We request funding for a new training program, Neurocognitive Approaches to Communication Disorders, that emphasizes the application of new technologies and new theoretical frameworks in neuroscience and cognitive science (e.g., behavioral studies of real-time language processing, fMRI studies of children with SLI, electrophysiological studies of language learning) to research that is directly related to clinical practice in communicative disorders. The program proposed here allows us to take advantage of the unique structure of the young SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Language and Communicative Disorders (JDP) to provide such training in an environment that integrates communicative disorders, cognitive sciences, neurosciences, psychology, and linguistics and make better use of the rich clinical resources available through the SDSU School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences than has been possible to date. The training program will be headed by a committee of six senior scientists at SDSU whose research is focused on problems directly related to issues of characterization, assessment and interventions related to individuals with disorders of communication. We request funding for six predoctoral trainees who, through the requirements for the JDP, will specialize in adult language, child language, or multilingualism. Within those areas they will also develop expertise in at least one state-of-the-art research methodology (behavioral dynamics, neural imaging, neural modeling) while obtaining some exposure to all three methodologies through lab rotations, coursework, and program-wide activities such as seminars and journal clubs.
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