Our lab takes a problem-centered focus to research questions of the representations and processes that underlie cognition. We combine a wide range of experimental methods – computational modeling, behavioral studies and brain-imaging techniques (e.g., fMRI, ERP/EEGs, tDCS) – and study a variety of populations – unimpaired undergraduate, individuals with developmental differences like congenital deafness or blindness, those with cognitive impairments following brain damage – all with the goal of understanding human capacities for language and memory. Below are several ongoing projects in the lab.
Despite being a relatively recent cultural invention, the literate minds/brain process written words automatically, with specialized neural substrates. Understanding the cognitive and neural underpinnings of written language can provide key insights into a number of questions that are at the core of cognitive science: how do neural and cognitive systems adapt to learned expertise? How do different cognitive systems interact? Current research in this area is focusing on a number of questions: What do we know when we know the spelling of a word? How are the representations and processes involved in reading organized in the brain?
Perseveration errors – intrusions from the past that are commonly observed in brain-damaged population – provide a unique window into the temporal dynamics of serial order processing; these errors occur when something from the past is selected over the current target. Identifying what can go wrong during serial order processing that leads to this mis-selection can reveal the multiple components of the intact system. As a result, understanding the causes of perseverations can provide insight into both the dynamics of activation in different cognitive domains and inhibitory processes.Current Lab Members
Simon Fischer-Baum (he/him). 
Dr. Fischer-Baum is an Assistant Professor of Psychology. His research is focused on the representations and processes that underlie written and spoken language processing and short term memory, how they relate to each other, how they are instantiated neurally, and how they can be impaired and/or cortically reorganize following brain damage.
Colin Noe 
(he/him). Colin is a 6th year graduate student in the Fischer-Baum Lab. He received a B.S. in Biology from Texas A&M in 2011, with minors in math and philosophy. He uses EEG/ERP methods to test cognitive theories of spoken language perception and memory and is a member of the Rice Neuroengineering IGERT program.
Sarah Irons. Sarah is a 6th year graduate student in the Fischer-Baum Lab. She received a B.S. in Biology and B.A.s in Sociology and Psychology from Centenary College of Louisiana in 2016. Her research interests include computational cognitive neuropsychology, sociolinguistics, and using phonetic measurement to understand cognitive processes in speech production and reading.
Katia Kazhuro (she/her). Katia is a 4th year graduate student in the Fischer-Baum Lab. She received a B.A. in Communication Sciences and Disorders in 2011 and an M.A. in Communication Sciences and Disorders in 2014, both from the University of Houston. She is a licensed speech-language pathologist and her research interests include processes that underlie language production deficits in people with aphasia, particularly, to inform accurate assessment and effective treatment.
Yu Lu (she/her). Yu is a 4th year graduate student in the Fischer-Baum and Martin Lab. She received a B.S. in Psychology from Lehigh University in 2020. Her research interests include psycholinguistics and language related cognitive functions.
Qingqing Qu. Dr. Qu is an associate professor in the Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Dr. Qu is a visiting scholar in the Fischer-Baum lab, sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. She received her PhD degree from the University of Bristol in 2013. Her research is focused on cognitive processes and mechanisms underlying spoken and written language processing.
Charlotte Wilkinson (she/her). Charlotte is the lab manager of the Fischer-Baum Lab. She received her B.A. in Linguistics from University College London in 2014, and her MSc in Language Sciences with specialization in Neuroscience and Communication from University College London in 2015.
Former Lab Members
David Kajander. David was lab manager from 2013-2015. He graduated from Wash U. in 2011 and is currently a graduate student in Cognitive Psychology at UMass Amherst, in the Language, Intersensory Perception & Speech Lab.
Rachel Mis. Rachel was lab manager from 2015-2016. She graduated from Rice in 2009 and is currently a graduate student in Clinical Psychology at Temple University in the Cognitive Neuropsychology Lab.
Giulia Campana. Giulia was the lab manager from 2016-2017. She received her B.A. in Psychology from Rice University in 2016 and is currently pursuing musicology.
Elizabeth Baca. Elizabeth was lab manager from 2017-2018. She received her B.A. in Cognitive Science from Rice University in 2017 and is currently a graduate student at University of Michigan.
Nadia Zulfa Quadri. Zulfa was lab manager from 2018-2019. She received her B.A. in Cognitive Science from Rice University in 2018 and is currently pursuing an M.S. of Medical Science at the University of North Texas.
Annie Turney. Annie was the lab manager from 2019-2020. She received her B.A. in Cognitive Science from Rice University in 2019. She is currently pursuing her MD at Baylor College of Medicine.
Aurora Ramos-Nunez. Dr. Ramos-Nunez was a research scientist in the Neuroplasticity Lab from 2015-2017. She is now an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the College of Coastal Georgia.
Alumni
Dr. Yingxue Tian. Dr. Tian gained her PhD from Rice University in 2022. She is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in Cognitive Neuroscience, Translational Neuroscience, and Neurorehabilitation at Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute (MRRI) at Jefferson+Einstein Healthcare Network, working with Dr. Erica Middleton and Dr. Marja-Liisa Mailend.
Dr. Mingjun Zhai. Dr Zhai was a graduate student in the Fischer-Baum Lab from 2016-2022. She is currently a Research Assistant Professor a the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Ivanova Veras de Jesús. Ivanova was a graduate student in the Fischer-Baum Lab from 2020-2022. They are currently pursuing their studies in the BMED Lab at Rice University.