Dr. Ferran Pons
Professor at the Department of Cognition, Development and Psychology of Education (University of Barcelona – Institute of Neurosciences)
PhD in Psychology (2004), University of Barcelona
Email: ferran.pons@ub.edu
My interests are focused on the cognitive mechanisms and factors involved in language acquisition. My research explores different aspects of speech perception from birth to the production of the first words. I am interested in exploring the role of experience as well as the perceptual reorganization observed during the first year of life. My current research examines infant’s ability to perceive the relationship between the auditory and visual speech, as well as the mechanisms involved in these processes.
Dra Laura Bosch
Emeritus Professor at the Department of Cognition, Development and Psychology of Education (University of Barcelona – Institute of Neurosciences)
APAL Group coordinator
PhD in Psychology (1990), University of Barcelona
E-mail: laurabosch@ub.edu
My research has focused primarily on the early stages of language acquisition in both populations following a normal development, such as risk populations. Consider different child development milestones such as the initial capacities to recognize and differentiate the mother tongue of other languages, changes in speech perception during the first year of life, ways of segmenting initial word recognition Family of words and the construction of the first lexicon. We study the role of linguistic exposure in the acquisition of the specific characteristics of the mother tongue comparing populations of children who grow up in environments monolingual and bilingual families. A general objective of the research is currently underway to explore the connection between the baby and the initial capacities of linguistic and cognitive growth that occurs in the second year of life.
Dra. Gaye Soley
Assistant Professor (Serra Hunter) at the Department of Cognition, Development and Psychology of Education (University of Barcelona – Institute of Neurosciences)
Email: gayesoley@ub.edu
I am interested in how children learn to navigate the complexities of their social environment. One line of my research examines how various attentional biases are formed and what social and epistemic roles these early biases play in shaping children’s understanding of the world. In a second line of research, I investigate how children’s conceptions of social groups develop and how these conceptions are connected to cultural constructions such as values, experiences, and knowledge.
Dr. Joan Birulés
Assistant Professor at the Department of Cognition, Development and Psychology of Education (University of Barcelona – Institute of Neurosciences)
Email: joanbirules@ub.edu
In general, I am interested in understanding how children navigate the social and multisensory environment around them, and how these early perceptual processes provide the foundation for the acquisition of language, music, and social learning. In my current project, we explore how natural interaction patterns in different cultural and linguistic environments facilitate this development.
Dra. Marta Ramon-Casas
Professor at the Department of Cognition, Development and Psychology of Education (University of Barcelona – Institute of Neurosciences)
PhD in Psychology (2009), University of Barcelona
Email: mramon@ub.edu
My interests are about the acquisition of vocabulary, phonological representation of the first lexicon and bilingualism. What are the differences between the first words of a child a bilingual and monolingual? There are differences between bilingual depending on the degree of similarity between their two languages? And what processes take place in the differential recognition and learning words? I am interested also issues in speech processing risk populations, studying the possible presence of difficulties in the recognition vocabulary and phonological representation.
Caetana Lombardía
PhD Student (PhD in Brain, Cognition and Behaviour) at the Department of Cognition, Development and Psychology of Education (University of Barcelona – Institute of Neurosciences)
BSc Psychology (U. van Amsterdam, 2021)
Email: c.lombardia.ramil@ub.edu
My interests are related to the development of social cognition across the lifespan and to how the sociolinguistic environment can modulate these processes. Currently, at the APAL lab, I am investigating the influence of the linguistic environment on social categorization during early childhood.
Carolina Cabrales
PhD Student (PhD in Cognitive Science and Language) at the Department of Cognition, Development and Psychology of Education (University of Barcelona – Institute of Neurosciences)
BSc en Psicologia (U. Politècnico Grancolombiano, 2017)
Màster en Ciències Cognitives (Université de Neuchatel, 2025)
Email: caro.cabrales@gmail.com
My research focuses on early language development and how social interactions influence infants’ audiovisual attention. I am particularly interested in exploring how familiarity with non-parental caregivers may modulate attention to speech cues during exposure to infant-directed speech. Additionally, I aim to address these questions in naturalistic settings, where infants interact and move freely, in order to understand how real interaction dynamics may differ from those observed in controlled, screen-based studies.
Naila Ortega
Lab Manager
As a member of the APAL research team, my work involves recruiting families, managing appointments, and administering tests. I am interested in the development of communicative skills in infants and the language acquisition of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This work is gratifying for me as it allows me to contribute to scientific advancement in these fields.
Previous members
Dr. Clément François
Post-doctoral Researcher
PhD in Neuroscience from Université Aix-Marseille
Email: fclement24@hotmail.com
I’m interested in the relationship between music and speech processing and in the mechanisms of brain plasticity occuring in development. I previously studied the influence of musical expertise and training on speech segmentation in children and adults using both behavioral and electrophysiological methods. I am currently running a project in collaboration with the neonatology unit of Sant Joan De Deu Hospital, with Dr Rodriguez-Fornells and Dr Bosch. The main aim of this project is to understand how the cortical correlates of speech segmentation (as measured by EEG) develop during the first year of human infant life, from few days after birth to 6 and then 10 months of age, in full-term and in pre-term infants.
Laia Marcet
PhD Student. Programa Cerebro, Cognición y Conducta (Universidad de Barcelona, 2020 – Actualidad)
Máster en Investigación en Comportamiento y Cognición (Universidad de Barcelona, 2019)
Grado en Ciencias Biomédicas (Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, 2018)
Email: laiamarcet@ub.edu
My research focuses on studying the development of sociolinguistic awareness in children born in bilingual environments. I am interested in exploring the ability to form associations between different speakers and the language they use. One of my main objectives is to determine the age at which this ability appears in bilingual children and which linguistic factors may promote or hinder the formation of these associations.
Dra. Beatriz de Diego Lázaro
Lecturer at departamento de psicología de la Universidad de Valladolid
PhD in Speech and audition (2019), Universidad Estatal de Arizona (EEUU).
My research focuses on language learning and the development of executive functions in children with hearing loss, both monolingual and multilingual. Our studies include behavioral tests, eye-tracking technology, and electroencephalography (EEG) with the aim of studying the potential impact of hearing loss on a child’s development in the short and long term.
Elisa Marrodan
Estudiante de doctorado (Ciencia Cognitiva y del Lenguaje)
Máster en Dirección y Gestión Sanitaria , Universidad Atlántico del Medio (2022)
Grado en Logopedia, Universidad de Valencia (2021)
Dept. Cognición, Desarrollo y Psicología de la Educación.
Email: emarrove17@alumnes.ub.edu
Currently, my research focuses on the syntactic processing of oral language and executive function in preschool and school-aged children from monolingual and bilingual backgrounds. Specifically, I delve into the role that animacy cues and word order play in the oral processing of complex sentences and their relationship with executive function processes, such as working memory and inhibitory control.
Carlota Saumell
Master’s Student (Cognitive Science and Language – Universitat de Barcelona, 2018)
Bachelor’s degree in Literature Studies (Universitat de Barcelona, 2014)
Bachelor’s degree in Advertising and PR (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 2012)
Email: carlota.saumell@gmail.com
I’m interested in the developmental stages of social cognition from infancy to childhood. My research focuses on the influence that the environment of a child (i.e. linguistic experience, cultural background) might have during the establishment of the child’s social categorization processes and the social and cognitive consequences that might accompany this categorization.
Jorgina Solé
External Collaborator
Pediatric Psychologist
Masters in Clinical Psychology and Health (University of Barcelona, 2012)
Jessica Sánchez-Galán
Research Assistant
Speech Therapist
Master in Cognitive Science and Language (University of Barcelona, 2015)
Email: jsanchez-galan@ub.edu
I’m a speech therapist and my research focuses on the cognitive effects associated to bilingualism during the first year of life. Specifically, I’m interest in how infants develop their executive function skills.
Dra Melania Figueras
Ph.D in Psychology (UB-2011)
Fina Ferrer
Pediatric Psychologist
Helena Moliné
Research Assistant
Dra. Irune Fernández-Prieto
Ph.D in Psychology (UB-2016)
Dra. Maria Teixidó
Ph.D in Psychology (UB-2017)
Dra. Anna Martínez
Ph.D in Psychology (UB-2018)