Speech production is arguably the most complex sensorimotor skill that is routinely performed by humans, and among the most skilled motor actions performed by any species. During typical conversational interactions, talkers produce up to six to nine syllables per second, a feat that relies on the swift and precise coordination of lip, jaw, tongue, and laryngeal movements. Our laboratory (est. 2024) is trying to understand how the human brain coordinates and controls speech movements, how those movements change with motor learning early in childhood, and how those movements recover from diseases that affect the physiology of the articulators. 

Experimentally, we focus on kinematic (electromagnetic articulography) and functional brain imaging (fMRI, fNIRS) during speech production. Current projects focus on speech motor control in congenitally deaf cochlear implant recipients and patients with oral cavity cancer and facial nerve paralysis. We are housed in the John W. Keys Speech and Hearing Center on the OU Health Sciences campus.