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Interdisciplinary Research Centre
 

Dr Victoria Leong

Research

Dr Victoria Leong (Vicky) is a developmental cognitive neuroscientist who is interested in neural synchrony between mothers and infants. She heads the Baby-LINC (Learning through Interpersonal Neural Communication) Lab at the University of Cambridge where she uses electroencephalgraphy (EEG) to study how mother-infant neural activity can become naturally synchronised during social interactions, and how this synchronisation could help babies to learn from their mothers.

Vicky currently holds a dual appointment as an Affiliated Lecturer with the Department of Psychology in Cambridge, and Assistant Professor of Psychology with Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

Vicky received her undergraduate degree in Medical Science from the University of Cambridge in 2001. After working as a special education teacher and in special education policy in Singapore, she returned to Cambridge for a Masters in Psychology & Education and she obtained her PhD in Psychology from Cambridge in 2013. Vicky's PhD thesis was awarded the 2014 Robert J. Glushko Prize by the Cognitive Science Society, in recognition of outstanding cross-disciplinary work (integrating neuroscience, psychology, linguistics and computational modelling). Shortly after completing her PhD in 2013, Vicky was awarded a prestigious Junior Research Fellowship for early-career independent research at the University of Cambridge, followed by a Parke Davis Exchange Fellowship at Harvard University in 2015. Vicky has been awarded several research grants from the UK Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC), the British Academy and the Rosetrees Medical Trust to study language learning and neural development in infants and young children. The ESRC is funding her most recent work on mother-infant brain synchrony through its Transformative Research scheme, which recognises pioneering and potentially transformative scientific research. 

Publications

Key publications: 

Leong, V., Byrne, E., Clackson, K., Harte, N., Lam, S.,  & Wass, S. (2017). Speaker gaze changes information coupling between infant and adult brains. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 114(50), 13290-13295. 

Leong, V., & Goswami, U. (2017). Auditory organization as a cause of reading backwardness. Developmental Science. doi: 10.1111/desc.12457

Wass, S., & Leong, V. (2016). Developmental Psychology: How social context influences infants’ attention.  Current Biology, 26, R355–R376.

Leong, V., & Goswami, U. (2015). Acoustic-Emergent Phonology in the amplitude envelope of child-directed speech. PLoS ONE. 10(12):e0144411

Leong, V., Hamalainen, J., Soltesz, F., & Goswami, U. (2011). Rise time perception and detection of syllable stress in adults with developmental dyslexia. Journal of Memory and Language, 64, 59–73.  

Leong V, Kalashnikova M, Burnham D & Goswami U (2014). Infant-directed speech enhances temporal rhythmic structure in the envelope. INTERSPEECH 2014,  2563-2567. 
 
Leong V, Stone M, Turner R & Goswami U. (2014). A role for amplitude modulation phase relationships in speech rhythm perception. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 136, 366-381. 
 

Leong V, & Goswami U (2014). Impaired extraction of speech rhythm from temporal modulation patterns in speech in developmental dyslexia. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8:96. 

Leong, V., & Goswami, U. (in press). Assessment of rhythmic entrainment at multiple timescales in dyslexia : Evidence for disruption to syllable timing. Hearing Research. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.heares.2013.07.015

Soltesz, F., Szucs, D., Leong, V., White, S., & Goswami, U. (2013). Atypical entrainment of Delta oscillations to rhythmic stimulus streams in developmental dyslexia, PLOS One, 8(10): e76608. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0076608

Goswami, U., Mead, N., Fosker,T., Huss, M., Barnes, L., & Leong,V. (2013). Impaired perception of syllable stress in children with dyslexia: A longitudinal study. Journal of Memory & Language, 69, 1-17.

Goswami, U. & Leong, V. (2013). Speech rhythm and temporal structure: Converging perspectives? Laboratory Phonology, 4, 67-92.

Thomson, J., Leong, V.,  Goswami, U. (2013). Auditory processing interventions and developmental dyslexia: a comparison of phonemic and rhythmic approaches, Reading and Writing, 26, 139-161.

Leong, V., Hamalainen, J., Soltesz, F., and Goswami, U. (2011). Rise time perception and detection of syllable stress in adults with developmental dyslexia. Journal of Memory and Language, 64, 59–73.

Publications (from Symplectic)

Journal articles

2022

  • Zhu, Y., Leong, V., Hou, Y., Zhang, D., Pan, Y. and Hu, Y., 2022. Instructor–Learner Neural Synchronization During Elaborated Feedback Predicts Learning Transfer Journal of Educational Psychology, v. 114
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000707
    •

    2021 (Accepted for publication)

  • Leong, V., Raheel, K., Sim, JY., Kacker, K., Karlaftis, VM., Vassiliu, C., Chen, SHA., Robbins, TW., Sahakian, BJ. and Kourtzi, Z., 2021 (Accepted for publication). A New Remote Guided Method for Supervised Web-Based Cognitive Testing to Ensure High Quality Data Journal of Medical Internet Research, v. 24
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.2196/28368
    •

    2021

  • Leong, V., Bzdok, D., Paulus, FM., Pelphrey, K., Redcay, E. and Schilbach, L., 2021. Editorial: Social Interaction in Neuropsychiatry. Front Psychiatry, v. 12
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.683158
    •
  • Leong, V., Ham, GX. and Augustine, GJ., 2021. Using Optogenetic Dyadic Animal Models to Elucidate the Neural Basis for Human Parent-Infant Social Knowledge Transmission. Front Neural Circuits, v. 15
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.3389/fncir.2021.731691
    •
  • Marriott Haresign, I., Phillips, E., Whitehorn, M., Noreika, V., Jones, EJH., Leong, V. and Wass, SV., 2021. Automatic classification of ICA components from infant EEG using MARA. Dev Cogn Neurosci, v. 52
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2021.101024
    •

    2020

  • Santamaria, L., Noreika, V., Georgieva, S., Clackson, K., Wass, S. and Leong, V., 2020. Emotional valence modulates the topology of the parent-infant inter-brain network. Neuroimage, v. 207
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116341
    •
  • Noreika, V., Georgieva, S., Wass, S. and Leong, V., 2020. 14 challenges and their solutions for conducting social neuroscience and longitudinal EEG research with infants. Infant Behav Dev, v. 58
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2019.101393
    •
  • Georgieva, S., Lester, S., Noreika, V., Yilmaz, MN., Wass, S. and Leong, V., 2020. Toward the Understanding of Topographical and Spectral Signatures of Infant Movement Artifacts in Naturalistic EEG. Front Neurosci, v. 14
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2020.00352
    •
  • Wass, SV., Whitehorn, M., Marriott Haresign, I., Phillips, E. and Leong, V., 2020. Interpersonal Neural Entrainment during Early Social Interaction. Trends Cogn Sci, v. 24
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2020.01.006
    •
  • Sela, Y., Santamaria, L., Amichai-Hamburge, Y. and Leong, V., 2020. Towards a Personalized Multi-Domain Digital Neurophenotyping Model for the Detection and Treatment of Mood Trajectories. Sensors (Basel), v. 20
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.3390/s20205781
    •
  • Carozza, S. and Leong, V., 2020. The Role of Affectionate Caregiver Touch in Early Neurodevelopment and Parent-Infant Interactional Synchrony. Front Neurosci, v. 14
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2020.613378
    •

    2019

  • Leong, V. and Schilbach, L., 2019. The promise of two-person neuroscience for developmental psychiatry: using interaction-based sociometrics to identify disorders of social interaction. Br J Psychiatry, v. 215
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.2019.73
    •
  • Clackson, K., Wass, S., Georgieva, S., Brightman, L., Nutbrown, R., Almond, H., Bieluczyk, J., Carro, G., Rigby Dames, B. and Leong, V., 2019. Do Helpful Mothers Help? Effects of Maternal Scaffolding and Infant Engagement on Cognitive Performance. Front Psychol, v. 10
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02661
    •

    2018

  • Neale, D., Clackson, K., Georgieva, S., Dedetas, H., Scarpate, M., Wass, S. and Leong, V., 2018. Toward a Neuroscientific Understanding of Play: A Dimensional Coding Framework for Analyzing Infant-Adult Play Patterns. Front Psychol, v. 9
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00273
    •
  • Wass, SV., Clackson, K., Georgieva, SD., Brightman, L., Nutbrown, R. and Leong, V., 2018. Infants' visual sustained attention is higher during joint play than solo play: is this due to increased endogenous attention control or exogenous stimulus capture? Dev Sci, v. 21
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12667
    •
  • Wass, SV., Noreika, V., Georgieva, S., Clackson, K., Brightman, L., Nutbrown, R., Covarrubias, LS. and Leong, V., 2018. Parental neural responsivity to infants' visual attention: How mature brains influence immature brains during social interaction. PLoS Biol, v. 16
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2006328
    •
  • Wass, SV., Clackson, K. and Leong, V., 2018. Increases in Arousal are More Long-Lasting than Decreases in Arousal: On Homeostatic Failures During Emotion Regulation in Infancy Infancy, v. 23
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1111/infa.12243
    •
  • Wass, SV., de Barbaro, K., Clackson, K. and Leong, V., 2018. New meanings of thin-skinned: The contrasting attentional profiles of typical 12-month-olds who show high, and low, stress reactivity. Dev Psychol, v. 54
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000428
    •

    2017

  • Leong, V. and Goswami, U., 2017. Difficulties in auditory organization as a cause of reading backwardness? An auditory neuroscience perspective. Dev Sci, v. 20
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12457
    •
  • Leong, V., Kalashnikova, M., Burnham, D. and Goswami, U., 2017. The Temporal Modulation Structure of Infant-Directed Speech Open Mind: Discoveries in Cognitive Science,
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1162/OPMI_a_00008
    •
  • Leong, VVE., Byrne, E., Clackson, K., Georgieva, S., Lam, S. and Wass, S., 2017. Speaker gaze increases information coupling between infant and adult brains Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, v. 114
    •

    2016

  • Wass, SV. and Leong, V., 2016. Developmental Psychology: How Social Context Influences Infants' Attention. Curr Biol, v. 26
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.03.051
    •
  • Goswami, U., Barnes, L., Mead, N., Power, AJ. and Leong, V., 2016. Prosodic Similarity Effects in Short-Term Memory in Developmental Dyslexia. Dyslexia, v. 22
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1002/dys.1535
    •

    2015

  • Cumming, R., Wilson, A., Leong, V., Colling, LJ. and Goswami, U., 2015. Awareness of Rhythm Patterns in Speech and Music in Children with Specific Language Impairments. Front Hum Neurosci, v. 9
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00672
    •
  • Cumming, R., Wilson, A., Leong, V., Colling, LJ. and Goswami, U., 2015. Awareness of Rhythm Patterns in Speech and Music in Children with Specific Language Impairments FRONTIERS IN HUMAN NEUROSCIENCE, v. 9
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00672
    •
  • Leong, V. and Goswami, U., 2015. Acoustic-Emergent Phonology in the Amplitude Envelope of Child-Directed Speech. PLoS One, v. 10
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0144411
    •

    2014

  • Leong, V. and Goswami, U., 2014. Assessment of rhythmic entrainment at multiple timescales in dyslexia: evidence for disruption to syllable timing. Hear Res, v. 308
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.heares.2013.07.015
    •
  • Leong, V. and Goswami, U., 2014. Impaired extraction of speech rhythm from temporal modulation patterns in speech in developmental dyslexia. Front Hum Neurosci, v. 8
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00096
    •
  • Leong, V., Stone, MA., Turner, RE. and Goswami, U., 2014. A role for amplitude modulation phase relationships in speech rhythm perception. J Acoust Soc Am, v. 136
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1121/1.4883366
    •

    2013 (No publication date)

  • Goswami, UC., Soltész, F., Szűcs, D., Leong, V. and White, S., 2013 (No publication date). Differential Entrainment of Neuroelectric Delta Oscillations in Developmental Dyslexia PLoS ONE, v. 8
    Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0076608
    •

    2013

  • Goswami, U., Mead, N., Fosker, T., Huss, M., Barnes, L. and Leong, V., 2013. Impaired perception of syllable stress in children with dyslexia: A longitudinal study Journal of Memory and Language,
    •
  • Goswami, U., Mead, N., Fosker, T., Huss, M., Barnes, L. and Leong, V., 2013. Impaired perception of syllable stress in children with dyslexia: A longitudinal study Journal of Memory and Language, v. 69
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2013.03.001
    •
  • Goswami, UC., Szűcs, D., Leong, V., White, S. and Soltész, F., 2013. Differential Entrainment of Neuroelectric Delta Oscillations in Developmental Dyslexia PLoS One, v. 8
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0076608
    •
  • Goswami, U. and Leong, V., 2013. Speech rhythm and temporal structure: Converging perspectives? LABORATORY PHONOLOGY, v. 4
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1515/lp-2013-0004
    •
  • Thomson, JM., Leong, V. and Goswami, U., 2013. Auditory processing interventions and developmental dyslexia: A comparison of phonemic and rhythmic approaches Reading and Writing, v. 26
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-012-9359-6
    •

    2011

  • Leong, V., Hämäläinen, J., Soltész, F. and Goswami, U., 2011. Rise time perception and detection of syllable stress in adults with developmental dyslexia Journal of Memory and Language, v. 64
    Doi: 10.1016/j.jml.2010.09.003
    •

    2006

  • Ang, RP., Neubronner, M., Oh, SA. and Leong, V., 2006. Dimensionality of rosenberg's self-esteem scale among normal-technical stream students in singapore Current Psychology, v. 25
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-006-1007-3
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    Datasets

    2021

  • Karlaftis, V., Papadopoulos, A., Eldridge, M., Ross, P., Leong, V. and Kourtzi, Z., 2021. Research data supporting "i-ABC: a computerised application for online profiling of learning ability and cognitive flexibility"
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.77977
    •
    Book chapters

    2016

  • Goswami, U. and Leong, VVE., 2016. Speech rhythm and temporal structure : Converging perspectives?

    • 2015

  • Leong, VVE., Goswami, U. and Power, A., 2015. Neurocognitive basis of auditory processing and phonology in dyslexia
    • Conference proceedings

    2014

  • Leong, V., Kalashnikova, M., Burnham, D. and Goswami, U., 2014. Infant-directed speech enhances temporal rhythmic structure in the envelope Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the International Speech Communication Association, INTERSPEECH,
    •
    Affiliated Lecturer (University of Cambridge)
    Assistant Professor of Psychology (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)
    Departments and institutes: 
    Centre for Neuroscience in Education
    Dr Victoria Leong

    Affiliations

    Classifications: 
    Academic Staff

    Study at Cambridge

    About the University

    Research at Cambridge