Navin Viswanathan
Social and Behavioral Sciences - Speech-Language-HearingAssociate Professor
navin@ku.edu
Primary office:
Dole Human Development Center, 3029
University of Kansas
1000 Sunnyside Avenue
Second office:
Haworth Hall, 4141
Research
The acoustics of a spoken message depends on the speaker, their dialect, the rate of speech, background noise among other things. Despite this variability, human listeners reliably perceive speech seemingly effortlessly especially compared to contemporary speech recognition systems. How is this possible? In the Speech, Language and Cognition Lab we investigate such questions related to Language use, in particular, and Cognition, in general.
Selected Publications
Viswanathan, N., Kokkinakis, K., & Williams, B. T. (2016). Spatially Separating Foreign Language Masker from Target Results in Spatial and Linguistic Masking Release [Journal Articles]. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 140(6), EL465–EL470.
Viswanathan, N., & Stephens, J. D. W. (2016). Compensation for Visually-Specified Coarticulation in Liquid-Stop Contexts [Journal Articles]. Attention, Perception, and Psychophysics, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-016-1187-3
Olmstead, A. J., Viswanathan, N., & Magnuson, J. S. (2016). Direct and Real: Carol A. Fowler’s Theory and Approach to Science [Journal Articles]. Ecological Psychology, 28(3), 127–129.
Viswanathan, N., Magnuson, J. S., & Fowler, C. A. (2014). Information for Coarticulation: Static Signal Properties or Formant Dynamics? [Journal Articles]. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. Published.
Viswanathan, N., Dorsi, J., & George, S. (2014). The role of speech-specific properties of the background in the Irrelevant Sound Effect [Journal Articles]. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 67(3), 580–589.
Olmstead, A. J., Viswanathan, N., Aivar, M. P., & Manuel, S. (2013). Comparison of native and non-native phone imitation by English and Spanish speakers [Journal Articles]. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 475.
Viswanathan, N., Magnuson, J. S., & Fowler, C. A. (2013). Similar response patterns do not imply identical origins: An energetic masking account of nonspeech effects in compensation for coarticulation [Journal Articles]. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 39(4), 1181–1192.
Viswanathan, N., Magnuson, J. S., & Fowler, C. A. (2010). Compensation for coarticulation: Disentangling auditory and gestural theories of perception of coarticulatory effects in speech [Journal Articles]. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 36, 1005–1015.
Viswanathan, N., Fowler, C. A., & Magnuson, J. S. (2009). A critical examination of the spectral contrast account of compensation for coarticulation [Journal Articles]. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 16, 74–79.
Olmstead, A. J., Viswanathan, N., Aicher, K. A., & Fowler, C. A. (2009). Sentence comprehension and bimanual coordination: implications for embodied cognition [Journal Articles]. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 62, 2409–2417.
Viswanathan, N., & Kely-Stephen, D. (accepted/in press). Comparing Speech and Nonspeech Context Effects Across Timescales in Coarticulatory Contexts [Journal Articles]. Attention Perception and Psychophysics.
Olmstead, A. J., & Viswanathan, N. (accepted/in press). Lexical Exposure to Native Language Dialects can Improve Non-native Phonetic Discrimination [Journal Articles]. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review.
Viswanathan, N., Kokkinakis, K., & Williams, B. T. (accepted/in press). Listeners Experience Linguistic Masking Release in Noise-Vocoded Speech-in-Speech Recognition [Journal Articles]. Journal of Speech Language and Hearing.
Dorsi, J., Viswanathan, N., Rosenblum, L., & Dias, J. (accepted/in press). The Role of Speech Fidelity in the Irrelevant Sound Effect:
Insights from Noise-vocoded Speech Backgrounds [Journal Articles]. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology.
Selected Grants
Collaborative Word Recognition: Simultaneously Investigating Speech Production and Perception in a Joint Action Task. $8000.00. (4/1/2016 - 3/31/2018). University (KU or KUMC). Status: Funded
Making words disappear or appear: A neurocognitive and behavioral investigation of effects of speech rate on spoken word recognition. BCS-1431105. National Science Foundation Grant. $50000.00. (8/1/2015 - 7/31/2017). Federal. Status: Funded. Project in collaboration with Michigan State Univ (PI: Dr. Laura Dilley) and University of Massachusetts (PI: Dr. Lisa Sanders). Overall project costs: $ 399,211.
Using Speech Perception and Electrophysiology to detect. Frontiers Clinical Pilot grant. NIH (through KUMC). $20000.00. Submitted 3/1/2016 (6/1/2016 - 7/31/2017). University (KU or KUMC). Status: Funded
Making words disappear or appear: A neurocognitive and behavioral investigation of effects of speech rate on spoken word recognition (Supplement). BCS-1559719. National Science Foundation Grant. $8000.00. (6/1/2016 - 5/31/2017). Federal. Status: Funded. Supplementary Award to support Graduate Student Stipend to carry out an additional study.
