Mark Tiede

Vassar College, Yale University, Haskins Laboratories

Papers

Total Citations

191

H-Index

About

Mark Tiede’s research sits at the intersection of speech science, sensorimotor control, and social neuroscience, with a particular focus on how the brain integrates sensory feedback during communication. His most influential work, “Somatosensory function in speech perception” (2009, 187 citations), fundamentally challenged the long-held view that speech perception is purely auditory. By using a robotic device to apply precise patterns of facial skin deformation, Tiede demonstrated that the somatosensory system—sensory signals from the skin and muscles of the vocal tract—actively contributes to how we perceive speech. This landmark finding has reshaped theories of speech processing and has had lasting impact on models of multisensory integration in language. More recently, Tiede has extended his work into social and clinical domains, exploring how real-time visual and neural processing of faces and gaze cues differs in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Using simultaneous EEG and fNIRS recordings during live interactions, his 2023 and 2025 studies reveal that neural responses to social gaze are modulated by subtle visual sensing variables, such as fixation duration. These findings are paving the way for more ecologically valid assessments of social cognition. With a career spanning foundational sensorimotor research to cutting-edge social neuroscience, Tiede’s work continues to influence both basic science and clinical applications in communication disorders.