Sophie Scott

{{Infobox scientist

| name = Sophie Scott

| birth_name = Sophie Kerttu Scott

| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|size=100%|FMedSci|FBA}}

| field = {{Plainlist|

Cognitive neuroscience
Speech perception
Speech production
Vocal emotions
Human communication{{Google scholar id}}}}

| image = Sophie scott photo.jpeg

| caption = Scott in June 2014

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1966|11|16}}

| birth_place = Blackburn, England

| death_date =

| death_place =

| thesis_title = Perceptual centers in speech-acoustic determinants

| thesis_url = http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.342728

| thesis_year = 1993

| known_for = {{Plainlist|

}}

| doctoral_advisor = Peter Howell

| nationality = British

| education = {{Plainlist|

| alma_mater = {{Plainlist|

Polytechnic of Central London (BSc)Sophie Scott's {{ORCID|0000-0001-7510-6297}}
University College London (PhD)}}

| awards = Royal Institution Christmas Lectures (2017)

| website = {{URL|ucl.ac.uk/pals/people/profiles/academic-staff/sophie-scott}}

| workplaces = University College London

| module = {{Listen |embed=yes |filename= Sophie scott.ogg |title= Scott's voice |type= speech |description= recorded June 2014}}

| alt = Colour portrait photograph of Sophie Scott. She is wearing glasses.

}}

Sophie Kerttu Scott {{post-nominals|size=100%|CBE|FMedSci|FBA}} (born 16 November 1966{{cite web |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/sophie-scott-and-the-science-of-laughter-1431704089 |title=Sophie Scott and the Science of Laughter |publisher=The Wall Street Journal |first=Alexandra |last=Wolfe|website=wsj.com |date=15 May 2015 |quote=Dr. Scott, 48 ... Born in Blackburn, England"}}) is a British neuroscientist and Wellcome Trust Senior Fellow at University College London (UCL). Her research investigates the cognitive neuroscience of voices, speech and laughter particularly speech perception, speech production, vocal emotions and human communication.{{Scopus id}}{{EuropePMC|ORCID=0000-0001-7510-6297}} She also serves as director of UCL's Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience.

Education and early life

Scott was born in Blackburn, England to Colin Mountford Scott and Christine Winnifred Scott. She was educated at Westholme School and Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn. She completed a Bachelor of Science degree in life sciences at the Polytechnic of Central London (now the University of Westminster) in 1990 followed by research on cognitive science in 1993 supervised by Peter Howell and a PhD at University College London in 1994.{{cite thesis|degree=PhD|publisher=University College London (University of London)|title=Perceptual centers in speech-acoustic determinants|first= Sophie Kerttu|last=Scott|date=1993|

url=http://catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/record=b1624972|id={{EThOS|uk.bl.ethos.342728}}|website=london.ac.uk|oclc=941026288}} {{registration required}}

Career and research

Scott started her research career in Cambridge at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, formerly known as the Applied Psychology Unit. She returned to UCL as a research fellow in 1998. She was awarded a Wellcome Trust Fellowship in 2001 and has been funded by them since.{{cite web |title=Professor Sophie Scott University College London |url=https://www1.bps.org.uk/system/files/user-files/Cognitive%20Psychology%20Section%20Annual%20Conference%202016/Website%20document%20SS.pdf |website=British Psychological Society |access-date=14 October 2018}} {{As of|2017}} she holds a Wellcome Trust Senior Fellowship. She is a member of the British Psychological Society, the Society for Neuroscience, the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, and the Experimental Psychology Society.{{cite web |title=Meet Sophie Scott |url=http://www.rigb.org/christmas-lectures/2017-the-language-of-life/meet-sophie-scott |website=The Royal Institution |access-date=14 October 2018}}

Scott is head of the Speech Communication Group{{cite web|author=Anon|year=2017|url=https://sites.google.com/site/speechskscott/|title=speech communication lab|website=sites.google.com}} at UCL's Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience. Her research investigates the neural basis of vocal communication – how our brains process the information in speech and voices,{{Cite journal|last1=Scott|first1=Sophie K.|last2=Blank|first2=C. Catrin|last3=Rosen|first3=Stuart|last4=Wise|first4=Richard J. S.|date=2000|title=Identification of a pathway for intelligible speech in the left temporal lobe|journal=Brain|volume=123|issue=12|pages=2400–2406|doi=10.1093/brain/123.12.2400|issn=0006-8950|pmc=5630088|pmid=11099443}} and how our brains control the production of our voice.{{cite journal|last1=Blank|first1=S. C.|title=Speech production: Wernicke, Broca and beyond|journal=Brain|volume=125|issue=8|year=2002|pages=1829–1838|issn=1460-2156|doi=10.1093/brain/awf191|pmid=12135973|doi-access=free}}{{Cite journal|last1=Rauschecker|first1=Josef P.|last2=Scott|first2=Sophie K.|date=2009|title=Maps and streams in the auditory cortex: nonhuman primates illuminate human speech processing|journal=Nature Neuroscience|volume=12|issue=6|pages=718–724|doi=10.1038/nn.2331|issn=1546-1726|pmc=2846110|pmid=19471271}} Within this, her research covers the roles of streams of processing in auditory cortex, hemispheric asymmetries,{{Cite journal|last1=McGettigan|first1=Carolyn|last2=Scott|first2=Sophie K.|date=2012|title=Cortical asymmetries in speech perception: what's wrong, what's right and what's left?|journal=Trends in Cognitive Sciences|volume=16|issue=5|pages=269–276|doi=10.1016/j.tics.2012.04.006|issn=1879-307X|pmc=4083255|pmid=22521208}} and the interaction of speech processing with attentional and working memory factors.{{Cite journal|last1=Phillips|first1=M. L.|last2=Young|first2=A. W.|last3=Scott|first3=S. K.|last4=Calder|first4=A. J.|last5=Andrew|first5=C.|last6=Giampietro|first6=V.|last7=Williams|first7=S. C.|last8=Bullmore|first8=E. T.|last9=Brammer|first9=M.|date=1998|title=Neural responses to facial and vocal expressions of fear and disgust|journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B|volume=265|issue=1408|pages=1809–1817|doi=10.1098/rspb.1998.0506|issn=0962-8452|pmc=1689379|pmid=9802236}} Other interests include individual differences in speech perception and plasticity in speech perception, since these are important factors for people with cochlear implants. She is also interested in the expression of emotion in the voice{{Cite journal|last1=McGettigan|first1=C.|last2=Walsh|first2=E.|last3=Jessop|first3=R.|last4=Agnew|first4=Z. K.|last5=Sauter|first5=D. A.|last6=Warren|first6=J. E.|last7=Scott|first7=S. K.|date=2015|title=Individual Differences in Laughter Perception Reveal Roles for Mentalizing and Sensorimotor Systems in the Evaluation of Emotional Authenticity|url=https://pure.uva.nl/ws/files/2293955/149016_McGettigan_InPressCerebralCortex.pdf|journal=Cerebral Cortex|volume=25|issue=1|pages=246–257|doi=10.1093/cercor/bht227|pmid=23968840|pmc=4259281|issn=1047-3211}} and the neuroscience of laughter.

=Public engagement=

Scott is known for her public engagement work, including performing standup comedy,{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/20/world/europe/20iht-educLede20.html?_r=0 |title=Academics Making Forays Into Stand-Up Comedy|website=The New York Times|first=Don David |last=Guttenplan|author-link=D. D. Guttenplan|year=2010}} and was featured in a September 2013 edition of the BBC Radio Four programme The Life Scientific.{{cite web |first=Jim|last=Al-Khalili|author-link=Jim Al-Khalili|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03bdpl5 |website=bbc.co.uk|title=The Life Scientific, Sophie Scott |publisher=BBC |year=2013 |access-date=2014-06-24}} In March 2014, she was invited to give a Friday Evening Discourse at the Royal Institution on the science of laughter.{{cite video |url=//www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BWRoHGiwrw |title=The Science of Laughter |first=Sophie|last= Scott |website=YouTube.com |publisher=Royal Institution |date=11 June 2014}} Her work on laughter has also toured science fairs and exhibitions as part of the Laughter lab project.{{cite web|url=https://sites.google.com/site/laughterlabsks/|title=LOL: the art and science of laughter|website=sites.google.com|author=Anon|year=2017}} She has been awarded a UCL Provost's Award for Public engagement.{{cite web |url=http://www.ucl.ac.uk/public-engagement/provostsawards/awardwinners2012 |title=Provost's Awards for Public Engagement |publisher=University College London |author=Anon|website=ucl.ac.uk|date=30 January 2013}} Scott presented the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in 2017 entitled The Language of Life which explored the topic of communication.{{cite web |url=http://www.rigb.org/christmas-lectures/2017-the-language-of-life |title=The Royal Institution 2017 Christmas Lectures |publisher=Royal Institution |website=rigb.org|date=25 August 2017|author=Anon}}

Scott has been a panel guest several times on BBC Radio 4 programme The Infinite Monkey Cage on episodes covering neuroscience, reality and the human voice{{cite web |title=The Infinite Monkey Cage |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00snr0w |website=BBCRadio 4 |access-date=14 October 2018}} and in 2016 appeared on the BBC TV series Horizon, The Science of Laughter with comedian Jimmy Carr.{{cite web |title=Jimmy Carr and the science of laughter |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07vxkbv |website=BBC Two |access-date=14 October 2018}}

=Awards and honours=

Scott was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci) in 2012.Anon (2017) {{Who's Who | title=Scott, Prof. Sophie Kerttu | id = U258412 | doi = 10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.258412 | edition = online Oxford University Press|location=Oxford}}{{cite web|title=Professor Sophie Scott FMedSci|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160801025210/https://acmedsci.ac.uk/fellows/fellows-directory/ordinary-fellows/professor-sophie-scott|archive-date=2016-08-01|url=https://acmedsci.ac.uk/fellows/fellows-directory/ordinary-fellows/professor-sophie-scott|location=London|author=Anon|year=2012|publisher=Academy of Medical Sciences, United Kingdom|website=acmedsci.ac.uk}} Her citation on election to the Academy of Medical Sciences reads: {{centered pull quote|She has drawn together theories and techniques from speech sciences, psychology and primate neuroanatomy in order to understand how the human brain processes speech. Her work was the first to identify that the early perceptual processing of speech parallels the perception of conspecific calls in non-human primate brains. This has contributed to our understanding of recovery from aphasic stroke. She has applied this work to hearing loss, with particular reference to how people can adapt to cochlear implantation. She is now extending her work to understanding the social aspects of communication.}}

In 2015 Scott spoke at the TED conference{{TED speaker}} and was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA) in 2016.

She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to neuroscience.{{London Gazette|issue=63135|supp=y|page=B10|date=10 October 2020}}