Nicole Neef

Date of birth
May 19, 1976

Place of birth
Karl-Marx-Stadt, now Chemnitz, Germany

EDUCATION

Nicole Neef

College / University
RWTH Aachen University

Degree
Speech-Language Pathologist
Diploma in Teaching and Research Logopaedics

Major Subjects
Neuroscience of speech production, speech motor control, speech motor learning, speech motor diseases, stuttering

Lab Experience
Neurophonetics, neurolinguistics, acoustic analysis of speech samples; single-pulse, paired-pulse and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, tanscranial direct current stimulation, motor evoked potentials of hand and tongue muscles

Affiliation-Address:
Georg August University Goettingen
University Medicine Goettingen
Dept. of Clinical Neurophysiology
Robert-Koch-Straße 40
37075 Göttingen
Germany

phone: +49 551 39 8457
e-mail:
Further Information:
neurologie.uni-goettingen

PROJECTS / RESEARCH

• the role of the dorsal premotor cortex for timed finger movements in a group of persons who stutter

• the morphological basis of stuttering

• the effect of brain stimulation on the speech of patients with speech motor disorders

SCHOLARSHIPS

Scholarship of the „Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft“, „Walter und Ilse Rose Stiftung“

SCIENTIFIC INTERESTS AND GOALS

The ability to move about 50 muscles in a coordinated fashion in order to produce 5 to 6 intelligible syllables per second depends on highly integrated neuronal mechanisms. Our present understanding of the underlying neurobiology of speech production is far from comprehensive. Especially interesting for me is the expertise of Goettingen based groups in transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). This will be necessary for me to successfully continue my research with which I hope to shed light on the particularly frequent speech disorders: the developmental persistent stuttering and the dysarthria. In the long run I would like to use new findings on the mechanisms of speech production to advance the development of scientifically founded methods of speech therapy.