Adam Jacks, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Phone: (919)-966-9464
Fax: (919)-966-0100 

Email: adam_jacks@med.unc.edu

Education

•   Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin 2006
•  M.A. The University of Texas at Austin 2000
•   B.A. Duke University 1998

Personal Statement

Dr. Jacks’s training background includes doctoral work in communication sciences and disorders at The University of Texas at Austin, postdoctoral research in behavioral neuroimaging at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and clinical experience in long term acute care and outpatient rehabilitation settings. His research focuses on understanding the link between neuropathology and behavioral manifestations of neuromotor speech disorders. Experimental methodologies used in this work include neuroimaging techniques (e.g. functional magnetic resonance imaging [fMRI]), acoustic and perceptual analysis of speech, testing of categorical perception abilities, and experimental perturbation of speech production and perception (e.g. bite block speech, pitch and formant shifting). By studying the operational characteristics of motor control in normal and disordered speech, Dr. Jacks hopes to contribute knowledge that enables better prediction of speech abilities in individuals with neurological injury or disease and development of more effective treatments for persons with motor speech disorders.

Courses Taught

* SPHS 540 Speech Science
* SPHS 744 Motor Speech Disorders

Research/Clinical Interests

• * Neural substrates of speech motor control
• * Apraxia of speech
• * Hypokinetic "parkinsonian" dysarthria
• * Speech Acoustics and Perception

Peer-reviewed publications

Jacks, A., Mathes, K.A., & Marquardt, T.P. (in press). Vowel acoustics in adults with apraxia of speech and aphasia. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research.

Wright, D.L., Robin, D.A., Rhee, J-H., Vaculin, A., Jacks, A., Guenther, F.H., & Fox, P.T. (2009). Using the self-select paradigm to delineate the nature of speech motor programming. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 52(3), 755-765.

Narayana, S., Jacks, A., Robin, D.A., Poizner, H., Zhang, W., Franklin, C., Liotti, M., Vogel, D., Fox, P.T. (2009). A non-invasive imaging approach to understanding speech changes following deep brain stimulation in Parkinson’s disease. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 18(2), 146-161.

Robin, D.A., Jacks, A., Hageman, C., Clark, H.C., Woodworth, G. (2008). Visuomotor tracking abilities of speakers with apraxia of speech or conduction aphasia. Brain and Language, 106(2), 98-106.

Jacks, A. (2008). Bite block vowel production in apraxia of speech. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 51(4), 898-913.

Jacks, A., Marquardt, T.P., and Davis, B.L. (2006). Consonant and syllable structure patterns in childhood apraxia of speech: Developmental change in three children. Journal of Communication Disorders, 39, 424-441.

Davis, B.L., Jacks, A., & Marquardt, T.P. (2005). Vowel patterns in developmental apraxia of speech: Three longitudinal case studies. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 19(4), 249-274.

Marquardt, T.P., Jacks, A., & Davis, B.L. (2004). Token-to-token variability in developmental apraxia of speech: Three longitudinal case studies. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 18(2), 127-144.

Marquardt, T.P., Sussman, H.M., Snow, T., & Jacks, A. (2002). The integrity of the syllable in developmental apraxia of speech. Journal of Communication Disorders, 35(1) 31-49.