergraduate background in SLHS.
SLHS 5576 - Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology of Communication
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2018 / Fall 2019
Provides an introduction to the neuroanatomy and neurophysiology that collectively give rise to human communication including speech perception and production. We will consider how speech, language and hearing are represented in and controlled by the central nervous system and how neuropathologies affect processes of communication.
SLHS 5612 - Language Learning Disabilities
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2018 / Spring 2019
Expands upon the nature of Language Disorders in SLHS 5242 (School Age Language Disorders) including language-based difficulties in reading, written language and mathematical achievement, as well as deficits in executive functioning. Students will explore clinical management options through studies of intervention methods as well as through clinical case examples. Specifically, we will examine adaptive instruction and evidence-based intervention.
