Liat Shechter-Shvartsman (Sup. Prof. Karen Banai and Dr. Limor Lavie)
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Background:
I hold a B.A. and an M.A. degree from the Department of Communication Disorders in Tel Aviv University. I have started my PhD studies in October 2019 in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders in the University of Haifa.
I work as a clinical audiologist at a hearing institute in Ramat Aviv. My position includes auditory diagnosis and aural rehabilitation, mainly with elderly population. In addition, I have worked as a speech pathologist in geriatric and multiple sclerosis rehabilitation departments in Chaim Sheba Medical Center for seven years. My work included diagnosis and treatment of language disorders, aphasia, dysarthria, dysphagia and dysphonia with neurological patients.
Current research:
Research in our lab focuses on auditory learning and cognition across the lifespan. I focus on plasticity and rapid perceptual learning processes in the older auditory system following rehabilitation with hearing aids.
Daily conversations include challenging listening conditions such as background noise, competing speech, fast speech rate, etc. Rapid adaptation to these conditions is essential for successfully extracting the meaning from the speech signal. Older adults have difficulties to adapt to challenging speech even after rehabilitation with hearing aids. It has recently been suggested that rapid perceptual learning is likely to be one of the causes of variability in challenging speech perception and adaptation to it. The planned research will include a series of behavioral experiments aimed to understand the extent of plasticity (short-term and long-term) in the aging auditory system following rehabilitation with hearing aids. Another goal of the research is to examine whether rapid perceptual learning prior to rehabilitation can predict successful auditory rehabilitation. In addition to examining the effects of plasticity and the rapid learning process we will examine the extent of listening effort which may be one of the outcomes of challenging speech perception in old age. The results of these studies may have both theoretical and practical contributions to the construction of rehabilitation and treatment programs of hearing loss in old age.
Visit our lab website at https://sites.google.com/welfare.haifa.ac.il/theauditorycognitionlab/home?authuser=1
Interests: cognitive science, auditory neuroscience, auditory plasticity, hearing rehabilitation, perceptual learning, listening effort.
Recent active participation in scholarly conferences:
2019 Learning Artificial Words Accompanied by Gestures – Presentation of M.A. thesis at the 55th Annual Conference of The Israeli Speech Hearing and Language Association (ISHLA), Tel Aviv.
Scholarships and awards:
2019 PhD excellence scholarship from the University of Haifa.
2015 Excellence scholarship from The Faculty of Medicine in Tel Aviv University and a Dean's Certificate of Excellence for academic achievement.
2013, 2014 Study grant for outstanding students from The Stanley Steyer Foundation in Tel Aviv University.