Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Swathi Kiran@Center for Brain Recovery at BU @swathikiran.bsky.social · 5d

This morning, the Center for Brain Recovery received a special visit from Boston University's community resource dog, Bean!

Bean immediately brightened up the office and brought plenty of play and cuddles to the CBR team.

Thanks for stopping by our center, Bean!

Swathi Kiran@Center for Brain Recovery at BU @swathikiran.bsky.social · 11d

What if electrotherapy was available like a band-aid?

At #NEWconf2025, Marom Bikson presented his team's research on Wearable Disposable Electrotherapy.

Learn more by watching his full talk on the CBR YouTube channel

N.E.W. Conference 2025 | Marom Bikson: Wearable Disposable Electrotherapy

Marom Bikson, Professor of Biomedical Engineering at City College of New York, opened the first Symposium at the Neuroscience of the Everyday World (N.E.W.) Conference 2025, held at Boston University. Symposium #1 was entitled: Neuroprosthetics and Neuromodulation from Clinic to Daily Life. Bikson

youtu.be

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Swathi Kiran@Center for Brain Recovery at BU @swathikiran.bsky.social · 16d

Join us Monday, September 29th from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm ET for a talk by Rhoda Au, Professor at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, as well as a PI of the Framingham Heart Study Brain Aging Program.

Register now at http://bit.ly/47ORaie

Swathi Kiran@Center for Brain Recovery at BU @swathikiran.bsky.social · 18d

Congratulations! The impact of your work is huge across so many fields!

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Swathi Kiran@Center for Brain Recovery at BU @swathikiran.bsky.social · 23d

#BilingualAphasia #Stroke #AphasiaRecovery #Generalization

Swathi Kiran@Center for Brain Recovery at BU @swathikiran.bsky.social · 23d

💡 Takeaway: Semantic feature-based treatment promotes gains across languages and linguistic domains in Spanish-English bilinguals with aphasia
💭 Next: How do dose, intensity, and individual differences shape transfer?
📂 Open dataset coming: http://osf.io/mcu36

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Swathi Kiran@Center for Brain Recovery at BU @swathikiran.bsky.social · 23d

Results showed:
1) Improvement for trained and untrained naming targets (direct transfer)
2) Gains in select semantic processing tasks (near transfer)
3) Improved overall language function (WAB-AQ) but not domain-general cog (both far transfer)
🎉 Benefits across both languages

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Swathi Kiran@Center for Brain Recovery at BU @swathikiran.bsky.social · 23d

🧠 Goal: To examine patterns of near/far transfer and cross-language generalization following naming therapy

👥 48 Spanish-English bilinguals with chronic aphasia
🏥Therapy: Semantic feature-based treatment
Read the full paper: 🔗

Measurement of cross-language and cross-domain generalization following semantic feature-based anomia treatment in bilingual aphasia

Semantic feature-based treatment (SFT), which engages the semantic network by repeatedly targeting retrieval of conceptual features to improve lexical-semantic access, has shown promise for facilit...

bit.ly

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Swathi Kiran@Center for Brain Recovery at BU @swathikiran.bsky.social · 23d

📢 New Bilingual Aphasia Research!

“Measurement of cross-language and cross-domain generalization following semantic feature-based anomia treatment in bilingual aphasia”

By Marissa Russell-Meill, Erin Carpenter, Manuel J. Marte, Michael Scimeca, Claudia Peñaloza & Swathi Kiran

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Swathi Kiran@Center for Brain Recovery at BU @swathikiran.bsky.social · 25d

Excited to be editing this special issue with @qzhever.bsky.social on this super current topic of “Neural Basis of Language Processing in the Wild” see link for submission guidelines

Zhenghan Qi @qzhever.bsky.social · 26d

I am co-editing a special issue on the "Neural Bases of Language Processing in the Wild" together with @swathikiran.bsky.social on Brain and Language (zero embargo period). If you are interested, I am happy to chat more (currently at my favorite #snl2025). www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...

Brain and Language | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier - Brain and Language | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier

Read the latest articles of Brain and Language at ScienceDirect.com, Elsevier’s leading platform of peer-reviewed scholarly literature

www.sciencedirect.com

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Swathi Kiran@Center for Brain Recovery at BU @swathikiran.bsky.social · 28d

Over the coming weeks, we’ll continue releasing presentations from the N.E.W. Conference. Subscribe to stay updated: youtube.com/@bucenterfor...

Boston University Center for Brain Recovery

youtube.com

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Swathi Kiran@Center for Brain Recovery at BU @swathikiran.bsky.social · 28d

His presentation highlights his research into human navigational behavior across diverse global populations. Using innovative tools such as video games, Spiers and his team have uncovered new insights into how individuals orient themselves in complex environments—from urban grids to open waters.

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Swathi Kiran@Center for Brain Recovery at BU @swathikiran.bsky.social · 28d

Hugo Spiers' keynote presentation, Studying Navigation in Cities and on the Ocean, from the 2025 Neuroscience of the Everyday World Conference is now live on the CBR YouTube channel. @hugospiers.bsky.social
youtu.be/M35KDgqJI4w?...

N.E.W. Conference 2025 | Hugo Spiers (Keynote): Studying Navigation in Cities and on the Ocean

YouTube video by Boston University Center for Brain Recovery

youtu.be

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Swathi Kiran@Center for Brain Recovery at BU @swathikiran.bsky.social · Sep 3

Join us Monday, September 15th from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm ET for a talk by Simona Mancini, Ikerbasque Research Associate Professor / Neurolinguistics and Aphasia group leader at the Basque Center on Cognition Brain and Language.

Register now at https://bit.ly/45LjrF1

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Swathi Kiran@Center for Brain Recovery at BU @swathikiran.bsky.social · Aug 21

💡 Takeaway: Integrating rs-fMRI + DTI + structure better captures post-stroke brain reorganization.
Predicting severity is the first step—next is predicting recovery.
📂 Open dataset coming: http://osf.io/mcu36
#Neurorehab #Stroke #MLinNeuro #AphasiaRecovery

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Swathi Kiran@Center for Brain Recovery at BU @swathikiran.bsky.social · Aug 21

Limitations:
⚠️ Fewer data points for severe aphasia (WAB-R AQ < 20)
⚠️ Minor processing differences across cohorts
Still, robust findings with nested cross-validation and supervised feature selection (RFE) 💪

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Swathi Kiran@Center for Brain Recovery at BU @swathikiran.bsky.social · Aug 21

🔥 SVR outperformed RF consistently.
💡 Best combo = resting-state functional connectivity (rs-fMRI FC) + spared white matter (PSW) + demographics
✅ RMSE: 15.82
✅ r: 0.73
💡 Best single predictor = (rs-fMRI FC)

#MachineLearning #Neuroimaging

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Swathi Kiran@Center for Brain Recovery at BU @swathikiran.bsky.social · Aug 21

🧠 Goal: Predict aphasia severity (WAB-R AQ) post-stroke using machine learning + multimodal MRI
🏥 76 individuals with chronic aphasia
🧪 Imaging: Structural MRI, DTI, rs-fMRI
🧮 Models: Support Vector Regression (SVR) and Random Forest (RF)

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Swathi Kiran@Center for Brain Recovery at BU @swathikiran.bsky.social · Aug 21

📢 New in NeuroImage:
“Aphasia severity prediction using a multi-modal machine learning approach”
by Xinyi Hu, Maria Varkanitsa, Emerson Kropp, Margrit Betke, Prakash Ishwar & Swathi Kiran
🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...
#Aphasia #NeuroAI #StrokeRecovery

Aphasia severity prediction using a multi-modal machine learning approach

The present study examined an integrated multiple neuroimaging modality (T1 structural, Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), and resting-state FMRI (rsFMRI…

doi.org

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Swathi Kiran@Center for Brain Recovery at BU @swathikiran.bsky.social · Aug 14

📢 New Research from the BU Center for Brain Recovery:
CBR researchers examined how to predict aphasia severity (WAB-R AQ) post-stroke using machine learning + multimodal MRI.

Read more: doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...

#Stroke #AphasiaRecovery #MachineLearning #Neuroimaging #Neurorehab #MLinNeuro #Research

Swathi Kiran@Center for Brain Recovery at BU @swathikiran.bsky.social · Aug 12

I think most of the treatments reviewed in this paper target practicing phonological access- it’s actually quite non specific IMO - that’s why the review finds generalization to untrained words and in some treatments even the control words

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Reposted by Swathi Kiran@Center for Brain Recovery at BU

ASHA Journals @ashajournals.bsky.social · Aug 7

Dr. Swathi Kiran Selected as Incoming Editor-in-Chief of #JSLHR. Dr. Kiran will begin her term on January 1, succeeding Dr. Julie Washington. Welcome, Dr. Kiran, & thanks to Dr. Washington! on.asha.org/4orylYe

@sigperspectives.bsky.social @csdisseminate.bsky.social @bostonu.bsky.social

Swathi Kiran Selected as Incoming Editor-in-Chief of JSLHR - ASHA Journals Academy

The Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research (JSLHR) is pleased to announce the selection of Swathi Kiran, PhD, CCC-SLP as incoming editor-in-chief of the language section of the journal. Dr....

on.asha.org

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Swathi Kiran@Center for Brain Recovery at BU @swathikiran.bsky.social · Aug 1

Over 60% of this year's Neuroscience of the Everyday World (N.E.W.) Conference attendees were students/trainees!

Thank you to all of our student/trainee attendees who shared their research in the form of a poster or talk and congratulations to our 18 travel award winners!

#NEWconf2025

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Swathi Kiran@Center for Brain Recovery at BU @swathikiran.bsky.social · Jul 30

Thank you to all of our Day 2 speakers, sponsors, and attendees!

And thank you to our collaborators, Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute and Boston University Neurophotonics Center. #NEWconf2025

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Swathi Kiran@Center for Brain Recovery at BU @swathikiran.bsky.social · Jul 30

Symposium 3 Speakers:
Daniel Ferris, University of Florida
Simon Ladouce, University of Leuven
Matthew Rizzo, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Ying Choon Wu, University of California, San Diego

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