Author: lrrowley

Ben Parrell, PhD – Slide of the Week

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Individuals with cerebellar ataxia (CA) caused by cerebellar degeneration exhibit larger reactive compensatory responses to unexpected auditory feedback perturbations than neurobiologically typical speakers, suggesting they may rely more on feedback control during speech. We test this hypothesis by examining variability in unaltered speech. Previous studies of typical speakers have demonstrated a reduction in formant variability (centering) observed during the initial phase of vowel production from vowel onset to vowel midpoint.

Peter Ferrazzano, MD – Slide of the Week

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Adolescent traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major public health concern, resulting in over 35,000 hospitalizations in the U.S. each year. While neuroimaging is a primary diagnostic tool in the clinical assessment of TBI, our understanding of how specific neuroimaging findings relate to outcome remains limited. Our study aims to identify imaging biomarkers of long-term neurocognitive outcome after severe adolescent TBI.

Caroline A Niziolek, PhD – Slide of the Week

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Speakers use auditory feedback to guide their speech output, although individuals differ in the magnitude of their compensatory response to perceived errors in feedback. Little is known about the factors that contribute to the compensatory response or how fixed or flexible they are within an individual. Here, we test whether manipulating the perceived reliability of auditory feedback modulates speakers’ compensation to auditory perturbations, as predicted by optimal models of sensorimotor control.

Thoughts of gratitude: the Willis family

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On August 13, 2003, a coach bus pulled up to the Waisman Center. The 21 passengers – all children and grandchildren of the visit’s organizers, Bill and Doris Willis – were coming from Milwaukee to the center for a tour. The Waisman Center was the second stop on a day full of enrichment activities for …

Darcie L. Moore, PhD – Slide of the Week

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Intermediate filaments are commonly used markers of NSCs in the brain, yet the cell cycle status of a NSC can strongly influence expression of these markers. Thus, intermediate filaments should be used cautiously as markers to study NSCs.

James Li, PhD – Slide of the Week

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There is substantial heterogeneity in the development of depression from adolescence into adulthood. Yet, little is known about the risk factors underlying its various patterns of development. For instance, despite the discovery of genetic variants for depression, these discoveries have not accounted for the high degree of genetic covariation between multiple disorders, nor have they been applied to disambiguate its heterogeneous developmental presentations.

UW vision researchers partner with U.S. Department of Defense to develop stem cell therapy for combat-related eye injuries

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The new project, titled Outer Retina Reconstruction for Combat Afflictions or ORRCA, is a collaboration between the McPherson Eye Research Insitute at UW‒Madison, the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, the UW College of Engineering, the University of Birmingham (UK) and British Ministry of Defence and the National Eye Institute. It is funded by a grant for more than $5 million from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).

Katherine C. Hustad, PhD – Slide of the Week

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The aim of the study was to examine longitudinal growth in intelligibility in connected speech from 2 to 8 years of age in children with cerebral palsy.

When research goes remote: adapting studies in the face of COVID-19

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By Peter Jurich, Waisman Science Writer With every challenge comes new opportunities. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. in March 2020, much of the country went on lock-down with only essential services and operations remaining. The Waisman Center was no exception. Essential operations continued in the building and hundreds of employees transitioned to working …

Transformative gift supports scholars

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The Morse Society, a group of Waisman graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, is getting a surprisingly early financial boost from its founders. Founded by Dick Morse, MD, a UW alum and retired child psychiatrist, and his lifelong partner, Lawrence M. Connor, MSW, a retired social worker, the Morse Society is focused on training and research in childhood mental health and developmental disabilities.