Ursula Bellugi

Ursula Bellugi
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Harvard University Antioch College
Known for	Research on the neurological bases of American Sign Language and language representation in people with Williams Syndrome
Awards	National Academy of Sciences (2007) Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science(2007)[1] Prize in Neuronal Plasticity from Two MERIT awards from NICHD Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, American Psychological Association Jacob Javitz Neuroscience Investigator Award from NIDCD Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, American Psychological Association Woman of the Decade Award Member, Advisory Council to NIDCD
Scientific career
Fields	Cognitive neuroscience Psycholinguistics
Institutions	Salk Institute University of California, San Diego San Diego State University

Ursula Bellugi (born February 21, 1931 in Jena, Germany) is a Professor and Director of the Laboratory for Cognitive Neuroscience at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California. She is also adjunct professor at the University of California San Diego and San Diego State University and an Associate with the Sloan Center for Theoretical Neurobiology.^[2] Broadly stated, she conducts research on the biological bases of language. More specifically, she has studied the neurological bases of American Sign Language extensively, and her work has led to the discovery that the left hemisphere of the human brain becomes specialized for language, whether spoken or signed, a striking demonstration of neuronal plasticity.^[3][4][5][6]

She has also investigated the language abilities of individuals with Williams Syndrome, a puzzling genetically based disorder that leaves language, facial recognition and social skills remarkably well-preserved in contrast to severe inadequacy in other cognitive aptitudes. The search for the underlying biological basis for this disorder is providing new opportunities for understanding how brain structure and function relate to cognitive capabilities.^{[7][8][9][10][11][12][13]}

Education and career[]

Bellugi received a B.A. from Antioch College in 1952 and an Ed.D. from Harvard University in 1967. Since then, she has held positions as a tenure-track professor at the Salk Institute (1970 forward) and as an adjunct professor at the University of California, San Diego (1977 forward) and San Diego State University (1995 forward).

Personal life[]

Bellugi is the daughter of mathematician and optical engineer Maximilian Herzberger. A lot of her research was conducted in collaboration with her husband Edward Klima, a linguist who also specialized in the study of American Sign Language.^[14]

Publications[]

Books[]

1. The Signs of Language. Klima, E.S., & Bellugi, U. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1979. —Paperback Edition, 1988; —Reprinted, 1995. (Award from Association of American Publishers for Most Outstanding Book in the Behavioral Sciences).
2. Signed and Spoken Language: Biological Constraints on Linguistic Form. Bellugi, U., & Studdert-Kennedy, M. Dahlem Konferenzen. Weinheim/Deerfield Beach, FL: Verlag Chemie, 1980.
3. What the Hands Reveal about the Brain. Poizner, H., Klima, E.S., & Bellugi, U. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press/Bradford Books, 1987.
4. Language, modality and the brain. Trends in Neurosciences. 10, 380–388. (Reprinted in M.H. Johnson, (Ed.), Brain development and cognition. London: Blackwell).
5. Clues to the neurobiology of language. Bellugi, U., & Hickok, G. Washington, DC: Library of Congress.
6. The signs of aphasia. In F. Boller & J. Grafman (Eds.), Handbook of neuropsychology, (2nd ed pp 38–50). Hickok, G., & Bellugi, U. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier Science Publishers.
7. Bridging cognition, brain and molecular genetics: Evidence from Williams syndrome. Trends in Neurosciences, 5, 197–208. Bellugi, U., Lichtenberger, L., Mills, D., Galaburda, A. & Korenberg, J.R. (1999).
8. Journey from cognition to brain to gene: New perspectives from Williams Syndrome. Bellugi, U. & St. George, M. (Eds.) Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001.
9. Affect, social behavior and brain in Williams syndrome. Current Directions in Psychological Science. Bellugi, U., Järvinen-Pasley, A., Doyle, T., Reilly, J., & Korenberg, J. (2007).
10. Williams syndrome : A neurogenetic model of human behavior. In Encyclopedia of the Human Genome. Korenberg, J.R., Bellugi, U., Salandanan, L.S., Mills, D.L., & Reiss, A.L.

Selected publications[]

1. Chailangkarn, Thanathom; Trujillo, Cleber A.; Freitas, Beatriz C.; Hrvoj-Mihic, Branka; Herai, Roberto H.; Yu, Diana X.; Brown, Timothy T.; Marchetto, Maria C.; Bardy, Cedric (2016-08-18). "A human neurodevelopmental model for Williams syndrome". Nature.
2. Bhatara, A., Quintin, E.M., Levy, B., Bellugi, U., Fombonne, E., & Levitin, D.J. (2010). Perception of emotion in musical performance in adolescents with Autism spectrum disorder. Autism Research, 3, 214–225. (PMCID: PMC2963682) PubMed

References[]

External links[]

• Ursula Bellugi's Salk Faculty Webpage
• Ursula Bellugi's Lab Webpage
• Ursula Bellugi's homepage
• Edward Klima Tribute

Salk Press Releases:

• Salk scientist Ursula Bellugi elected to National Academy of Sciences
• Three Salk scientists named 2007 AAAS Fellows
• The Gregarious Gene?
• Beyond nature vs. nurture: Williams syndrome across cultures
• Williams syndrome, the brain, and music
• Are There "Social Behavior" Genes