Niloufar Ansari Dezfuly

Niloufar Ansari Dezfuly

Too Long, Too Twisty, or Both?

Why do some people struggle to understand complex sentences while others breeze through them? When someone has trouble following a sentence, is the issue their language skills or working memory? Our research explores how language and working memory interact during sentence comprehension. We developed a new version of the classic, Token Test, using colored tokens and spoken commands. Some sentences are long but simple; others are short yet linguistically complex. This design helps tease apart whether difficulties stem from understanding language or from memory load. 130 participants completed the test, and we analyzed how accuracy and response times changed based on sentence length and complexity. The goal? To build better tools for assessing language comprehension. This is especially important for individuals with language disorders, such as Developmental Language Disorder, where accurate diagnosis and effective support depend on reliable assessment. Our work contributes to making those tools smarter, and more precise.

Niloufar Ansari Dezfuly
PhD candidate, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences - Western University

Supervisor
Dr. Lisa Archibald 

Niloufar is a Ph.D. candidate in Speech and Language Sciences at Western University and a member of the Language and Working Memory Lab under the supervision of Dr. Archibald. Her current research focuses on the systematic redesign and validation of the Token Test as an assessment tool for examining the relative contributions of working memory and language knowledge to sentence processing. Her research interests include working memory, auditory and verbal sensory memory, bilingualism, and language-based cognitive assessment. She is particularly interested in the development and refinement of assessment tools for both research and clinical contexts. Niloufar also has a background in Spanish linguistics and research examining the effects of musical experience and bilingualism on auditory sensory memory.

You can connect with Niloufar via email.

View Niloufar's work as it appears in the Inspiring Minds Digital Collection.