People | Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

Melina West is a postdoctoral research associate working on the ASD Long Term Outcomes Study (ALTOS). She completed her PhD at the University of Queensland, Australia, investigating emotion processing and language learning in relation to autism traits. Her research interests include social and emotional functioning of individuals with developmental conditions such as ASD and those with optimal outcomes. She also studies a condition known as maladaptive daydreaming, and is interested in the role of immersive mental experiences in mental health.

Jason Crutcher is a graduate student in clinical psychology. Before coming to UConn for graduate school, he worked with Dr. Alex Martin at NIMH researching how structural differences in the brain relate to abnormalities in language and social cognition for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. His research interests broadly include language dysfunction in developmental disorders such as ASD. He is particularly interested in neural mechanisms underlying pragmatic language abilities for people with optimal outcomes from ASD.

Joshua Green is a graduate student in the Department of Clinical Psychology. His research interests center broadly on language and autism. He is particularly interested in how the processing and learning of speech prosody is altered by social bonding as well as how it interacts with social discourse and the development of interpersonal functioning. Currently on internship in Maine, Josh was a fellow in the IGERT Program: Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program: Language Plasticity- Genes, Brain, Cognition, and Computation.

Green, J. J., & Hollander, E. (2010). Autism and oxytocin: new developments in translational approaches to therapeutics. Neurotherapeutics, 7(3).

Eigsti, I. M., Irvine, C., & Green, J. (in press). Language in autism spectrum disorders: A poorly-oiled machine. In S. Durrleman & H. Delage (Eds.), Langage et cognition dans l’autisme : Recueil de contributions scientifiques à destination des cliniciens. Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium: de boeck/Oxford University Press.

Current Position: Post-doctoral Fellow, Brown University

Brian is investigating the neural and cognitive bases of atypical language development in individuals with autism spectrum disorders using fMRI. Brian is also broadly interested in the intersection of complex trait genetics and cognitive science. A fellow in UConn’s Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program, Language Plasticity: Genes, Brain, Cognition, and Computation, Brian enjoys cross-disciplinary collaborations that approach complex questions in nontraditional ways.

Castelluccio, B., Myers, E. B., Schuh, J. M., & Eigsti, I. M. (2015). Neural substrates of processing anger in language: Contributions of prosody and semantics. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research.

Castelluccio, B. C., Meda, S. A., Muska, C. E., Stevens, M. C., & Pearlson, G. D. (2014). Error processing in current and former cocaine users. Brain Imaging Behav, 8, 87-96.

Rendall, A. R., Truong, D. T., Castelluccio, B. C., Eigsti, I. M., & Fitch, R. H. (2015). Language deficits in autism and assessment of the Cntnap2 mouse. International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, 47, 93. doi: 10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2015.04.253.

Truong, D. T., Rendall, A. R., Castelluccio, B. C., Eigsti, I. M., & Fitch, R. H. (2015). Auditory processing and morphological anomalies in medial geniculate nucleus of Cntnap2 mutant mice. Behavioral Neuroscience, 26.

Current Position: Post-doctoral Fellow, University of Rochester

Now a post-doctoral fellow in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at the University of Rochester, Allison’s research interests include language, gesture, and audiovisual integration in typically developing children and children with autism spectrum disorders.

Canfield, A. R., Eigsti, I. M., de Marchena, A., & Fein, D. (2016). Story goodness in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders and in optimal outcomes from ASD. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research, 59, 533–545. doi:doi:10.1044/2015_JSLHR-L-15-002.

Suh, J., Eigsti, I. M., Canfield, A., Irvine, C., Naigles, L., & Fein, D. A. (2016). Language representation and language use in children with optimal outcomes from autism spectrum disorder. In L. Naigles (Ed.), Innovative Investigations of Language in Autism Spectrum Disorder (pp. 225-244). Berlin, Germany: APA/Walter de Gruyter.

Silverman, L. B., & Canfield, A. R. (2013). Auditory verbal learning. In F. Volkmar (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders: Springer Publishing.

Christy is currently on internship at the Newington VA. Her research focuses on the intersection of language and social cognition in typical and atypical development. Her current research explores the social-pragmatic aspects of speech disfluency, the relationship between language and theory of mind, and embodied cognition in children with autism spectrum disorders. More broadly, Christy is interested in the development of social and interpersonal functioning across the lifespan.

Eigsti, I. M., & Irvine, C. (under review). Inner speech, language, and theory of mind in highly-verbal adolescents with autism.

Irvine, C. A., Eigsti, I. M., & Fein, D. A. (2016). Uh, Um, and autism: Filler disfluencies as pragmatic markers in adolescents with optimal outcomes from autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46, 1061-70.

Suh, J., Eigsti, I. M., Canfield, A., Irvine, C., Naigles, L., & Fein, D. A. (in press). Language representation and language use in children with optimal outcomes from autism spectrum disorder. In L. Naigles (Ed.), Innovative Investigations of Language in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Berlin, Germany: APA/Walter de Gruyter.

Current position: Assistant Clinical Professor, Yale School of Medicine, Yale Child Study Center.

Research interests center on the biological, cognitive, and social factors that influence language development. In addition to focusing on language development among children who are biologically at risk (e.g. children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, children with epilepsy), Jessie is also interested in the social and emotional factors that are required for typical development.

Eigsti, I. M., & Mayo, J. (2011). Implicit learning in ASD. In D. Fein (Ed.), Neuropsychology of Autism (pp. 267-80). New York: Oxford University Press.

Mayo, J., Chlebowski, C., Fein, D. A., & Eigsti, I.-M. (2013). Age of first words predicts cognitive ability and adaptive skills in children with ASD. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43, 253-64.

Mayo, J., Chlebowski, C., Fein, D. A., & Eigsti, I. M. (2013). Age of first words predicts cognitive ability and adaptive skills in children with ASD. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43, 253-64. doi: 10.1007/s10803-012-1558-0.

Mayo, J., & Eigsti, I. M. (2012). A comparison of statistical learning in school-aged children with high functioning autism and typically developing peers. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42, 2476-85.

Current Position: Staff Neuropsychologist, Baystate Medical Center

Jessica’s research focuses on the development of joint attention in children with autism spectrum disorders, and its influence in adolescence.

Jaworski, J. L., & Eigsti, I. M. (2015). Low-level visual attention and its relation to joint attention in autism spectrum disorder. Child Neuropsychol, 15, 1-16.

Bean, J.L., & Eigsti, I.M. (2012). Assessment of joint attention in school-age children and adolescents. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 6, 1304-1310. doi: 10.1016/j.rasd.2012.04.003

Current position: Assistant Professor, University of the Sciences, Philadelphia.

Her primary interests are language, learning, and gesture, and how these distinct capacities are related to brain development.

de Marchena, A., & Eigsti, I. M. (2015). The art of common ground: Emergence of a complex pragmatic language skill in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Child Language. doi:10.1017/S0304000915000070

de Marchena, A., & Eigsti, I. M. (in press). Gesture in social vs. non-social contexts: The varied functions of co-speech gesture are highlighted in autism spectrum disorder. Gesture.

de Marchena, A., Eigsti, I. M., & Yerys, B. E. (in press). Brief Report: Generalization weaknesses in verbally fluent children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

de Marchena, A., & Eigsti, I. M. (2010). Conversational gestures in autism spectrum disorders: Asynchrony but not decreased frequency. Autism Research, 3, 311-322. doi: 10.1002/aur.159

de Marchena, A., Eigsti, I. M., Worek, A., Ono, K.E., & Snedeker, J. (2011). Mutual exclusivity in autism spectrum disorders: Testing the pragmatic hypothesis. Cognition, 119, 96-113. doi: 10.1002/aur.159

Eigsti, I. M., de Marchena, A.B., Schuh, J.M., & Kelley, E. (2011). Language acquisition in autism spectrum disorders: A developmental review. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 5, 681-691.

Eigsti, I. M., Weitzman, C., Schuh, J.M., de Marchena, Ashley, & Casey, B.J. (2011). Language and cognitive outcomes in internationally adopted children. Development and Psychopathology, 23, 629-646. doi: 10.1017/S0954579411000204

Current position: Pediatric Neuropsychologist, Catalpa Health; Assistant Adjunct Professor, Medical College of Wisconsin, Department of Neurology, Division of Neuropsychology

Eigsti, I. M., de Marchena, A. B., Schuh, J. M., & Kelley, E. (2011). Language acquisition in autism spectrum disorders: A developmental review. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 5, 681-91.

Eigsti, I. M., & Schuh, J. M. (2008). Neurobiological underpinnings of language in autism spectrum disorders. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 28, 128-49.

Eigsti, I. M., & Schuh, J. M. (in press). Language acquisition in autism spectrum disorders: Beyond standardized language measures. In L. Naigles (Ed.), Innovative Investigations of Language in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Berlin, Germany: APA/Walter de Gruyter.

Eigsti, I. M., Schuh, J. M., Mencl, E., Schultz, R. T., & Paul, R. (2012). The neural underpinnings of prosody in autism. Child Neuropsychology, 18, 600-17.

Schuh, J. M., & Eigsti, I. M. (2012). Working memory, language skills, and autism symptomatology. Behavioral Sciences, 2, 207-18.

Schuh, J. M., Eigsti, I. M., & Mirman, D. (in press). Referential communication in autism spectrum disorder: The roles of working memory and theory of mind. Autism Research.

Cecilia’s Ph.D. thesis examined structural language in Danish children with ASD, at Aarhus University, Denmark. She is currently on the faculty at Aarhus.

Brynskov, C., & Eigsti, I. M. (2010). Det tidlige sprog hos børn med autisme – en udviklingsmæssigt afgørende faktor [The critical influence of early language abilities in autism on longterm outcomes]. Psyke & Logos, 31, 443-60.

Brynskov, C., Eigsti, I. M., Jørgensen, M., Lemcke, S., Bohn, O.-S., & Krøjgaard, P. (in press). Syntax and morphology in Danish-speaking children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

Brynskov, C., Krøjgaard, P., & Eigsti, I. M. (2015). Language and communication in children with autism: A critical look at three assumptions and their clinical implications. Nordic Psychology.

Lab Director

Inge-Marie Eigsti, Ph.D.

Lab Manager

Brittany Mills

Postdoctoral Researcher

Melina West Rogers

Graduate Students

Elise Taverna (2018)

Jason Crutcher (2018)

Mackenzie Stabile (2017)

Karla Rivera Figueroa (2016)

Anders Hogstrom (2014)

Joshua Green (2013)

Lab Alumni

Brian Castelluccio (2012)

Allison Canfield (2012)

Christina Irvine (2010)

Jessica Mayo (2008)

Jessica Bean Jaworski (2007)

Ashley de Marchena (2006)

Jillian deGroot Schuh (2005)

International Visitors

Irina Polyanskaya

Roskild University, Denmark

Cecilia Brynskov

Aarhus University, Denmark

Katherine Mumford

University of Birmingham (U.K.)

Marthe Høppener

Radboud Universiteit, Nijmegen

Undergraduate Lab Members

2019-2020

2018-2019

2017-2018

2016-2017

2015-2016

2014-2015

Summer 2014

2013-2014

2012-2013

2011-2012

2010-2011

2009-2010

2008-2009

2007-2008

2006-2007

2005-2006

2004-2005