Ben Parrell is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. His research combines behavioral studies, computational modeling and neuroimaging to study how the brain produces movement, with a focus on the movements of the lips, tongue and jaw used for producing speech. A focus of this research is on the function of the cerebellum, a region of the brain thought to be particularly critical for producing coordinated movement, in both typical speech and in individuals with ataxia caused by cerebellar damage or degeneration. Professor Parrell received his B.A. in Spanish from the University of Oregon and his Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Southern California. He completed his postdoctoral training in Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.
A word from Dean Eric M. Wilcots:
Professor Parrell is a talented and effective educator, both in the classroom and beyond. He has pioneered a computational model of speech motor control that stands in opposition to the most widely accepted model in the field, the DIVA model. This is a highly significant paradigm shift in the field.