University of Wisconsin–Madison
Caroline A Niziolek, PhD

Caroline A Niziolek, PhD

Associate Professor, Communication Sciences and Disorders

Caroline A Niziolek, PhD

Biography

PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Associate Professor, Communication Sciences and Disorders

Contact Information:

Waisman Center
1500 Highland Avenue
Room 485
Madison, WI 53705
608-890-0192
cniziolek@wisc.edu
Brain, Language, & Acoustic Behavior (BLAB) Lab

Research Statement

I study the neural control of speaking: how the brain coordinates auditory and motor signals to achieve communicative goals. My research typically combines brain imaging during spoken language with the acoustic analysis of speech behavior. My research centers on three questions in spoken communication and its neural underpinnings:

  1. How does what we hear affect what we say? Whenever we speak, our message is transmitted not only to our audience, but to our own ears. Auditory feedback—what we hear when we speak—enables us to learn and maintain speaking skills and to rapidly correct errors in our speech. By combining neuroimaging (fMRI, M/EEG, ECoG) with behavioral measures, my research has characterized speech feedback processing and what purpose it serves in communication.
  2. How do our cognitive and linguistic goals affect our speech? Speech is a motor act like reaching or grasping, but unlike hand and limb movements, speech results in a signal whose primary purpose is communication. My work investigates the influence of higher-level language (e.g. word structure, meaning, and nativeness) on motor control.
  3. How can we leverage these effects for speech learning and rehabilitation? A long-term goal is to align the outcomes of feedback error-based learning in a way that facilitates communication. For example, we have recently developed an auditory feedback manipulation to directly target speech intelligibility by increasing the acoustic contrast between vowel sounds.

Selected Publications

Pubmed

Zeng, Y., Niziolek, C. A., & Parrell, B. (2025). Simultaneous acquisition of multiple auditory-motor transformations reveals suprasyllabic motor planning in speech production. Journal of experimental psychology. General, 154(6), 1681–1698. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001744

Tang, D. L., Tommerdahl, M., Niziolek, C. A., & Parrell, B. (2025). Theta-burst stimulation over primary somatosensory cortex modulates the tactile acuity of the tongue. Journal of neurophysiology, 133(5), 1341–1349. https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00556.2024

Karlin, R., Tesch, E., Tang, D. L., Zeng, Y., Niziolek, C. A., & Parrell, B. (2025). Vocal pitch enables differential motor learning of speech segments. Journal of neurophysiology, 10.1152/jn.00605.2024. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00605.2024

Beach, S. D., Johnson, S. A., Parrell, B., & Niziolek, C. A. (2025). Increased vowel contrast and intelligibility in connected speech induced by sensorimotor adaptation. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, 2024.08.04.606537. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.08.04.606537

Tang, D. L., Parrell, B., Beach, S. D., & Niziolek, C. A. (2024). The brain’s sensitivity to sensory error can be modulated by altering perceived variability. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, e0024242024. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0024-24.2024

Krakauer, J., Naber, C., Niziolek, C. A., & Parrell, B. (2024). Divided Attention Has Limited Effects on Speech Sensorimotor Control. Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR, 1–11. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_JSLHR-24-00098

Miller, H. E., Kearney, E., Nieto-Castañón, A., Falsini, R., Abur, D., Acosta, A., Chao, S. C., Dahl, K. L., Franken, M., Heller Murray, E. S., Mollaei, F., Niziolek, C. A., Parrell, B., Perrachione, T., Smith, D. J., Stepp, C. E., Tomassi, N., & Guenther, F. H. (2023). Do Not Cut Off Your Tail: A Mega-Analysis of Responses to Auditory Perturbation Experiments. Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR, 66(11), 4315–4331. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_JSLHR-23-00315

Tang, D. L., Niziolek, C. A., & Parrell, B. (2023). Modulation of somatosensation by transcranial magnetic stimulation over somatosensory cortex: a systematic review. Experimental brain research, 241(4), 951–977. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-023-06579-9

Tang, D. L., Parrell, B., & Niziolek, C. A. (2022). Movement variability can be modulated in speech production. Journal of neurophysiology, 128(6), 1469–1482. https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00095.2022

Hantzsch, L., Parrell, B., & Niziolek, C. A. (2022). A single exposure to altered auditory feedback causes observable sensorimotor adaptation in speech. eLife, 11, e73694. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.73694

Niziolek, C. A., & Parrell, B. (2021). Responses to Auditory Feedback Manipulations in Speech May Be Affected by Previous Exposure to Auditory Errors. Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR, 64(6S), 2169–2181. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_JSLHR-20-00263

Cheng, H. S., Niziolek, C. A., Buchwald, A., & McAllister, T. (2021). Examining the Relationship Between Speech Perception, Production Distinctness, and Production Variability. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 15, 660948. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2021.660948

Parrell, B., & Niziolek, C. A. (2021). Increased speech contrast induced by sensorimotor adaptation to a nonuniform auditory perturbation. Journal of neurophysiology, 125(2), 638–647. https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00466.2020

Bakst, S., & Niziolek, C. A. (2021). Effects of syllable stress in adaptation to altered auditory feedback in vowels. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 149(1), 708. https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0003052

Niziolek CA, Kiran S. (2018). Assessing speech correction abilities with acoustic analyses: Evidence of preserved online correction in persons with aphasia. International  Journal of Speech Language Pathology, 22:1-11. doi: 10.1080/17549507.2018.1498920.

Martin CD, Niziolek CA, Duñabeitia JA, Perez A, Hernandez D, Carreiras M, Houde JF. (2018). Online Adaptation to Altered Auditory Feedback Is Predicted by Auditory Acuity and Not by Domain-General Executive Control Resources. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 12:91. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00091.

Niziolek CA, Nagarajan SS, Houde JF. (2015) The contribution of auditory feedback to corrective movements in vowel formant trajectories. In The Scottish Consortium for ICPhS 2015 (Ed.), Proceedings of the 18th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences. Glasgow, UK: the University of Glasgow. ISBN 978-0-85261-941-4.

Niziolek CA, Nagarajan SS, Houde JF. (2013) What does motor efference copy represent? Evidence from speech production. Journal of Neuroscience. 9;33(41):16110-6. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2137-13.2013.

Sitek KR, Mathalon DH, Roach BJ, Houde JF, Niziolek CA, Ford JM. (2013) Auditory cortex processes variation in our own speech. PLoS One. 13;8(12):e82925. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0082925.

Niziolek CA, Guenther FH. (2013) Vowel category boundaries enhance cortical and behavioral responses to speech feedback alterations. Journal of Neuroscience. 33(41):16110–16116.

Chang EF, Niziolek CA, Knight R, Nagarajan SS, Houde JF. (2013) Human cortical sensorimotor network underlying feedback control of vocal pitch. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 110(7):2653–2658.