dr. L.J. Speed (Laura)

Laura completed a PhD in Cognitive, Perceptual, and Brain Sciences at University College London. Her PhD investigated an embodied view of language comprehension. Specifically, her thesis focused on language that describes speed of motion and explored the contributions of vision, audition and action to the comprehension of language about speed, and factors that may affect these contributions.

Laura’s current work investigates the interaction between language and the perception and action systems. Her recent focus has been the relationship between language and olfaction. One aspect of her work addresses how the perception of odours can be influenced by contextual factors, such as verbal labels and descriptions. She also explores how odour language and cognition recruit resources from other perceptual modalities to aid in meaning, for example, how odour-colour associations in synaesthesia can enhance odour naming ability.