WILLEM VAN BOXTEL
Assistant Professor
College:
Humanities & Social Sciences
Department:
Communication Sciences & Disorders
Courses Taught
COMD 4250 Anatomy and Physiology for Speech--Language Pathology
COMD 3150 Phonetics
Research Interests
Willem van Boxtel is Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Louisiana State University. He leads the PELICAN (Psycholinguistics and ELectrophysiology In Cognitive Aging and Neural damage) lab [link], which conducts research into language processing across the adult lifespan, how cognitive changes associated with aging affect language, and how stroke and neurodegeneration change the way language is processed. Dr Van Boxtel takes an advanced quantitative approach to research, and uses electrophysiology and event-related potentials in combination with multilevel statistical modelling (including Bayesian models) to address his research questions. He also takes a keen interest in applying experimental methods online (including self-paced reading and eye-tracking) and conducts research into the applicability of web-based methods to communication disorders and psycholinguistics. Dr Van Boxtel's research has included younger and older adults as well as persons with aphasia, and has highlighted the need for a nuanced, considered view of the aging process, and the need for higher experimental standards and greater validity in research on persons with aphasia.
Professional Training, Service, and Memberships
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Purdue University Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. PI: Dr. Jiyeon Lee. Description: Implicit structural priming as a treatment component in aphasia. August 2022 - July 2024.
- Introduction to Python for Social Scientists, University of Essex. July 2021.
- Virtual EEGLAB Workshop, UC San Diego. June 2021
- Cognitive and Affective Neurophysiology Summer School, University of Porto. September 2020.
- Member, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). 2022 - present.
- Member, Society for the Neurobiology of Language (SNL). 2019 - present.
- Member, Academy of Aphasia (AoA). 2022 - present.
Representative Publications:
- Van Boxtel, W.S. & Lawyer, L.A. (accepted). A Matter of Memory? Age-Invariant Relative Clause Disambiguation And Memory Interference in Older Adults. Thematic Issue on Language Change and Impairment in Healthy Aging, Topics in Cognitive Science. osf.io/eympz
- Van Boxtel, W.S., Linge, M., Manning, R.C.G., Haven, L., and Lee, J. (under review) Online eye-tracking for aphasia: a feasibility study comparing web and lab tracking and implications for clinical use. Brain and Behavior. osf.io/n6gu7
- Van Boxtel, W.S., Cox, B.N., Keen, A., and Lee, J. (2023). Planning sentence production in aphasia: evidence from structural priming and eye-tracking. Frontiers in Language Sciences, 2, 1175579. DOI:10.3389/flang.2023.1175579
- Van Boxtel, W.S. & Lawyer, L.A. (2023). In the Prime of Life: ERP Evidence for Syntacic Comprehension Priming in Older Adults. Journal of Language and Aging Research, vol.1(1). osf.io/3yrnv.
- Van Boxtel, W.S. & Lawyer, L.A. (2022). Syntactic Comprehension Priming and Lexical Boost Effects in Older Adults. Language, Cognition, Neuroscience. DOI:10.1080/23273798.2022.2091151
- Van Boxtel, W.S. & Lawyer, L.A. (2021). Sentence Comprehension in Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease. Language and Linguistics Compass, vol.15(6). DOI:10.1111/lnc3.12430
Academic Degrees
- PhD, Psycholinguistics, University of Essex (UK), 2022
- MA, Psycholinguistics, University of Essex (UK), 2019
- BA (Hons) English, Birmingham City University (UK), 2018
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