LISN Lab Celebrates a Memorable EPS Lancaster Experience

What a vibrant few days we had at the Experimental Psychology Society conference in Lancaster! The LISN Lab team returned to the lab energised, inspired, and with notebooks full of new ideas after engaging with the psychological research community.

The conference halls buzzed with excitement as our researchers shared their latest discoveries. We dived deep into the fascinating world of how languages, which place different emphases on the subject or the overall topic, are underpinned by different structural representations in the brain. Meanwhile, conversations flourished around our presentations on how our life experiences shape abstract thinking - it turns out those episodic memories don’t just help us remember the past, they fundamentally influence how we mentally construct concepts like “freedom” or “justice”.

We’ve really enjoyed the discussions about our work on inner speech. When that little voice in your head speaks, how do the motor and auditory speech mechanisms work together, differently and dynamically? Our findings on how perceptual reactivation plays a key role in shaping inner speech experiences into different forms prompted many attendees to reflect on their own inner speech experiences.

The entire event flowed seamlessly thanks to the tremendous efforts of Padraic, Alice, and all the local organisers who transformed academic presentations into a genuine community experience. Their thoughtful planning created spaces not just for formal knowledge exchange, but for the kind of spontaneous interactions that often spark the most innovative ideas.

As we settle back into our research routines, we carry with us new connections, fresh insights, and renewed enthusiasm for our research questions. Stay tuned as we build on these experiences in our upcoming work!