Language, Cognition and Development Lab

Journal Articles

  • Marno, H., Guellai, B., Vidal, Y., Franzoi, J., Nespor, M., & Mehler, J. (2016). Infants’ Selectively Pay Attention to the Information They Receive from a Native Speaker of Their Language. Frontiers in Psychology, 7. [pdf]

  • Saksida, A., Langus, A. & Nespor, M. (in press) Co-occurrence statistics as a language dependent cue for speech segmentation. Developmental Science [pdf]

  • Langus, A., Seyed Allaei, S., Uysal, E., Primordian, S., Marino, C., Asaadi, S., Eren, Ö., Toro, J.M., Peña, M., Bion, R.A.H. & Nespor, M. (in press) Listening natively across perceptual domains? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition [pdf]

  • Toro, J.M., Nespor, M. & Gervain, J. (2016) Frequency-based organization of speech sequences in a nonhuman animal. Cognition, Vol. 146, 1-7. (DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2015.09.006) [pdf]

  • Toro, J.M. & Nespor, M. (2015) Experience-dependent emergence of a grouping bias. Biology Letters, Vol. 11, 20150374. (DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2015.0374) [pdf]

  • Marno, H., Langus, A., Goksel, A., Seyed-Allaei, S. & Nespor, M. (2015) A new perspective on word order preferences. Frontiers in Psychology, Vol. 6, n. 01183. (http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01183) [pdf]

  • Marno, H., Farroni, T., Dos Santos, Y., Ekramnia, M., Nespor, M. & Mehler, J. (2015) Can you see what I am talking about? Human speech triggers referential expectation in four-month-old infants. Scientific Reports, 5, Article n.: 13594. (DOI:10.1038/srep13594) [pdf]

  • Nespor, M. (2015) On phonology and prelexical mechanisms of language acquisition. LinguiStica. 1-6. (DOI: 10.17074/2238-975X.2015v11n1p1) [pdf]

  • Ferry, A., Fló, A., Brusini, P., Cattarossi, L., Macagno, F., Nespor, M. & Mehler, J. (2015) On the Edge of Language Acquisition: Inherent Constraints on Encoding Multisyllabic Sequences in the Neonate Brain. Developmental Science, doi: 10.1111/desc.12323. (DOI: 10.1111/desc.12323)[pdf]

  • Langus, A., Saksida, A., Braida, D., Martucci, R., Sala, M. & Nespor, M. (2015) Spontaneous object and movement representations in 4-month-old human infants and albino Swiss mice. Cognition, Vol. 137, 63-71 (doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2014.12.010)[pdf]

  • Benavides-Varela, S. & Mehler, J (2014) Verbal Positional Memory in 7-months-olds. Child Development (doi: 10.1111/cdev.12291; Article first published online: 30 AUG 2014)[pdf]

  • Guellaï, B., Langus, A. & Nespor, M. (2014).Prosody in the hands of the speaker. In I. Berent and S. Goldin-Meadow (eds.) Language by mouth and by hand. Frontiers in Psychology, Vol. 5, n. 00700 (DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00700).[pdf]

  • Gómez, D. M., Berent, I., Benavides-Varela, S., Bion, R. A. H., Cattarossi, L., Nespor, M., & Mehler, J. (2014). Language universals at birth. PNAS, 111 (16), 5837-5841.[pdf]

  • Gervain, J., Sebastian-Galles, N., Diaz, B., Laka, I., Mazuka, R., Yamane, N., Nespor, M. & Mehler, J. (2013) Frequency cues word order in adults: cross-linguistic evidence. Frontiers in Language Sciences, 4 (00689). (doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00689)[pdf]

  • Ordin, M. and M. Nespor (2013) Transition probabilities and different levels of prominence in segmentation. Language Learning, 63(4), 800-834. [pdf]

  • Langus, A. and M. Nespor (2013) Language development in infants: what do humans hear in the first months of life? Hearing,Balance and Communication, 11(3), 121-129. [pdf]

  • De la Mora, D., Nespor, M. and Toro, J.M. (2013) Do Humans and non human animals share the grouping principles of the Iambic - Trochaic Law? Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 92-100. (DOI: 10.3758/s13414-012-0371-3) [pdf]

  • Benavides-Varela, S., Hochmann, J.R., Macagno, F., Nespor, M., & Mehler, J. (2012) Newborns' brain activity signals the origin of word memories, PNAS, 109(44), 17908-17913.[pdf]

  • Langus, A., Marchetto E., Bion, R.A.H., & Nespor, M. (2012) Can prosody be used to discover hierarchical structure in continuous speech?, Journal of Memory and Language, 285-306 [pdf]

  • Benavides-Varela, S., Gomez, D. M., Macagno,F., Bion, R.A.H., Peretz, I., Mehler, J. (2011) Memory in the Neonate Brain, PLoS ONE, 6(11), e27497 [pdf]

  • Hochmann, J.-R., Benavides, S., Nespor, M. & Mehler, J. (2011) Consonants and Vowels: different roles in early language acquisition, Developmental Science, pp.1445-1458. [pdf]

  • Peña, M., Mehler, J. & Nespor, M. (2011) The Role of Audiovisual Processing in Early Conceptual Development, Psychological Science, 22(11), 1419-1421. [pdf]

  • Peña, M., Bion, R. A. H. & Nespor, M. (2011) How modality specific is the iambic–trochaic law? Evidence from vision, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition; Vol 37(5), pp. 1199-1208. [pdf]

  • Benavides-Varela, S., Gómez, D.M., & Mehler, J. (2011). Studying neonates’ language and memory capacities with functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Frontiers in Psychology, 2:64 (doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00064). [pdf]

  • Bion, R.A.H., Benavides-Varela, S., & Nespor, M. (2011) Acoustic markers of prominence influence infants' and adults' segmentation of speech sequences. Language and Speech,54 (1), 123-140.[pdf]

  • Gervain, J., Mehler, J., Werker, J.F., Nelson, C.A., Csibra, G., Lloyd-Fox, S., Shukla, M. & Aslin, R.N. (2011) Near-infrared spectroscopy: A report from the McDonnell infant methodology consortium. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 1 (1), 22-46. [pdf]

  • Gómez, D.M., Bion, R.A.H., & Mehler, J. (2011). The word segmentation process as revealed by click detection. Language and Cognitive Processes, 26(2), 212-223.[pdf]

  • Gervain, J. & Mehler, J. (2011). Speech Perception and Language Acquisition in the First Year of Life. Annual Review of PsychologyVol.61, pp.191-218. [pdf]

  • Langus, A., & Nespor, M. (2010). Cognitive systems struggling for word order. Cognitive Psychology, 60 (4), 291-318.[pdf]

  • Hochmann, J-R., Endress A.D., & Mehler, J. (2010). Word frequency as a cue to identify function words in infancy. Cognition, 115, 444-457. [pdf]

  • Endress, A.D. & Mehler, J. (2010). Perceptual Constraints in Phonotactic Learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: HP&P. Vol. 36(1), 235-250. [pdf]

  • Peña, M., Pittaluga, E. & Mehler, J. (2010) Language acquisition in premature and full-term infants. PNAS 107(8), 3823-3828. [pdf]

  • Shukla, M. and M. Nespor (2010) Rhythmic patterns cue word order. In N. Erteschik-Shir (ed.) The Sound Patterns of Syntax. Oxford. Oxford University Press.174-188. [pdf]

  • Endress, A.D. & Mehler, J. (2009). Primitive Computations in Speech Processing. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 2187-2209. [pdf]

  • Kovacs, A. M. & Mehler, J. (2009) Flexible Learning of Multiple Speech Structures in Bilingual Infants. Science 325, 611-612. [pdf]

  • Endress, A.D., Nespor, M. & Mehler, J.(2009) Perceptual and Memory Constraints on Language Acquisition. Trends in Cognitive Science13(8), 348-353. [pdf]

  • Kovacs, A. M. and Mehler, J. (2009) Cognitive gains in 7-month-old bilingual infants. PNAS, 106(2), 6556-6560. [pdf]

  • Endress, A.D., Mehler, J. (2009) The surprising power of statistical learning: When fragment knowledge leads to false memories of unheard words. Journal of Memory and Language, 60, pp. 351-367. [pdf]

  • Gervain, J. Nespor, M., Mazuka, R., Horie, R., Mehler J. (2008) Bootstrapping word order in prelexical infants: a Japanese-Italian cross-linguistic study. Cognitive Psychology,Vol 57(1), pp. 56-74. [pdf]

  • Toro, J.M., M. Shukla, M. Nespor and A. Endress (2008) The quest for generalizations over consonants: Asymmetries between consonants and vowels are not the by-product of acoustic differences. Perception and Psychophysics. 70.8. 1515-1525. [pdf]

  • Mehler, J., Nespor, M., Peña, M.(2008) What Infants Know and What they Have to Learn about Language. European Review, Vol. 16, n. 4, pp. 429-444. [pdf]

  • Gervain, J., Macagno, F., Cogoi, S., Peña, M., Mehler, J. (2008) The neonate brain detects speech structure. PNAS, Vol. 105, n.37, pp. 14222-14227. [pdf]

  • Toro, J.M., Bonatti, L.L., Nespor, M., Mehler, J. (2008). Finding words and rules in a speech stream: functional differences between vowels and consonants. Psychological Science, Vol. 19(2),pp.137-144. [pdf]

  • Hochmann, J.R., Azadpour, M. Mehler J. (2008) Do humans really learn AnBn rtificial grammars from exemplars? Cognitive Science, 32, pp. 1021-1036. [pdf]

  • Nespor, M., M. Shukla, R. van de Vijver, C. Avesani, H. Schraudolf and C. Donati (2008) Different phrasal prominence realization in VO and OV languages. Lingue e Linguaggio , 7.2. 1-28. [pdf]

  • Endress, A.D., Dehaene-Lambertz, G., Mehler, J. (2007) Perceptual Constraints and the Learnability of Simple Grammars. Cognition, vol.105, issue 3, pp. 577-614. [pdf]

  • Bonatti, L., Peña, M., Nespor, M., Mehler, J.(2007) On Consonants, Vowels, Chickens, and Eggs. Psychological Science, 18 (10), pp.924-5 [pdf]

  • Shukla M., Nespor M., Mehler J. (2007) . An interaction between prosody and statistics in the segmentation of fluent speech. Cognitive Psychology. 54 (1), pp. 1-32. [pdf]

  • Bonatti LL., Peña M., Nespor M., Mehler J. (2006) . How to hit Scylla without avoiding Charybdis : comment on Perruchet, Tyler, Galland, and Peereman. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. 135 (2), pp. 314-326. [pdf]

  • Mehler J., Peña M., Nespor M., Bonatti L. (2006) . The soul of language does not use statistics: reflections on vowels and consonants. Cortex. 42 (6), pp. 846-854. [pdf]

  • Endress, A.D., Scholl, B.J., Mehler, J. (2005). The role of salience in the extraction of algebraic rules. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. 134 (3), pp. 406-419. [pdf]

  • Aslin R. N. J. Mehler, (2005) Near-infrared spectroscopy for functional studies of brain activity in human infants: promise, prospects, and challenges. Journal of Biomedical Optics 10: 1, 011009, (1-3) [pdf]

  • Bonatti, L., Frot E., Mehler, J. (2005). What face inversion does to infants' counting abilities. Psychological Science, Vol. 16, Number 7, July 2005, : pp. 506 - 510. [pdf]

  • Bonatti, L., Peña, M., Nespor, M., Mehler, J. (2005). Linguistic Constraints on Statistical Computations: The Role of Consonants and Vowels in Continuous Speech Processing. Psychological Science, Vol. 16, Number 6, June 2005. : pp. 451 - 459. [pdf]

  • Tincoff, R., Hauser, M., Tsao, F., Spaepen, G., Ramus, F., J. Mehler (2005) The role of speech rhythm in language dicricmination: further tests with a non-human primate. Developmental Science, (1), pp.26-35. [pdf]

  • Christophe, A., Peperkamp, S., Pallier, C., Block, E., Mehler, J. (2004). Phonological phrase boundaries constrain lexical access: I. Adult data. Journal of Memory and Language, vol.51, (4), November 2004. pp.523-547. [pdf]

  • Dupoux, E., Kouider, S., Mehler, J. (2003). Unattended lexical activation? Explorations using dichotic priming. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Prformance, 29, pp. 172-184.[pdf]

  • Peña, M., Maki, A., Kovačić, D., Dehaene-Lambertz, G., Koizumi, H., Bouquet, F., Mehler, J. (2003) Sounds and Silence: An optical topography study of language recognition at birth. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, 100 (20): pp. 11702-5. [pdf]

  • Nespor, M., Peña, M., Mehler, J. (2003) On the different Roles of Vowels and Consonants in Speech Processing and Language Acquisition, Lingue& Linguaggio, (2),pp.203-229. [pdf]

  • Dupoux, E., Kouider, S., Mehler, J. (2003) Lexical access without attention? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 29 (1),pp. 172-184. [pdf]

  • Pallier, C., Dehaene, S., Poline, J.-B., LeBihan, D., Argenti, A.-M., Dupoux, E., Mehler, J. (2003). Brain imaging of language plasticity in adopted adults: can a second language replace the first? Cerebral Cortex, 13,pp.155-162. [pdf]

  • Peña, M., Bonatti, L., Nespor, M., Mehler J. (2002). Signal-Driven Computations in Speech Processing, Science, 298, pp. 604-607. [pdf]

  • Bonatti, L., Frot, E., Zangl, R., Mehler, J. (2002) The Human First Hypothesis: Identification of conspecifics and individuation of objects in the young infant. Cognitive Psychology, 44, pp.388-426. [pdf]

  • Peretz, I., Zatorre, R., Mehler, J., Hada, P., Penhune, V. G., Jutras, B. (2001). Congenial Amusia : A Disorder of Fine-Grained Pitch Discrimination. Neuron, 33,pp. 1-20. [pdf]

  • Christophe, A., Mehler, J., Sebastian-Gallos, N. (2001). Perception of prosodic boundary correlates by newborn infants. Infancy, 2, pp. 385-394. [pdf]

  • Dupoux, E., Pallier, C., Kakehi, K., Mehler, J. (2001) New evidence for prelexical phonological processing in word recognition. Language and Cognitive Processing, 16 (5/6), pp. 491-505. [pdf]

 

Books and Book Chapters


  • Mehler, J. (2015) Language acquisition and the neuroscience of development. In H. van Riemsdijk and M. van Oostendorp (Eds.) Representing structure in phonology and syntax. Berlin. Mouton de Gruyter, 141-165.

  • Langus, A. & Nespor, M. (2015) On the nature of word order regularities. In H. van Riemsdijk and M. van Oostendorp (Eds.) Representing structure in phonology and syntax. Berlin. Mouton de Gruyter, 141-165.

  • Nespor, M. (2014) How much of phonology is specific to speech? In R. Kager, J. Grijzenhout and K. Sebregts (Eds.) Utrecht Institute of Linguistics OTS, Utrecht, The Nederlands.

  • Mehler, J. (2013) Some issues in current language acquisition research. In: M. Sanz, Itziar Laka & M.K. Tanenhaus (Eds.) Language Down the Garden Path. The Cognitive and Biological Basis for Linguistic Structures, Oxford University Press, 348-359.

  • Langus, A., J. Petri, M. Nespor, and C. Scharff (2013). FoxP2 and deep homology in the evolution of birdsong and human language. In Botha, R. and M. Everaert (ed.) The Emergence of Language. Oxford University Press.

  • Hochmann, J-R. & Mehler, J. (2012) Recent findings about language acquisition. In: M. Piattelli-Palmarini, & R.C. Berwick (Eds.), Rich Languages from Poor Inputs, Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 107-114.

  • Shukla M., Gervain J., Mehler J. and Nespor M. (2012) Linguistic Constraints on Statistical Learning in Early Language Acquisition. In Rebuschat P., Williams J.N. (Eds) Statistical Learning and Language Acquisition, Berlin: De Gruyter / Mouton, 171-202[pdf]

  • Nespor, M., Shukla, M. and Mehler, J. (2011) Stress-timed vs. syllable timed languages. In: M. van Oostendorp, C. J. Ewen, E. Hume & K. Rice (Eds.), The Blackwell Companion to Phonology, Wiley-Blackwell, 1147-1159.[pdf]

  • Ramus, F. & Mehler, J.(2002) In praise of functional psychology: Dismissing the skeptics. In S. M. Kosslyn, A. M. Galaburda & Y. Christen (Eds.), Languages of the brain. Cambridge, Ma.: Harvard University Press, pp 166-178.

  • Dehaene-Lambertz, G., Mehler, J. & Pena, M. (2002) Cerebral bases of language acquisition.In A. F. Kalverboer & A. Gramsbergen (Eds) Brain and behaviour in human develomvent. Dordrecht: Kluwer, pp 939-966.[pdf]

  • Mehler, J. & Dupoux, E. (2002) Naitre Humain (Second Edition). Paris: Editions Odile Jacob.

  • Mehler, J., N. Sebastian Galles e M. Nespor (2004) Biological foundations of language: language acquisition, cues for parameter setting and the bilingual infant. In M. Gazzaniga (ed.) The New Cognitive Neurosciences III. Cambridge, MA. MIT Press, pp.825-836.[pdf]

  • Mehler, J. & Nespor, M. (2004) Linguistic rhythm and the development oflanguage. In A. Belletti & L. Rizzi (Eds.) Structures and Beyond : The Cartography of Syntactic Structures. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pages 213-221.[pdf]

  • Nespor, M., Gervain J. & Mehler, J. (2005). What do we learn when we acquire a grammar? In: H. Broekhuis, N. Corver, J. Koster, R. Huybregts and U. Kleinhenz (eds.) Organizing Grammar. Linguistic Studies for Henk van Riemsdijk. Berlin / New York. Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 466-473.

  • Mehler, J. & Dupoux, E. (2006) Naitre Humain (3rd Edition). Paris: Editions Odile Jacob

  • Mehler J., Nespor, M., Gervain, J., Endress, A.D. & Shukla, M., (2007) Mechanisms of language acquisition: imaging and behavioral evidence, In: C. A. Nelson & M. Luciana (Eds.): Handbook of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. Cambridge, Mass.: MITPress. [pdf]

  • Mehler J., Endress A.D., Gervain J., & Nespor M., (2008) From Perception to Grammar, In: A.D. Friederici & G. Thierry (Eds.): Early Language Development: Bridging Brain and Behaviour (Trends in Language Acquisition Research), TiLAR 5, John Benjamins Publishing Company, pp. 191-213. [pdf]

  • Mehler, J., Nespor, M., & Pena, M. (2008) Why is language unique to humans? In J.Pomerantz (Eds), Topics in Integrative Neuroscience: From Cells to Cognition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 206-237. [pdf]

  • Mehler, J., Nespor M.. & Pena, M. (2008) Why is language unique to Humans? In J. Pomerantz (Ed.) Topics in Integrative Neuroscience: From Cells to Cognition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 206-237.

  • Nespor, M., Mehler, J. and Pena, M. (2008) Perche' solo gli esseri umani parlano? Controversie sui meccanismi di acquisizione del linguaggio. In: M. Piccolino (Ed.) Controversie nelle neuroscienze. Bollati-Boringhieri, pp 319-356 [pdf]