WELCOME!

Led by Dr. Caicai Zhang, the NeuroLML lab broadly concentrates on how language is processed and represented in the human brain, and how it interacts with other cognitive domains such as music and memory. At a more specific level, our research focuses on:

1. Language, music and brain. We investigate this theme from the perspective of how congenital amusia (commonly known as tone deafness), an innate musical pitch disorder, affects speech processing from behavioral to neural levels.
2. Memory consolidation of language. How sleep contributes to the consolidation of speech sound categories in the brain of L2 learners.
3. Language in neurodevelopmental disorders. What neurocognitive mechanisms underly learning and memory problems in children with developmental disorders of speech and language.

We use a broad range of tools, including behavioral methods, electroencephalograph (EEG), functional MRI (fMRI) and functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) to study these questions.

We are part of the Research Centre for Language, Cognition, and Neuroscience (RCLCN) at the Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies (CBS), PolyU.

JOIN US!

1. We are looking for passionate researchers (RA/PhD/PostDoc) to join our team. Please see here for more details. You can also email Dr. Zhang with your CV at caicai.zhang@polyu.edu.hk.
2. We are also looking for subjects (currently mainly Cantonese-speaking children) to participate in our ongoing experiments (see below self-explanatory posters and here for more details). Feel free to spread the info and contact caicai.zhang@polyu.edu.hk for any questions.

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NEWS

1. [***Call for papers***] Open until 21 Nov 2025. Dr. Zhang is co-guesting a collection on Music Cognition and Perception for Scientific Reports. Consider submitting your paper to the collection! Details & Guidelines



2. [Invited Talk] 1-2 Aug 2025. Dr. Zhang gave a talk at the Symposium on language development in Chinese-speaking populations with special needs held at the Hong Kong Metropolitan University. Program
3. [Prize] 30 Jul 2025. Our PhD student Jiabing was offered a student travel award for the 47th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society. Congrats!
4. [Invited Talk] 09 Jul 2025. Dr. Zhang talked at the University of Vienna titled "Cross-Domain Transfer Between Music and Language: A Focus on Tonal Languages". Abstract
5. [Invited Talk] 17 May 2025. Dr. Zhang gave a keynote talk at the 3rd International Conference on Tone and Intonation (TAI 2025) on "Variation in real-time lexical tone processing: A psycholinguistics perspective". Also check out other lab members' research at TAI 2025 here!
6. [Gathering] 22 Jan 2025. Our lab gathered to celebrate the Chinese New Year. We wish everyone a healthy, prosperous and productive Year of Snake 🐍.
7. [Invited Talk] 3:30PM, HKT (UTC+8), 6 Dec 2024. Dr. Gangyi FENG (CUHK) on "Neural Modeling of Dynamic Representations in Language Learning and Communication". Abstract & Zoom info
8. [Invited Talk] 3PM, HKT (UTC+8), 15 Nov 2024. Dr. Andriy MYACHYKOV (Macao U) on "Crosslinguistic Interplay and Cognitive Reserve in Bilinguals". Abstract & Zoom info
9. [Invited Talk] 2PM, HKT (UTC+8), 15 Nov 2024. Dr. Barone PASCAL (CNRS) on "Brain plasticity for multisensory integration and speech processing in cochlear implanted deaf patients". Abstract & Zoom info
10. [Invited Talk] 8 Nov 2024. Dr. William CHOI (HKU) on "The relationship between language and music: A case study on congenital amusia". Abstract
11. [Invited Talk] 22 Jul 2024. Dr. Zhang talked at the Institute of Psychology (Chinese Academy of Science), on "The relationship between language and music: A case study on congenital amusia". Abstract
12. [Grant] 28 Jun 2024. Our lab successfully obtained several competitive external and internal grants. Please go to the "Grants" page for more details.
13. [Invited Talk] 09 May 2024. Dr. Zhang talked at the PolyU Young Scholar Forum on Language Neuroscience on "Neurocognitive bases of developmental disorders of speech, language and literacy: The role of domain-general learning systems". Check out a group photo from the forum here! Abstract of all talks at the forum
14. [Invited Talk] 4:30PM, HKT (UTC+8), 06 Mar 2024. Dr. Martin PICKERING (University of Edinburgh) on "Predicting language in difficult circumstances". Abstract & Registration Link
15. [Publication] 04 Mar 2024. The collection on "Language Processing", edited by Dr. Zhang and three other co-editors, has been published online on the Scientific Reports website. Feel free to check it out here and share this collection!
16. [Invited Talk] 5PM, HKT (UTC+8), 21 Feb 2024. Dr. Christoph SCHEEPERS (University of Glasgow) on "The “Crossword Effect” in free word recall: A retrieval advantage for words encoded in line with their spatial associations". Abstract & Zoom Link
17. [Gathering] 05 Feb 2024. Our lab gathered to celebrate the Chinese New Year. We wish everyone a healthy, prosperous and productive Year of Dragon 🐲.
18. [Invited Talk] 5PM, HKT (UTC+8), 31 Jan 2024. Dr. Andriy MYACHYKOV (Northumbria University) on "Crosslinguistic Interplay and Cognitive Reserve in Bilinguals". Abstract & Zoom Link
19. [Invited Talk] 5PM, HKT (UTC+8), 24 Jan 2024. Dr. Jeremy STEFFMAN (University of Edinburgh) on "Processing prosody in segmental speech perception: Tests in the spectral and temporal domain". Abstract & Zoom Link
20. [Invited Talk] 5PM, HKT (UTC+8), 22 Nov 2023. Dr. Saloni KRISHNAN (Royal Holloway, University of London) on "Investigating motivation for language and reading". Abstract & Zoom Link
21. [Prize] 11 Sep 2023. Dr. Zhang was awarded the Outstanding Young Researcher (Individual) award in the Faculty Awards for Outstanding Performance Achievement 2023. Congrats!