Dra Laura Bosch

Psychology Professor at the Department of Cognition, Development and Psychology of Education (University of Barcelona – Institute of Neurosciences)
APAL Group coordinator
PhD in Psychology (1990), University of Barcelona
E-mail: laurabosch@ub.edu

My research has focused primarily on the early stages of language acquisition in both populations following a normal development, such as risk populations. Consider different child development milestones such as the initial capacities to recognize and differentiate the mother tongue of other languages, changes in speech perception during the first year of life, ways of segmenting initial word recognition Family of words and the construction of the first lexicon. We study the role of linguistic exposure in the acquisition of the specific characteristics of the mother tongue comparing populations of children who grow up in environments monolingual and bilingual families. A general objective of the research is currently underway to explore the connection between the baby and the initial capacities of linguistic and cognitive growth that occurs in the second year of life.

Dr. Ferran Pons

Psychology Professor at the Department of Cognition, Development and Psychology of Education (University of Barcelona – Institute of Neurosciences)
PhD in Psychology (2004), University of Barcelona
Email: ferran.pons@ub.edu

My interests are focused on the cognitive mechanisms and factors involved in language acquisition. My research explores different aspects of speech perception from birth to the production of the first words. I am interested in exploring the role of experience as well as the perceptual reorganization observed during the first year of life. My current research examines infant’s ability to perceive the relationship between the auditory and visual speech, as well as the mechanisms involved in these processes.

Dra. Marta Ramon-Casas

Psychology Professor at the Department of Cognition, Development and Psychology of Education (University of Barcelona – Institute of Neurosciences)
PhD in Psychology (2009), University of Barcelona
Email: mramon@ub.edu

My interests are about the acquisition of vocabulary, phonological representation of the first lexicon and bilingualism. What are the differences between the first words of a child a bilingual and monolingual? There are differences between bilingual depending on the degree of similarity between their two languages? And what processes take place in the differential recognition and learning words? I am interested also issues in speech processing risk populations, studying the possible presence of difficulties in the recognition vocabulary and phonological representation.

Dra. Beatriz de Diego Lázaro

Profesora del departamento de psicología de la Universidad de Valladolid
Doctorado en ciencias del habla y la audición (2019), Universidad Estatal de Arizona (EEUU).

My research focuses on language learning and the development of executive functions in children with hearing loss, both monolingual and multilingual. Our studies include behavioral tests, eye-tracking technology, and electroencephalography (EEG) with the aim of studying the potential impact of hearing loss on a child’s development in the short and long term.

Laia Marcet

Estudiante de doctorado. Programa Cerebro, Cognición y Conducta (Universidad de Barcelona, 2020 – Actualidad)
Máster en Investigación en Comportamiento y Cognición (Universidad de Barcelona, 2019)
Grado en Ciencias Biomédicas (Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, 2018)
Email: laiamarcet@ub.edu

My research focuses on studying the development of sociolinguistic awareness in children born in bilingual environments. I am interested in exploring the ability to form associations between different speakers and the language they use. One of my main objectives is to determine the age at which this ability appears in bilingual children and which linguistic factors may promote or hinder the formation of these associations.

Elisa Marrodan

Estudiante de doctorado (Ciencia Cognitiva y del Lenguaje)
Máster en Dirección y Gestión Sanitaria , Universidad Atlántico del Medio (2022)
Grado en Logopedia, Universidad de Valencia (2021)
Dept. Cognición, Desarrollo y Psicología de la Educación.
Email: emarrove17@alumnes.ub.edu

Currently, my research focuses on the syntactic processing of oral language and executive function in preschool and school-aged children from monolingual and bilingual backgrounds. Specifically, I delve into the role that animacy cues and word order play in the oral processing of complex sentences and their relationship with executive function processes, such as working memory and inhibitory control.

As a member of the APAL research team, my work involves recruiting families, managing appointments, and administering tests. I am interested in the development of communicative skills in infants and the language acquisition of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This work is gratifying for me as it allows me to contribute to scientific advancement in these fields.

Previous members

Joan Birulés

PhD Student (Brain, Cognition and Behavior, University of Barcelona)
Masters in Neuroscience (University of Barcelona, 2014)
Bachelor’s Degree in Biomedical Sciences (University of Barcelona, 2013)
Email: joanbirules@ub.edu

My research is centered on understanding the mechanisms involved in cognitive development during the first years of life. The first study of the project concerns the role of audiovisual perception in language acquisition.

Jessica Sánchez-Galán Frauca

Research Assistant
Speech Therapist
Master in Cognitive Science and Language (University of Barcelona, 2015)
Email: jsanchez-galan@ub.edu

I’m a speech therapist and my research focuses on the cognitive effects associated to bilingualism during the first year of life. Specifically, I’m interest in how infants develop their executive function skills.

Carlota Saumell

Master’s Student (Cognitive Science and Language – Universitat de Barcelona, 2018)
Bachelor’s degree in Literature Studies (Universitat de Barcelona, 2014)
Bachelor’s degree in Advertising and PR (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 2012)
Email: carlota.saumell@gmail.com

I’m interested in the developmental stages of social cognition from infancy to childhood. My research focuses on the influence that the environment of a child (i.e. linguistic experience, cultural background) might have during the establishment of the child’s social categorization processes and the social and cognitive consequences that might accompany this categorization.

Jorgina Solé

External Collaborator
Pediatric Psychologist
Masters in Clinical Psychology and Health (University of Barcelona, 2012)

Dr. Clément François

Post-doctoral Researcher
PhD in Neuroscience from Université Aix-Marseille
Email: fclement24@hotmail.com

I’m interested in the relationship between music and speech processing and in the mechanisms of brain plasticity occuring in development. I previously studied the influence of musical expertise and training on speech segmentation in children and adults using both behavioral and electrophysiological methods. I am currently running a project in collaboration with the neonatology unit of Sant Joan De Deu Hospital, with Dr Rodriguez-Fornells and Dr Bosch. The main aim of this project is to understand how the cortical correlates of speech segmentation (as measured by EEG) develop during the first year of human infant life, from few days after birth to 6 and then 10 months of age, in full-term and in pre-term infants.

Dra Melania Figueras
Ph.D in Psychology (UB-2011)

Fina Ferrer
Pediatric Psychologist

Helena Moliné
Research Assistant

Dra. Irune Fernández-Prieto
Ph.D in Psychology (UB-2016)

Dra. Maria Teixidó
Ph.D in Psychology (UB-2017)

Dra. Anna Martínez
Ph.D in Psychology (UB-2018)