Vicky Lai

Associate Professor, Cognition & Neural Systems
Associate Professor, Cognitive Science Program
Faculty, Second Language Acquisition and Teaching Program
Courtesy Faculty, Department of Linguistics
Director, Cognitive Neuroscience of Language Laboratory
Lai Headshot

Psychology 456 (Office)
Psychology 113 (Lab)

(520) 621-3443
tzuyinlai@arizona.edu

Links

Lab Website

Research Interests: 

  • Figurative language: How do people comprehend metaphors, irony, and idioms? What is the role of metaphor in embodied cognition? Can metaphors help abstract, science concept learning? What are the social-affective functions of metaphors and irony? 
  • Emotion and language: How is emotion encoded in language? How do language activities such as reading give rise to emotion? How do readers’ mood states influence meaning making in language? Do older adults understand and produce emotional language differently from younger adults?
  • Language and thought: Do the language(s) we speak influence how we perceive and reason about the world?

Updated: 09/19/22

Selected Publications: 

  • Yu, Y., Krebs, L., Beeman, M., & Lai, V. T. (2025). Hidden Brain States Reveal the Temporal Dynamics of Neural Oscillations During Metaphor Generation and Their Role in Verbal Creativity. Psychophysiology, 62(2), e70023.
  • Lai, V.T., Pfeifer, V., & Ku, L.C. (2024). Emotional language processing: An individual differences approach. Psychology of Learning and Motivation - Advances in Research and Theory, 80, 73-104.
  • Lai, V. T., Hubbard, R., Ku, L. C., & Pfeifer, V. (2023). Electrophysiology of non-literal language. Language electrified: Principles, methods, and future perspectives of investigation, 613-646.

Courses Taught:

  • PSY 300 – Intro to Cognitive Neuroscience - A Guide to Mind and Brain (2023)
  • PSYS 407 - Language and Thought (2023)
  • NSCS 320 – Issues/Themes in Cognitive Science (2022)
  • PSY 530 – Neural Basis of Language (2026)
  • PSY 496F - Cognitive Psychology: Seminar (2017)

*Year listed indicates when this individual last taught the specified course.

Updated: 02/13/25