Bo Yao

Dr Bo Yao is a Senior Lecturer at Lancaster University's Department of Psychology, Fylde College. His research focuses on the cognitive neuroscience of language and inner speech, exploring neural mechanisms underlying inner speech's role in cognition and mental health. He employs methods like EEG, fMRI, eye tracking, and computational modeling. Yao supervises 4 postgraduate students and leads the Language, Inner Speech, and Neuroscience (LISN) Lab.

Research Interests: Inner speech's neural basis, auditory verbal hallucinations, embodied cognition, and psycholinguistics. Recent work examines rhythmic foundations of thought and emotional processing in language. His 2025 publications highlight innovations in parafoveal preview benefits and predictive coding frameworks.

Publications span cognitive neuroscience, psycholinguistics, and neuroimaging, with a focus on reading comprehension, speech processing, and emotional word analysis. His work bridges phenomenological experience with neural mechanisms, using meta-analyses and experimental paradigms.

Advising and Labs: Supervises students in language cognition and inner speech research. The LISN Lab develops interdisciplinary approaches to understand language and consciousness.