Research Background

I am passionate about understanding how humans think and how language interacts with perception, action, and memory. Rather than viewing language as an isolated system, my work emphasizes its embedded nature within a brain optimized for multiple functions. By combining behavioural methods, eye tracking, and cognitive neuroscience techniques (such as fMRI, TMS, and polysomnography), I explore the dynamic processes underlying language, learning, and memory across the lifespan.

For an up-to-date overview of my scholarly outputs, please visit my Worktribe profile.

Selected Publications

My research is organized around several core themes. Below are representative publications grouped by topic.

Word Learning, Sleep, and Memory

This research investigates how new words are acquired, consolidated, and integrated—with a particular focus on sleep and related factors that shape memory processes.

Does Oral Respiration Disrupt Memory Consolidation during Wakeful Rest? (2024)
Lindsay, S. & Holle, H. (in press). Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology.
Why Would a Special FM Process Exist in Adults, When It Does Not Appear to Exist in Children? (2019)
O’Connor, R.J., Lindsay, S., Mather, E. & Riggs, K.J. (2019). Cognitive Neuroscience, 10(4), 221–222. [DOI link pending].
Sleep Preserves Original and Distorted Memory Traces (2018)
Cairney, S.A., Lindsay, S., Paller, K.A. & Gaskell, M.G. (2018). Sleep Preserves Original and Distorted Memory Traces. Cortex, 99, 39–44.
Mechanisms of Memory Retrieval in Slow-Wave Sleep (2017)
Cairney, S.A., Sobczak, J.M., Lindsay, S. & Gaskell, M.G. (2017). Mechanisms of Memory Retrieval in Slow-Wave Sleep. Sleep, zsx114.
The Benefits of Targeted Memory Reactivation for Consolidation in Sleep (2017)
Cairney, S.A., Lindsay, S., Sobczak, J.M., Paller, K.A. & Gaskell, M.G. (2017). The Benefits of Targeted Memory Reactivation for Consolidation in Sleep are Contingent on Memory Accuracy and Direct Cue-Memory Associations. Sleep, 39(5).
Markers of Automaticity in Sleep-Associated Consolidation of Novel Words (2015)
Tham, E., Lindsay, S. & Gaskell, M.G. (2015). Markers of Automaticity in Sleep-Associated Consolidation of Novel Words. Neuropsychologia, 71, 146–157.
Sleep Underpins the Plasticity of Phonotactic Constraints in Language Production (2014)
Lindsay, S., Frost, R., Guest, J., Snowden, R. & Stackhouse, A. (2014). Sleep Underpins the Plasticity of Phonotactic Constraints in Language Production. Psychological Science, 25(7), 1457–1465.
A Prerequisite to L1 Homophone Effects in L2 Spoken-Word Recognition (2015)
Satzuki, N., Lindsay, S. & Ota, M. (2015). A Prerequisite to L1 Homophone Effects in L2 Spoken-Word Recognition. Language Learning, 31(1), 29–52.
Lexical Integration of Novel Words Without Sleep (2013)
Lindsay, S. & Gaskell, M.G. (2013). Lexical Integration of Novel Words Without Sleep. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 39(2), 608–622.
Acquiring Novel Words and Their Past Tenses (2012)
Lindsay, S., Sedin, L. & Gaskell, M.G. (2012). Acquiring Novel Words and Their Past Tenses: Evidence from Lexical Effects on Phonetic Categorisation. Journal of Memory and Language, 66(1), 210–225.
Word Learning and Lexical Development Across the Lifespan (2012)
Lindsay, S. & Gaskell, M.G. (2012). Word Learning and Lexical Development Across the Lifespan. In N. Seel (Ed.), Encyclopaedia of the Sciences of Learning, Springer.
A Complementary Systems Account of Word Learning in L1 and L2 (2010)
Lindsay, S. & Gaskell, M.G. (2010). A Complementary Systems Account of Word Learning in L1 and L2. Language Learning, 60, 45–63.
Spaced Learning and the Lexical Integration of Novel Words (2009)
Lindsay, S. & Gaskell, M.G. (2009). Spaced Learning and the Lexical Integration of Novel Words. In Proceedings of the 31st Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, Austin, TX.

Speech Perception and Production

This theme explores how perceptual and motor systems interact in processing spoken language, challenging conventional notions of motor involvement in comprehension.

Plasticity of Categories in Speech Perception and Production (2022)
Lindsay, S., Clayards, M., Gennari, S. & Gaskell, M.G. (2022). Plasticity of Categories in Speech Perception and Production. [DOI link pending].
The Selective Role of Dorsal Premotor Cortex in Speech Perception (2013)
Krieger-Redwood, K., Gaskell, M.G., Lindsay, S. & Jefferies, E. (2013). The Selective Role of Dorsal Premotor Cortex in Speech Perception: A Contribution to Phoneme Judgements but Not Speech Comprehension. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 25(12), 2179–2188.

Language, Vision, and Event Representation

This work examines how visual systems and language co-operate to create dynamic representations of events.

Event Processing in the Visual World: Projected Motion Paths during Spoken Sentence Comprehension (2016)
Kamide, Y., Lindsay, S., Scheepers, C. & Kukona, A. (2016). Event Processing in the Visual World: Projected Motion Paths during Spoken Sentence Comprehension. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 42(5), 804–812.
To Dash or to Dawdle: Verb-Associated Speed of Motion Influences Eye Movements during Spoken Sentence Comprehension (2013)
Lindsay, S., Scheepers, C. & Kamide, Y. (2013). To Dash or to Dawdle: Verb-Associated Speed of Motion Influences Eye Movements during Spoken Sentence Comprehension. PLOS ONE, 8(6), e67187.
Spatial and Linguistic Aspects of Visual Imagery in Sentence Comprehension (2007)
Bergen, B., Lindsay, S., Matlock, T. & Narayanan, S. (2007). Spatial and Linguistic Aspects of Visual Imagery in Sentence Comprehension. Cognitive Science, 31, 733–764.

Statistics and ResearchMethods

Focusing on measurement precision and methodological rigor in developmental and cognitive research, this theme showcases my contributions to improving research practices:

Developmental Psychologists Should Care About Measurement Precision (2022)
Lindsay, S. & Mather, E. (in press). Infant and Child Development. [DOI link pending].
Same Data, Different Analysts: Variation in 2 Effect Sizes Due to Analytical Decisions in 3 Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (2024)
Gould, E., Fraser, H.S., Parker, T.H., Nakagawa, S., Griffith, S.C., Vesk, P.A., Fidler, F., Hamilton, D.G., Abbott, J.K., Aguirre, L.A., Altschul, D., Atkins, J.W., Atkinson, J., Baker, C.M., Lindsay, S. & Bell, K. (2024). BMC Biology, 23, Article 35. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-024-02101-x.
Data from an International Multi-Centre Study of Statistics and Mathematics Anxieties and Related Variables in University Students (2023)
Terry, J., Ross, R.M., Nagy, T., Salgado, M., Garrido-Vásquez, P., Sarfo, J.O., Cooper, S., Buttner, A.C., Lima, T.J., Öztürk, İ., Akay, N., Santos, F.H., Artemenko, C., Copping, L.T., Elsherif, M.M., Milovanović, I., Cribbie, R.A., Drushlyak, M.G., Swainston, K., Shou, Y., …Field, A.P. (2023). Journal of Open Psychology Data, 11(1), Article 8. https://doi.org/10.5334/jopd.80.

Other Recent Publications

This section gathers interdisciplinary studies and projects that extend beyond my core research themes.

Visual Attention to Dynamic Emotional Faces in Adults on the Autism Spectrum (2023)
Macinska, S., Lindsay, S. & Jellema, T. (2023). Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-023-05979-8.

*These documents represent a selection of my work. For a comprehensive list of publications, please visit my full outputs on Worktribe.

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