Natalie Boll-Avetisyan
@natalieboll.bsky.social
Prof @ UniPotsdam | Developmental Psycholinguist | BabyLab Potsdam | Associate Editor @ Bilingualism: Language and Cognition
Pinned
Dear bluesky community, it is wonderful to see us growing!
A quick introduction of myself: I am Assistant Professor of Developmental Psycholinguistics based at U Potsdam, Germany.
My research focuses on infant 👶 language development, and I use experimental methods.
A quick introduction of myself: I am Assistant Professor of Developmental Psycholinguistics based at U Potsdam, Germany.
My research focuses on infant 👶 language development, and I use experimental methods.
New study results on robots interacting with infants! Very likely, we will share a living with humanoid robots in near future. If robotd move into households with young children, they will likely interact. Therefore, we were curious whether infants would learn language from robots. 1/3
ieeexplore.ieee.org
October 31, 2025 at 11:24 AM
New study results on robots interacting with infants! Very likely, we will share a living with humanoid robots in near future. If robotd move into households with young children, they will likely interact. Therefore, we were curious whether infants would learn language from robots. 1/3
Reposted by Natalie Boll-Avetisyan
Interesting study on ketamine
No significant effect for ketamine (vs midazolam) in this trial. This contrasts previous research. Functional unblinding and reduced expectancy effects due to the enrolment algorithm likely explain this finding (implying that older research is biased).
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Serial Ketamine Infusions for Depression
This randomized clinical trial evaluates outcomes following adjunctive ketamine infusions vs midazolam for depression.
jamanetwork.com
October 22, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Interesting study on ketamine
How do multilingual babies acquire their languages? In Africa, multilingualism is the norm. In our new study with 9-11 month old Ghanaian babies learning up to 5 languages simultaneously, we found that they were able to recognize words in text passages in Akan, one of their languages.
Tongue root harmony cues for speech segmentation in multilingually raised infants learning languages with and without vowel harmony in Ghana (Africa) | Bilingualism: Language and Cognition | Cambridge...
Tongue root harmony cues for speech segmentation in multilingually raised infants learning languages with and without vowel harmony in Ghana (Africa)
doi.org
October 2, 2025 at 6:30 AM
How do multilingual babies acquire their languages? In Africa, multilingualism is the norm. In our new study with 9-11 month old Ghanaian babies learning up to 5 languages simultaneously, we found that they were able to recognize words in text passages in Akan, one of their languages.
Über unsere experimentelle Feldstudie mit Babys in Metro Manila! Tagalog lernende Babys unterscheiden Sprachlaute spät. 👇
Die Ergebnisse ihrer Forschung auf den #Philippinen veröffentlichten die Potsdamer Psycholinguistinnen Prof. @natalieboll.bsky.social und Dr. Rowena Garcia jetzt im Journal "Developmental Psychology". Mehr Infos unter: www.uni-potsdam.de/de/medieninf...
Feine Unterschiede erkennen – Neue Studie zur Sprachentwicklung bei Säuglingen im globalen Süden
Medieninformation 09-09-2025 / Nr. 080
www.uni-potsdam.de
September 11, 2025 at 4:38 AM
Über unsere experimentelle Feldstudie mit Babys in Metro Manila! Tagalog lernende Babys unterscheiden Sprachlaute spät. 👇
Reposted by Natalie Boll-Avetisyan
In a study of professors, women got 378 new work requests over 4 weeks vs 118 for men. Women spent more time on service, advising & teaching; men on research. Orgs should track who is taking extra duties & ensure they are rewarded and distributed fairly. www.forbes.com/sites/kimels...
Being Too Helpful At Work Can Hurt Your Career—Here’s How To Say No
Women are more likely to take on behind-the-scenes duties at work—extra tasks like onboarding or event planning—and it's hurting their careers. Here's how to say no.
www.forbes.com
July 7, 2025 at 8:03 PM
In a study of professors, women got 378 new work requests over 4 weeks vs 118 for men. Women spent more time on service, advising & teaching; men on research. Orgs should track who is taking extra duties & ensure they are rewarded and distributed fairly. www.forbes.com/sites/kimels...
It's official: As of today, I am tenured professor at the University of Potsdam, Germany.
July 1, 2025 at 5:43 AM
It's official: As of today, I am tenured professor at the University of Potsdam, Germany.
If you receive an invitation to review a manuscript, it will be very helpful if you hit the link to decline if you do not want to do it. Takes 5 seconds, and the editor will not wait for no reason. If you can spare another minute, please enter reviewer suggestions. BIG THANKS if you already do!
May 30, 2025 at 10:15 AM
If you receive an invitation to review a manuscript, it will be very helpful if you hit the link to decline if you do not want to do it. Takes 5 seconds, and the editor will not wait for no reason. If you can spare another minute, please enter reviewer suggestions. BIG THANKS if you already do!
Reposted by Natalie Boll-Avetisyan
There’s more than one way to be bilingual. If you’ve ever understood your family’s language but struggled to speak it back—you’re not alone. This video challenges narrow definitions of fluency and makes space for the kind of bilingualism that often goes unrecognized.
www.youtube.com/shorts/Qk8yV...
www.youtube.com/shorts/Qk8yV...
Receptive Bilinguals Are Not Monolingual | The Bilingual Professor
YouTube video by The Bilingual Professor
www.youtube.com
May 29, 2025 at 5:38 PM
There’s more than one way to be bilingual. If you’ve ever understood your family’s language but struggled to speak it back—you’re not alone. This video challenges narrow definitions of fluency and makes space for the kind of bilingualism that often goes unrecognized.
www.youtube.com/shorts/Qk8yV...
www.youtube.com/shorts/Qk8yV...
Reposted by Natalie Boll-Avetisyan
I'm THRILLED that our book is out. This book, with other 60 contributors from across the globe (!!!) is a love letter to the science we want to do, and a how-to guide for how to do it. Please read it and share it!
OUT NOW: A Field Guide to Cross-Cultural Research on Childhood Learning reimagines how we study kids—globally. With voices from 21 countries, this inclusive, practical guide bridges disciplines and challenges Western-centric research. buff.ly/0qk1cOs
May 9, 2025 at 4:33 PM
I'm THRILLED that our book is out. This book, with other 60 contributors from across the globe (!!!) is a love letter to the science we want to do, and a how-to guide for how to do it. Please read it and share it!
Reposted by Natalie Boll-Avetisyan
Are dance & infant-directed song human universals? Like many people, I've long thought so.
But in a new paper in Current Biology, Kim Hill & I report that the Northern Aché (Paraguay) lacked both behaviors, likely losing them after cultural collapse.
Open-access link: www.cell.com/current-biol...
But in a new paper in Current Biology, Kim Hill & I report that the Northern Aché (Paraguay) lacked both behaviors, likely losing them after cultural collapse.
Open-access link: www.cell.com/current-biol...
Loss of dance and infant-directed song among the Northern Aché
Singh and Hill report no evidence of dance or infant-directed song among the Northern
Aché of Paraguay, based on 122 months of fieldwork. Their findings challenge claims
of these behaviors’ universali...
www.cell.com
April 29, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Are dance & infant-directed song human universals? Like many people, I've long thought so.
But in a new paper in Current Biology, Kim Hill & I report that the Northern Aché (Paraguay) lacked both behaviors, likely losing them after cultural collapse.
Open-access link: www.cell.com/current-biol...
But in a new paper in Current Biology, Kim Hill & I report that the Northern Aché (Paraguay) lacked both behaviors, likely losing them after cultural collapse.
Open-access link: www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by Natalie Boll-Avetisyan
At @journalautism.bsky.social we are recruiting!
Thanks to a massive increase in submissions over recent years, we are dramatically expanding our team to appoint FIVE new editors!
See details of the role and how to apply here, by May 23rd.
journals.sagepub.com/pb-assets/PD...
Thanks to a massive increase in submissions over recent years, we are dramatically expanding our team to appoint FIVE new editors!
See details of the role and how to apply here, by May 23rd.
journals.sagepub.com/pb-assets/PD...
journals.sagepub.com
April 21, 2025 at 3:39 PM
At @journalautism.bsky.social we are recruiting!
Thanks to a massive increase in submissions over recent years, we are dramatically expanding our team to appoint FIVE new editors!
See details of the role and how to apply here, by May 23rd.
journals.sagepub.com/pb-assets/PD...
Thanks to a massive increase in submissions over recent years, we are dramatically expanding our team to appoint FIVE new editors!
See details of the role and how to apply here, by May 23rd.
journals.sagepub.com/pb-assets/PD...
Reposted by Natalie Boll-Avetisyan
Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions - rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking steps to make sure students can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect. Let’s hope others follow suit.
April 15, 2025 at 3:52 AM
Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions - rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking steps to make sure students can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect. Let’s hope others follow suit.
Reposted by Natalie Boll-Avetisyan
Decided to speak out on the state of our union. Just published in the Philadelphia Inquirer eedition.inquirer.com/infinity/art...
Coming home to a foreign land
Coming home to a foreign land
eedition.inquirer.com
March 26, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Decided to speak out on the state of our union. Just published in the Philadelphia Inquirer eedition.inquirer.com/infinity/art...
Reposted by Natalie Boll-Avetisyan
Reposted by Natalie Boll-Avetisyan
Join us as an Associate Professor in Developmental Psychology. my.corehr.com/pls/trrecrui...
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my.corehr.com
March 26, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Join us as an Associate Professor in Developmental Psychology. my.corehr.com/pls/trrecrui...
Reposted by Natalie Boll-Avetisyan
Science is under threat in the US. @elife.bsky.social have commissioned a series of articles discussing the implications and what we can do. The first three articles are now live. More to follow:
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
Science Under Threat in the United States: How scientists and institutions should respond
Individual researchers and university leaders need to make the case for science to their elected representatives and to the public at large.
elifesciences.org
March 25, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Science is under threat in the US. @elife.bsky.social have commissioned a series of articles discussing the implications and what we can do. The first three articles are now live. More to follow:
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
Reposted by Natalie Boll-Avetisyan
The next two articles in our Science under threat series offer personal accounts from the perspective of undergraduates and patients.
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
The homepage for the collection is here:
elifesciences.org/collections/...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
The homepage for the collection is here:
elifesciences.org/collections/...
March 26, 2025 at 5:34 PM
The next two articles in our Science under threat series offer personal accounts from the perspective of undergraduates and patients.
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
The homepage for the collection is here:
elifesciences.org/collections/...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
The homepage for the collection is here:
elifesciences.org/collections/...
@katievonholzen.bsky.social I immediately thought of you when I read about this word learning study with cats. Top of things: pupil dilations you can see with your own eye, and decent effects! You should open a cat lab! www.science.org/content/arti...
Cats beat babies at word-association game
Study suggests our feline friends are listening to us more than we think
www.science.org
March 25, 2025 at 6:30 AM
@katievonholzen.bsky.social I immediately thought of you when I read about this word learning study with cats. Top of things: pupil dilations you can see with your own eye, and decent effects! You should open a cat lab! www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Natalie Boll-Avetisyan
🗣️ Want to learn a new language? Skip the subtitles!
A study found adults tuned into a new language's rhythm after just 5 minutes - but written text disrupted this ability.
🔗 www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
#SciComm 🧪 #LanguageLearning
A study found adults tuned into a new language's rhythm after just 5 minutes - but written text disrupted this ability.
🔗 www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
#SciComm 🧪 #LanguageLearning
Tuning in to the prosody of a novel language is easier without orthography | Bilingualism: Language and Cognition | Cambridge Core
Tuning in to the prosody of a novel language is easier without orthography
www.cambridge.org
March 21, 2025 at 5:36 PM
🗣️ Want to learn a new language? Skip the subtitles!
A study found adults tuned into a new language's rhythm after just 5 minutes - but written text disrupted this ability.
🔗 www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
#SciComm 🧪 #LanguageLearning
A study found adults tuned into a new language's rhythm after just 5 minutes - but written text disrupted this ability.
🔗 www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
#SciComm 🧪 #LanguageLearning
Reposted by Natalie Boll-Avetisyan
There are days in life that shake you.
I’m shattered 💔 to share that I just found out that the US Government terminated my 2024 NIH Director’s Early Independence Award (~$2 million), threatening my long-promised assistant professor job at Columbia University
& academic career... 1/🧵
I’m shattered 💔 to share that I just found out that the US Government terminated my 2024 NIH Director’s Early Independence Award (~$2 million), threatening my long-promised assistant professor job at Columbia University
& academic career... 1/🧵
March 18, 2025 at 11:27 PM
There are days in life that shake you.
I’m shattered 💔 to share that I just found out that the US Government terminated my 2024 NIH Director’s Early Independence Award (~$2 million), threatening my long-promised assistant professor job at Columbia University
& academic career... 1/🧵
I’m shattered 💔 to share that I just found out that the US Government terminated my 2024 NIH Director’s Early Independence Award (~$2 million), threatening my long-promised assistant professor job at Columbia University
& academic career... 1/🧵
Reposted by Natalie Boll-Avetisyan
"On October 8, 1931, a law went into effect requiring every Italian university professor to sign an oath pledging their loyalty to the government of Benito Mussolini. Out of over 1,200 professors in the country, only 12 refused. All of them were immediately fired." www.chronicle.com/article/what...
Opinion | What Autocrats Want From Academics: Servility
In 1931, Italian scholars were made to take loyalty oaths. Will that happen to us?
www.chronicle.com
March 21, 2025 at 10:45 PM
"On October 8, 1931, a law went into effect requiring every Italian university professor to sign an oath pledging their loyalty to the government of Benito Mussolini. Out of over 1,200 professors in the country, only 12 refused. All of them were immediately fired." www.chronicle.com/article/what...
Reposted by Natalie Boll-Avetisyan
The current administration is straight up censoring the scientific record by requiring authors to alter an already-accepted research paper because it uses banned words such as "gender" and "equitable" and presents data broken down by sexual orientation.
We were asked to change language and delete data from a paper that already been through peer review successfully - "in order to comply with the Executive Order."
This is from the official journal of the US Surgeon General and the US Public Health Service.
criticalpublichealth.org/blog/2025/03...
This is from the official journal of the US Surgeon General and the US Public Health Service.
criticalpublichealth.org/blog/2025/03...
Resisting Attacks on Science - Center for Critical Public Health
So it happened. We have officially withdrawn a paper accepted for publication in a scientific journal because of editorial requests to remove language deemed out of compliance with executive orders.
criticalpublichealth.org
March 21, 2025 at 6:19 PM
The current administration is straight up censoring the scientific record by requiring authors to alter an already-accepted research paper because it uses banned words such as "gender" and "equitable" and presents data broken down by sexual orientation.
Reposted by Natalie Boll-Avetisyan
Why do we not remember being a baby? One idea is that the hippocampus, which is essential for episodic memory in adults, is too immature to form individual memories in infancy. We tested this using awake infant fMRI, new in @science.org #ScienceResearch www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Hippocampal encoding of memories in human infants
Humans lack memories for specific events from the first few years of life. We investigated the mechanistic basis of this infantile amnesia by scanning the brains of awake infants with functional magne...
www.science.org
March 20, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Why do we not remember being a baby? One idea is that the hippocampus, which is essential for episodic memory in adults, is too immature to form individual memories in infancy. We tested this using awake infant fMRI, new in @science.org #ScienceResearch www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Appeal by the International Academic Community in Support of Serbian Students & Professors - you can sign it, too: forms.office.com/pages/respon...
Microsoft Forms
forms.office.com
March 19, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Appeal by the International Academic Community in Support of Serbian Students & Professors - you can sign it, too: forms.office.com/pages/respon...
Reposted by Natalie Boll-Avetisyan
🚨 We’re hiring! 🚨
A postdoc position is available at my lab (npa.iit.it) in Rome! Join us to explore:
🎵 Neural bases of musicality (humans, infants, macaques)
💃🕺 Dance & joint music-making
🤝 Spontaneous social behavior
⬇️ Apply through the link below! ⬇️
A postdoc position is available at my lab (npa.iit.it) in Rome! Join us to explore:
🎵 Neural bases of musicality (humans, infants, macaques)
💃🕺 Dance & joint music-making
🤝 Spontaneous social behavior
⬇️ Apply through the link below! ⬇️
March 5, 2025 at 8:58 AM
🚨 We’re hiring! 🚨
A postdoc position is available at my lab (npa.iit.it) in Rome! Join us to explore:
🎵 Neural bases of musicality (humans, infants, macaques)
💃🕺 Dance & joint music-making
🤝 Spontaneous social behavior
⬇️ Apply through the link below! ⬇️
A postdoc position is available at my lab (npa.iit.it) in Rome! Join us to explore:
🎵 Neural bases of musicality (humans, infants, macaques)
💃🕺 Dance & joint music-making
🤝 Spontaneous social behavior
⬇️ Apply through the link below! ⬇️