Recruiting for Current Research

The Role of Background Music Familiarity in Cortical Speech Tracking

Contact: Jane Brown, jbrown64@memphis.edu, 443-841-5461
Eligibility: ages 18-35, native English speaker, normal hearing, no history of brain injury/neurological issues, less than 3 years of musical training
Duration/Compensation: Up to 3.5 hours, $10/hour

This study is looking at how different types of background music affect speech comprehension. You will listen to an audiobook with different pop songs playing in the background while having your brain activity recorded using an EEG cap. You’ll also complete a musicality test to give you a measure of how musical you really are!

Rhythmic Perception of Language

Contact: Deling He, dhe2@memphis.edu, 901-232-0113
Eligibility: ages 18-35, native English speaker, normal hearing, no history of brain injury/neurological issues
Duration/Compensation: 2 hours, $20 total

We are seeking young adults with normal hearing for an experimental study evaluating how speech sounds are processed in the human brain. You will be asked to listen to speech sounds at a comfortable level using ear inserts while we record your brain activity using EEG.  The procedure is completely non-invasive. In addition, you will be asked to complete a brief questionnaire. Your participation is completely voluntary. 

Emotion Regulation Strategies’ Effects on the Voice

Contact: Voice, Emotion, and Cognition Lab, voiceemotioncognition@gmail.com, 901-678-2607
Eligibility: ages 18-70, normal hearing
Duration/Compensation: 90 minutes

We have openings through April and early May for Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays. Email us with your availability! Volunteers, ages 18 to 70 with normal hearing are needed for research on how emotion regulation strategies affect our voices. The purpose of this research is to examine if, and to what degree, the way in which we regulate our emotions affect the sound of our voice.

The volunteer will participate in watching pictures of emotional content while engaging in specific emotion regulation strategies and vocalizing. The study should last about 90 minutes.

There is no monetary compensation.

A Comparison of Monitored Live Voice and Computer Assisted Word Recognition

Contact: Kathryn Ladner at kfladner@memphis.edu or Allie Austin at kaustin3@memphis.edu
Eligibility: Individuals between 18 and 80 years old with any degree and amount of sensorineural hearing loss in at least one ear.
Duration/Compensation: Approximately 1 hour, $15

This study seeks to determine whether it is faster to conduct word recognition testing with recorded, computer-assisted materials or with monitored live voice. You will have a complete hearing evaluation and answer some basic demographic questions. There is no risk associated with participation and participation is completely voluntary. Primary availability is after 4:30 pm on weekdays. 

Multi-level Neural Assessment of Auditory Function During Speech Listening

Contact: Alise Holloway, chllway4@memphis.edu
Eligibility: ages 18-40, normal hearing, native English speaker, right-handed, no evidence of outer or middle ear dysfunction, no history of brain injury/neurological issues
Duration/Compensation: Approximately 2 hours, $10 per hour

We are seeking young adults with normal hearing for a study evaluating simultaneous EEG/speech audiometry measurement. The future goal of the study is to develop a clinical protocol to allow audiologists to perform speech audiometry and measure neural encoding of speech sounds from brainstem to cortex simultaneously and quickly.  We hope you can help