Vicky Lai

Associate Professor, Cognition & Neural Systems
Director, Cognitive Neuroscience of Language Laboratory
Interim Director & Associate Professor, Cognitive Science Program
Faculty & Courtesy Faculty, Second Language Acquisition & Teaching Program, Department of Linguistics, & BIO5
Lai Headshot

Psychology 456

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?
    • How are metaphors processed in healthy older adults and individuals with mild cognitive impairments or primary progressive aphasia?
  • 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?
    • What are the individual differences in emotional language comprehension and production?
    • 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: 10/02/25

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.
  • Ku, L. C., & Lai, V. T. (2025). Use of context in updating affective representations of words in older adults. Biological psychology, 195, 109003.
  • Baiocco L., Kielar, A., & Lai, V. T. (in press/2025). ERP Correlates and Metaphor Comprehension in Neurotypical Adults: A Scoping Review. Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience.

Courses Taught:

  • PSY 300 - Intro to Cognitive Neuroscience - A Guide to Mind and Brain (2023)
  • PSYS 407 - Language and Thought (2023)
  • PSY 496F - Cognitive Psychology: Seminar (2017)
  • PSY 530 - Neural Basis of Language (2025)
  • CGSC 320 - Issues/Themes in Cognitive Science (2022)
  • CGSC 340 - Brain and Language (2026)
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*Year listed indicates when this individual last taught the specified course.

Updated: 10/02/25