Academic Staff
- HHB710, Hung Hom Bay Campus
- +852 3400 8465
- caicai.zhang@polyu.edu.hk
- Personal Website
ORCID ID
SCOPUS IDBiography
Prof. Caicai Zhang is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Neurocognition of Language, Music and Learning Lab in the Department of Language Science and Technology at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). She obtained her B.A. from Fudan University (2003–2007), her M.Phil. from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (2007–2009), and her Ph.D. from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, where she was supported by the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship (2010–2014). She also received the RGC-Fulbright Hong Kong Junior Scholar Award to conduct research at Haskins Laboratories, Yale University (2012–2013).
Zhang’s interdisciplinary research investigates how language is processed and represented in the human brain, and how it interacts with other domains such as music and cognition. More specifically, her work focuses on: (1) the neurocognitive substrates of neurodevelopmental disorders and related intervention strategies; (2) the role of sleep in language learning and memory consolidation across children and adults; and (3) the relationship between language and music, examined through how tone deafness and musical training influence language processing.
Zhang has led numerous grants as Principal Investigator (or Co-PI), awarded by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) under the “Sci-Tech Innovation 2030 – Brain Science and Brain-like Research Major Project” Young Scientist Scheme; the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (General Research Fund and Early Career Scheme); the U.S. National Science Foundation; the Health Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR (Health and Medical Research Fund Seed Grant); and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Young Scientist Scheme).
Her current research centers on identifying biomarkers of typical child language acquisition and neurodevelopmental disorders. She leads an international, interdisciplinary team investigating both typical language development and neurodevelopmental conditions in Chinese children. Her research employs innovative, theory-driven approaches to examine the roles of memory and cognition—including sleep-related effects—with the potential to advance the diagnosis and intervention of neurodevelopmental disorders. Her team uses rigorous methodologies, including multimodal neuroimaging, longitudinal designs, and randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
Education and Academic Qualifications
- Bachelor of Arts, Fudan University
- Master of Philosophy in Humanities, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
- Doctor of Philosophy, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Academic and Professional Experience
- May 2023 - Aug 2023
Visiting Scholar, University of Edinburgh (School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences), and Royal Holloway, University of London (Department of Psychology) - Jan 2017 - Dec 2018
Visiting Research Fellow, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences - Mar 2014 - Dec 2016
Visiting Associate Research Fellow, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Research Interests
Selected Publications
- Lin, J.^, Chen, X., Huang X., Wong, P. C. M., Chan, A. W. S., Ullman, M. T., and Zhang, C.* (2025). Semantic overreliance as a suboptimal compensation for syntactic impairments in children with Developmental Language Disorder. Brain and Language, 266, 105571. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2025.105571
- Chen, X., and Zhang, C.* (2025). Setting the “tone” first and then integrating it into the syllable: An EEG investigation of the time course of lexical tone and syllable encoding in Mandarin word production. Journal of Memory and Language, 140, 104575. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2024.104575
- Zhang, L.^, Zhu, J.*, Shao, J., and Zhang, C.* (2024). The combined effects of bilingualism and musicianship on listeners’ perception of non-native lexical tones. Speech Communication, 165, 103147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.specom.2024.103147
- Zhu, J., Shao, J., Zhang, C.*, Chen, F.*, and Wiener, S. (2023). Statistical information affects how stutterers perceive syllable-tone words in tone languages: Evidence from an auditory-perceptual gating study. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 66(9), 3382-3398. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_JSLHR-23-00123
- Qin, Z.*, and Zhang, C.* (2019). The effect of overnight consolidation in the perceptual learning of non-native tonal contrasts. PLOS ONE, 14(12), e0221498. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0221498
- Shao, J., and Zhang, C.* (2019). Talker normalization in typical Cantonese-speaking listeners and congenital amusics: Evidence from event-related potentials. NeuroImage: Clinical, 23, 101814. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2019.101814
- Zhang, C.*, and Shao, J. (2018). Normal pre-attentive and impaired attentive processing of lexical tones in Cantonese-speaking congenital amusics. Scientific Reports, 8(1), 8420. http://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-26368-7
- Zhang, C.*, Peng, G., Shao, J., and Wang, W. S-Y. (2017). Neural bases of congenital amusia in tonal language speakers. Neuropsychologia, 97, 18-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.01.033
- Zhang, C.*, and Chen, S. (2016). Toward an integrative model of talker normalization. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 42(8), 1252-1268. https://doi.org/10.1037/xhp0000216
- Zhang, C.*, Pugh, K. R., Mencl, W. E., Molfese, P. J., Frost, S. J., Magnuson, J. S., Peng, G.#, and Wang, W. S-Y. (2016). Functionally integrated neural processing of linguistic and talker information: An event-related fMRI and ERP study. NeuroImage, 124, 536-549. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.08.064
- Zhang, C., Xia, Q., and Peng, G.* (2015). Mandarin third tone sandhi requires more effortful phonological encoding in speech production: Evidence from an ERP study. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 33, 149-162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneuroling.2014.07.002
- Gu, F.*#, Zhang, C.*#, Hu, A., and Zhao, G. (2013). Left hemisphere lateralization for lexical and acoustic pitch processing in Cantonese speakers as revealed by mismatch negativity. NeuroImage, 83, 637-645. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.02.080
Note: ^ = student trainees, * = corresponding author, # = co-first author
- Jan 2025 - Dec 2027
PI, General Research Fund (No. 15601024). The effects of auditory cueing during sleep on generalized phonetic learning: The case of non-native lexical tone learning. Hong Kong Research Grants Council. HK$860,380. - Aug 2022 - Jul 2027
PI, MOST “Sci-Tech Innovation 2030 – Brain Science and Brain-like Research Major Project” Young Scientist Scheme科技创新2030-脑科学与类脑研究重大项目青年科学家项目 (No. 2022ZD0208400). Neurocognitive markers for typical language development and language disorders in children: A longitudinal study based on long-term memory, sleep and brain development (儿童语言发展与语言障碍的神经认知标记：一项基于长期记忆、睡眠与脑神经的纵向研究). Ministry of Science and Technology. RMB5,000,000. - Jun 2023 - Nov 2025
PI, Health and Medical Research Fund, Seed Grant (No. 20211061). The efficacy of explicit vs. implicit intervention procedures for Cantonese children with Developmental Language Disorder: A randomized controlled trial. Food and Health Bureau. HK$499,960. - Jan 2021 - Dec 2023
PI (former PI: Dr. Steve Politzer-Ahles), General Research Fund (15605620). Is the mismatch negativity really sensitive to abstract linguistic representations? Hong Kong Research Grants Council. HK$748,000. - Jan 2017 - Jun 2020
PI, Early Career Scheme (No. 25603916). Effect of musical disorder on the neural processing of lexical tone. Hong Kong Research Grants Council. HK$817,590. - Jan 2016 - Dec 2018
PI, National Natural Science Foundation of China – Young Scientist Scheme (No. 11504400). Production and perception of lexical tone and music in Cantonese-speaking amusics. HK$350,324 (RMB288,000). - Sept 2020 - Aug 2023
PI, Project of Strategic Importance (P0032004). The neurocognition of typical and atypical language development: Towards developing early biomarkers. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. HK$2,000,000.
- Sept 2018 - Sept 2024
Co-PI (PI: Prof. Jie Zhang), U. S. National Science Foundation (No. BCS-1826547). Neural mechanisms for phonological alternation with high and low productivity – a case study on tone sandhi. Sub-contract to PolyU: HK$892,378 (Total fund: US$439,770).
- 2026 - Present
Associate Editor, Bilingualism: Language and Cognition - 2021 - Present
Editor, Scientific Reports - 2020 - Present
Associate Editor, Frontiers in Psychology - 2019 - Present
Academic Editor, PLOS ONE
- 2025
Young Scientist (PolyU representative), The 8th World Laureates Forum - 2025
K. C. Wong Belt and Road Visiting Fellow - 2023
Faculty Awards for Outstanding Performance Achievement - 2018
Early Career Fellow, the Hong Kong Academy of the Humanities - 2017
Dean’s Award for Research Excellence - 2017
Association for Psychological Science (APS) Rising Stars - 2014
Young Scholars Thesis Awards, The Chinese University of Hong Kong - 2012
RGC-Fulbright Hong Kong Junior Scholar Award, Hong Kong Research Grants Council and Fulbright Program
