Barbara Landau is Dick and Lydia Todd Professor

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 and Chair of the Cognitive Science

Cognitive science

Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary scientific study of mind and its processes. It examines what cognition is, what it does and how it works. It includes research on how information is processed , represented, and transformed in behaviour, nervous system or machine...

 Department at Johns Hopkins University. She specializes in language learning, spatial representation

Visual processing

Visual processing is the sequence of steps that information takes as it flows from visual sensors to cognitive processing. The sensors may be zoological eyes or they may be cameras or sensor arrays that sense various portions of the electromagnetic spectrum....

, and the relationships between these foundational systems of human knowledge

Knowledge

Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...

. She is also an authority on language development in individuals with Williams Syndrome

Williams syndrome

Williams syndrome is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a distinctive, "elfin" facial appearance, along with a low nasal bridge; an unusually cheerful demeanor and ease with strangers; developmental delay coupled with strong language skills; and cardiovascular problems, such as...

. She received a B.A.

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 in sociology

Sociology

Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...

 from the University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

 in 1970, an Ed.M. in educational psychology

Educational psychology

Educational psychology is the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organizations. Educational psychology is concerned with how students learn and develop, often focusing...

 from Rutgers University

Rutgers University

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...

 in 1977, and a Ph.D.

Ph.D.

A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 in psychology

Psychology

Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...

 from the University of Pennsylvania in 1982. She has worked at Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

, the University of California, Irvine

University of California, Irvine

The University of California, Irvine , founded in 1965, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, located in Irvine, California, USA...

, and the University of Delaware

University of Delaware

The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...

 before accepting her current position at Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University

The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...

.

Williams Syndrome

• O'Hearn, K., Courtney, S., Street, W., & Landau, B. (2008) Working memory impairment in people with Williams syndrome: Effects of delay, task and stimuli. Brain and Cognition.
• Landau, B., & Hoffman, J.E. (2007) Explaining selective spatial breakdown in Williams syndrome: Four principles of normal development and why they matter. In J. Plumert and J. Spencer (Eds.), The emerging spatial mind. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• O'Hearn, K. & Landau, B. (2007) Mathematical skill in individuals with Williams syndrome: Evidence from a standardized mathematics battery. Brain and Cognition, 64, 238-246.
• Landau, B., Hoffman, J.E., & Kurz, N. (2006) Object recognition with severe spatial deficits in Williams syndrome: Sparing and breakdown. Cognition., 1-28.
• Reiss, J., Hoffman, J.E., & Landau, B. (2005) Motion processing specialization in Williams sundrome. Vision Research, 45, 3379-3390.
• O'Hearn, K., Landau, B., & Hoffman, J.E. (2005) Multiple object tracking in people with Williams syndrome and in normally developing children. Psychological Science. 16 (11), 905-912.
• Landau, B. and Hoffman, J.E. (2005) Parallels between spatial cognition and spatial language: Evidence from Williams syndrome. Journal of Memory and Language. 53 (2) 163-185.
• Georgopoulos, M-A., Georgopoulos, A. P., Kurz, N. & Landau, B. (2004). Figure copying in Williams syndrome and normal subjects. Experimental Brain Research, 157(2), 137-146.
• Hoffman, J. E., Landau, B., & Pagani, B. (2003). Spatial breakdown in spatial construction: Evidence from eye fixations in children with Williams syndrome. Cognitive Psychology, 46(3), 260-301.
• Jordan, H., Reiss, J. E., Hoffman, J. E., & Landau, B. (2002). Intact perception of biological motion in the face of profound spatial deficits: Williams syndrome. Psychological Science, 13(2), 162-167.
• Lakusta, L. & Landau, B. (2005). Starting at the end: The importance of goals in spatial language. Cognition, 96(1), 1-33.
• Landau, B. (2002). Spatial cognition. In V. Ramachandran(Ed.), Encyclopedia of the human brain. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
• Landau, B., Hoffman, J. E., Reiss, J. E., Dilks, D., Lakusta, L., & Chunyo, G. (2004). Specialization, breakdown, and sparing in spatial cognition: Lessons from Williams syndrome. To appear in C. Morris, H. Lenhoff, & P. Wang, Eds., Williams-Beuren syndrome: Research and clinical perspectives. Baltimore, MD: JHU Press.
• Landau, B., & Zukowski, A. (2003). Objects, motions, and paths: Spatial language in children with Williams syndrome. Developmental Neuropsychology, 23(1-2), Special Issue: Williams syndrome, 105-137.

Language learning and cognition

• Dessalegn, B. & Landau, B. (2008) More than meets the eye: The role of language in binding visual properties. Psychological Science, 19 (2), 189-195.
• Landau, B., Hoffman, J.E., Reiss, J.E., Dilks, D., Lakusta, L., and Chunyo, G. (2005). Specialization, breakdown, and sparing in spatial cognition: Lessons from Williams syndrome. In C. Morris, H. Lenhoff, & P. Wang (Eds.), Williams-Beuren syndrome: Research and Clinical Perspectives. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Press.
• Lakusta, L. and Landau, B. (2005) Starting at the end: The importance of goals in spatial language. Cognition. 96 (1) 1-33.
• Landau, B. and Hoffman, J.E. (2005) Parallels between spatial cognition and spatial language: Evidence from Williams syndrome. Journal of Memory and Language. 53 (2) 163-185.
• Munnich, E. & Landau, B. (2003) The effect of spatial language on spatial representations: Setting some boundaries. In D. Gentner. & S. Goldin-Meadow (Eds.) Language in mind: Advances in the study of language and thought. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Landau, B. (2002) Early experience and cognitive organization. In L. Nadel (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science. Nature Publishing Group, England: Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
• Munnich, E., Landau, B., & Dosher, B. (2001) Spatial language and spatial representation: A cross-llinguistic comparison. Cognition, 81, 171-207.
• Landau, B. (2000) Language and space. In B. Landau, J. Sabini, J. Jonides, and E. Newport (Eds.), Perception, cognition, and language: Essays in honor of Henry and Lila Gleitman. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
• Wright, C. E., & Landau, B. (1998). Language and Action: Current challenges to cognitive theory. In J. Hochberg & J. E. Cutting (Eds.), Handbook of perception and cognition. Perception and cognition at century's end: History, philosophy, theory. Orlando, FL: Academic Press.
• Landau, B. (1998) Nativist perspectives on the acquisition of knowledge. In W. Bechtel & G. Graham (Eds.), A companion to cognitive science. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
• Gleitman, L. R., & Landau, B. (Eds.) (1994). Acquisition of the lexicon. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Landau, B. (1986) Early map use as an unlearned ability. Cognition, 22, 201-223.
• Landau, B., & Gleitman, L. R. (1985). Language and experience: Evidence from the blind child. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• Landau, B., Spelke, E. & Gleitman, H. (1984) Spatial knowledge in a young blind child. Cognition, 16, 225-160.
• Landau, B., Gleitman, H. & Spelke, E. (1981) Spatial knowledge and geometric representation in a child blind from birth. Science, 213, 1275-1278.

External links

• Barbara Landau's Faculty Profile
• CV
• Language and Cognition Lab