Author

Sara Swords

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Listed by name: these papers carry no ORCID for this author, so different people with the same name may be mixed together.

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Neuroscience· 2

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Approach:experimental assay· 2 Organism:human· 1 Assay:imaging· 1 Research Focus:spatial domain detection· 1

Frequent Co-Authors

Evelina G. FedorenkoiD· 2 shared Niharika JhinganiD· 2 shared Cassie FreemaniD· 1 shared Colton CastoiD· 1 shared David James PetersoniD· 1 shared Hee So KimiD· 1 shared Hope KeaniD· 1 shared Jennifer ColeiD· 1 shared

Activity by Year

2025-2025 · peak 2/yr

Co-Author Collaboration Network

10 top collaborators · 29 mutual co-author links

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2 shared papersNeuroscience

Evelina G. FedorenkoORCID

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2 papers

Recent·Most cited

A distinct set of brain areas process prosody--the melody of speech

Tamar I. Regev, Hee So Kim, Niharika Jhingan, Sara Swords, Hope Kean, Colton Casto, Jennifer Cole, Evelina G. Fedorenko

The paper identifies distinct brain areas that process prosody in speech across multiple experiments and participants.

bioRxiv · Dec 14, 2025 · PreprintNeuroscience

Constructed languages are processed by the same brain mechanisms as natural languages

Saima Malik-Moraleda, Maya Taliaferro, Steve Shannon, Niharika Jhingan, Sara Swords, David James Peterson, Paul Frommer, Marc Okrand, Jessie Peterson, Ramsey L. Cardwell, Cassie Freeman, Evelina G. Fedorenko

The paper shows that constructed languages activate the same brain regions as natural languages, suggesting shared cognitive mechanisms regardless of their creation or usage characteristics.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · Mar 17, 2025Peer-reviewedNeuroscience