Dr Anastasia Giannakopoulou

Senior Lecturer in Psychology

Anastasia Giannakopoulou

I am interested in brain plasticity and its relation to language learning and development in typical and atypical populations.

My background in both psychology and psycholinguistics has sparked my research work in speech perception and auditory perceptual training using specialised computer software programmes and smartphone applications. I use behavioural as well as electroencephalography (EEG) techniques to investigate online brain response to auditory and visual stimuli with experimental designs looking into native and non-native language speakers.

I also work on age-related factors with implications on language learning, as well as techniques used to 'train' the brain taking advantage of its neuroplastic abilities. This strand of work also has implications and can benefit not only healthy but also language impaired populations.

I have a growing interest in the area of ageing psychology, both healthy and pathological (e.g. MCI, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and other age-related deficits). I teach cognitive and developmental psychology, covering areas of typical and atypical development.

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PhD in Psychology - Brunel University London
PGCert in Teaching and Learning in HE - Brunel University London (HEA Accredited)
MPhil in English and Applied Linguistics - Cambridge University
BA (Hons) English Language Studies - University of Central Lancashire

Deaf Awareness Qualification, ‘Working & Communicating Well with Deaf People’, DCAL UCL
Fellow with HEA, Accreditation
ERP Certificate of Attendance, ERP Summer School, Bangor University
B-Innovative Entrepreneurship 10-week (CPD/Consultancy) Course, University of Bedfordshire
Linear Models in R (CPD Course), University of Kent
Counseling I, UCLAN

BSc Psychology Course Leader
Teaching UG/PG students
Unit Co-ordinator
Supervising UG/PG student research projects
Personal Academic Tutor
Neuropsychology Lab coordinator (EEG & Eye-Tracking)
Student Research Assistant Scheme coordinator
Junior Research Institute, Co-director

Neural plasticity
Typical and atypical cognitive development
Language acquisition
Speech perception
Reading development and reading interventions
Brain plasticity in first and second language learning
High variability perceptual training (HVPT)
Design, development and evaluation of language learning computer training tools and smartphone applications
Psychology of Ageing (healthy and pathological ageing)
EEG /neuroimaging techniques

British Psychological Society (BPS) – Chartered Psychologist, Division of Neuropsychology (CPsychol, DoN)
Fellow, Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
British Dyslexia Association (BDA)
American Association for Psychological Science (APS)
Society for the Scientific Study of Reading (SSSR)
External Examiner, University of East London
Research Journal & Book Reviewer (PLOS, OUP, Journal of Phonetics, JSLHR, PeerJ, and more)

‘Exploring the effect of rhythm on cognitive function and reading in children with varied reading ability (typical and dyslexic readers)’, in collaboration with the University of California San Francisco, USA.
‘Smart Reading - Developing Reading Skills using a game-based App in children, ‘Luppakorva’ Reading Dog Project’, in collaboration with OutLoud Labs (Finland) and University of Wolverhampton, Birmingham City University, Liverpool John Moores University.

Research England Fund, January 2024 – present
Research Centre for Applied Psychology Fund, December 2023 – present

Wilsdon, L., Uther, M., Chadwick, D., Giannakopoulou, A. (2023). Smart Reading: Developing Reading Skills using a game-based App in children. Oral Presentation. 16^th Annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation, Seville, Spain, 13-15 November 2023. ISBN: 978-84-09-55942-8. DOI: 10.21125/iceri.2023. https://library.iated.org/publications/ICERI2023
Zanto, T., Giannakopoulou, A., Gallen, C., Ostrand, A., Younger, J., Anguera-Singla, R., Anguera, J. and Gazzaley, A. (2023). Effects of digital rhythm training on cognitive abilities in children and older adults. ICMPC17-APSCOM7 (Joint Conference of the 17^th International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition (ICMPC) and the 7^th Conference of the Asia-Pacific Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music (APSCOM), Nihon University, Japan, 24-28 August 2023.
Wilsdon, L., Uther, M., Chadwick, D., Giannakopoulou, A. (2023). Smart reading: Developing reading skills using a game-based app in children. Poster Presentation. 25^th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Copenhagen, Denmark, 23-28 July 2023, https://2023.hci.international/index.html
Giannakopoulou, A., Zanto, T., Gallen, C., Ostrand, A., Younger, J., Anguera-Singla, R., Anguera, J. and Gazzaley, A. (2023). Using digital rhythm training to improve reading fluency in children. EduLearn23 International Education Conference, Oral Presentation. Palma, Majorca, Spain. 3-5 July 2023.
Giannakopoulou, A., Zanto, T., Gallen, C., Ostrand, A., Younger, J., Anguera-Singla, R., Anguera, J. and Gazzaley, A. (2023). Using digital rhythm training to improve reading fluency in children. IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing (ICASSP). 4-10 June 2023, Rhodes Island, Greece
Wilsdon, L., Uther, M., Chadwick, D. Giannakopoulou, A. (2023). Smart reading: Developing reading skills using a game-based app in children. Learning and Plasticity LaP 2023, Finland. https://lapmeeting.fi
Junttila, K., Smolander, A.R., Karhila, R., Giannakopoulou, A., Uther, M., Kurimo, M., Ylinen, S. (2022). Speech-based gaming in children's foreign-language learning. Learning and Plasticity LaP2022, Lapland, Finland (oral presentation). https://lapmeeting.fi/programme
Junttila, K., Smolander, A.R., Karhila, R., Giannakopoulou, A., Uther, M., Kurimo, M., Ylinen, S. (2022). ‘Say it again Kid’: evidence for improvements from a game-based language learning application. New Sounds 2022, the 10th International Symposium on the Acquisition of Second Language Speech, 20-22 April 2022, Barcelona (oral presentation). https://www.ub.edu/newsounds2022/
Kangatharan, J., Giannakopoulou, A., Uther, M. (2020). Intelligibility of speech improves after perceptual vowel training in L2 learners of English. Editor: Linda Taschenberger. (2020, March 29). Book of Abstracts: 2nd Workshop on Speech Perception and Production across the Lifespan (SPPL2020). Zenodo. doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3732383

Zanto, T.P., Giannakopoulou, A., Gallen, C.L., Ostrand, A. E., Younger, J. W., Anguera-Singla, R., Anguera, J.A., Gazzaley, A. (2024). Digital rhythm training improves reading fluency in children. Developmental Science. https://DOI.org/10.1111/desc.13473
Sidat, S., Giannakopoulou, A., Hand, C.J., Ingram, J., (2023). Dual-task decrements in mono-, bi-, and multilingual participants: evidence of multilingual advantage. LATERALITY: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition. ISSN: 1357-650X. DOI: 10.1080/1357650X.2023.2178061
Mallinson, M.G., Giannakopoulou, A. & Clements, A. (2022). The Impact of Linguistic Form of Labels on Desire for Social Distance in Mental Health. Int J Ment Health Addiction. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-022-00967-y
Junttila, K., Smolander, A-R., Karhila, R., Giannakopoulou, A., Uther, M., Kurimo, M. and Ylinen, S. (2022). Gaming enhances learning-induced plastic changes in the brain. Brain and Language. Volume 230, ISSN 0093-934X. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2022.105124
Kangatharan, J., Giannakopoulou, A., Uther, M. (2021). The Effect of HVP Training in Vowel Perception on Bilingual Speech Production. Research in English Language Teaching. Conscientia Beam. Vol 2 (1), pp. 15-32. https://archive.conscientiabeam.com/index.php/179/article/view/2574/3986, DOI: 10.18488/journal.179.2021.21.15.32
Davis, M. H., Evans, S., McCarthy, K., Evans, L., Giannakopoulou, A., & Taylor, J. S. H. (2019, January 29). Lexical learning shapes the development of speech perception until late adolescence. Preprint available at: doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/ktsey