Currently, I am a member of the Music Cognition Group (MCG) at the Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) where I work as a PhD student in language and music cognition with Prof. Henkjan Honing attempting to explore what is shared and what is unique in language vs. music processing.

The research is part of the NWO Horizon: Knowledge & Culture project (cf. proposal), where the relation between core knowledge systems (innate, task-specific and non-species specific cognitive abilities) and uniquely human abilities such as music and language are explored.

Within this framework, I investigate whether relative pitch perception in language and music is shared or modular in nature, e.g. by looking at how pitch interacts with semantic and musical constraints in tone languages. The project further aims to explore the emergence of relative pitch as a developing skill in human infants, and the interaction between congenital amusia and tone language processing.

Curriculum Vitae

I obtained a BA degree in English Language and Culture at the University of Amsterdam (2010), and a ResMA degree in Linguistics at Leiden University (2013).

My bachelor thesis concerned an artificial language study in which I explored possible correlations between implicit learning mechanisms, foreign language proficiency and cognitive abilities such as working memory and non-verbal reasoning skills on word segmentation abilities.

In a similar vein, my MA thesis concerned an ERP study investigating the degree of influence that music (i.e. melody) has on the acquisition of words in an artificial language.

Research interests:

Cognitive neuroscience of language and music

Second language acquisition (can music be considered a second language?)

Artificial languages

Statistical learning 

Amusia

And many more!

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