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Ph.D., Washington University
Research Interests
I have a strong commitment to understanding the mind in terms of its underlying neural architecture. My lab relies upon a broad-based and interdisciplinary cognitive neuroscience approach to address questions that fall within two predominant strands of research.
One strand is focused on the neural basis of language processing. For one set of studies, verbal working memory is used as a model system in which to explore the brain regions involved in articulatory and phonological (word sound) processing. Another set of studies examines how writing systems and individual differences in brain function shape how orthographic (word form) information is processed and used to access phonological information.
A second strand is focused on basic learning systems in the human brain. We are especially interested in how cognition may be optimized by reinforcement learning signals mediated by the basal ganglia and error-correction signals mediated by the cerebellum. Specific topics of investigation include the role of feedback-based learning in the development of mathematical skill, interactions between the basal ganglia and hippocampus during the learning of declarative knowledge, and the contributions of the cerebellum to speech adaptation.
Recent Publications
- Fiez JA, Tranel D, Seager-Frerichs D, Damasio H: Specific impairments in reading and phonological processing are associated with damage to the left frontal operculum. Cortex 42: 624-43, 2006.
- Ravizza SM, McCormick CA, Justus TA, Ivry RB, Fiez JA: Cerebellar damage produces selective deficits in verbal working memory. Brain 129: 306-20, 2006.
- Tricomi EM, Delgado MR, McCandliss BD, McClelland JL, Fiez JA: Performance feedback drives caudate activation in a perceptual learning task. J Cogn Neurosci 18: 1029-1043, 2006.
- Liu Y, Dunlap S, Fiez J, Perfetti C: Evidence for neural accommodation to a writing system following learning. Hum Brain Mapp 28: 1223-1234, 2007.
- Tricomi E, Fiez JA: Feedback signals in the caudate reflect goal achievement on a declarative memory task. Neuroimage 41: 1154-67, 2008.
- Wilson SJ, Sayette MA, Delgado MR, Fiez JA: Effect of smoking opportunity on responses to monetary gain and loss in the caudate nucleus. J Abnorm Psychol 117: 428-34, 2008.
- Wilson SJ, Sayette MA, Fiez JA, Brough E: Carry-over effects of smoking cue exposure on working memory performance. Nicotine and Tobacco Research (in press).
- Ben-Yehudah G, Fiez JA: Impact of cerebellar lesions on reading and phonological processing. Ann N Y Acad Sci (in press).
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![[Picture of Julie Fiez]](/images/faculty/fiez.jpg)