annapiasecki | Brain, Language and Behaviour Lab blog

Open-Access Resource: The British Object and Action Naming Test for Intraoperative Mapping (BOATIM)

annapiasecki | 20 January 202620 January 2026

We are proud and excited to share our two key clinical resources – an Object Naming Test and an Action Naming Test (BOATIM). Both tests were designed, standardised and clinically tested to enable accurate assessment of speech and language of native English speakers diagnosed with a brain tumour. The test material comprises a set of 115 objects and 86 actions, which is described in detail in this Acta Neurochirurgica paper, and is freely accessible through the survey link below.

To provide some context, in the highly specialised procedure of awake brain surgery that our work contributes to, patients remain conscious during part of their operation, allowing the neurosurgical team to test and preserve critical language functions in real time as brain tumours are removed. For this to be done safely and effectively, surgical teams require precise and standardised tools that enable accurate assessment of speech and language functions prior to, during, and after surgery. Until now, clinical teams in the UK had to rely on translated tests or locally adapted materials which lack linguistic and clinical consistency, and are prone to risk causing life-altering language impairments (you can read more about this aspect in this post). Our open-access resource – BOATIM – addresses this critical gap by offering the first language tests designed specifically for awake brain surgery, which are both culturally and linguistically tailored to the patients in the UK.

To gain free access to BOATIM please complete this 5-question survey.

Both tests are freely available for clinical and research use through the survey link above. They comprise over two hundred 2D coloured images along with matching scoresheets. We believe in open access to key, evidence-based resources, however, if you are able to, please consider a donation to our local charity, Brain Tumour Support, by clicking their logo below.

British Council funds project to develop a comprehensive model of language in the brain

annapiasecki | 5 January 202622 January 2026

Exciting news came to the Brain, Language, and Behaviour Laboratory before Christmas 2025 in the form of a successful funding award to develop a new scientific and clinical tool about language in the brain.

The award, for a project entitled Advancing Neuro-Oncology Care, goes towards the continuation of a systematic review into the effects of neurostimulation techniques on language processing. It represents support for an international collaboration between the laboratory and the University of Leipzig, with Professor Gesa Hartwigsen and Dr Philipp Kuhnke (also members of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences) supporting the project.

The project has two main ambitions: to define which sub-processes of language have been shown to be influenced by brain stimulation, and to create an online database neurosurgeons can use to plan awake craniotomies. Funding from the British Council’s Going Global Partnerships programme will support a 2-day research exchange visit for the UWE team to Germany, as well as a reciprocal 7-day training visit for PhD students and postdoctoral fellows, and a Researcher Connect training for Tom and Sonia, organised by the British Council.

Delighted to kickstart the project in 2026, the core team had a wonderful time meeting, exchanging ideas, and planning for the future of this venture on 15^th January. See our smiling faces below!

Meeting lead, Tom Williamson, is joined by the wider research team, including the Lab leads, Neil Barua and Anna Piasecki, and some of its members, Kris Kinsey and Sonia Mariotti, as well as experts in other psychology fields, Jemma Sedgmont, Naomi Heffer, Gesa Hartwigsen, and Philipp Kuhnke. The project is also supported by our Lab’s former Research Associates, Lydia Wiernik and Eimear McKnight, and Antonia Vogts, a PhD student in surgery at the University of Cambridge.

And the winner is… When your work matters and gets noticed

annapiasecki | 31 October 202514 November 2025

When do you know that your work truly matters? Well, for us there have been a few key moments that keep us going and here are a select few.

For me, one of the most powerful moments is when a patient expresses their gratitude for the supportive care they’ve received. We are limited to what we can control or influence in the surgical space but we can make sure that the tools we create to support a surgery are of the best possible quality and increase the chances of a positive outcome for a patient. On one particular occasion, our team has been involved in the creation of rare bilingual testing material to ensure that the languages that were important to the patient remained intact following their surgery. The patient’s appreciation of our efforts spoke volumes. Not much can beat that.

Instilling practice-based reflection and inspiring other practitioners or researchers can be another signal that your work matters. We are very lucky in both respects. On the back of our recent symposium (explored in more detail in this post), we received some wonderful feedback that speaks to the impact of our event on clinical practitioners involved in awake brain surgeries, which you can see summarised in the word cloud as part of our symposium infographic. Similarly, our work tends to attract undergraduate and postgraduate students from different disciplines and countries who are keen to get involved in the work we do.

And finally, every now and then a more ‘official’ recognition is also good for the soul and team spirit. Following the wonderful award Hajira received last month at the Society of British Neurological Surgeons’ Meeting (see this post), this time our entire team was honoured and absolutely thrilled by having received an award from the North Bristol NHS Trust for our Outstanding Collaboration. While a surprising and uplifting moment for the team, the awards ceremony itself was equally an incredibly humbling experience, as we joined many special people working in the NHS, witnessing their incredible contributions to serving our communities. This memory will certainly last forever.

The Brain, Language and Behaviour Lab team celebrating the receipt of the Outstanding Collaboration Award from North Bristol NHS Trust. From left to right: Madeleine Farrow, Molly Cree, Anna Piasecki, Margaret Newson, Sonia Mariotti, Tom Williamson and Kris Kinsey (missing Neil Barua & Hajira Mumtaz on the night!).

A quick dip into the incredible world of neurosurgery

annapiasecki | 26 September 202510 November 2025

Given the multidisciplinarity of our work and team, we recently had two projects accepted to be presented at the Society of British Neurological Surgeons’ (SBNS) 2025 Conference. The SBNS is the UK’s leading professional body for neurosurgery and its biannual meetings bring together surgeons, clinicians, researchers, and industry leaders from across the UK and abroad to share cutting-edge developments in neurosurgical science and clinical practice.

This year’s conference was held in Bristol and featured a diverse scientific programme spanning Neil’s home discipline of neuro-oncology, cranial and spinal surgery, neurovascular and paediatric neurosurgery, and neuropsychology. While this wide-ranging programme reflected the multifaceted nature of the profession, modern brain research and patient care, it also offered a perfect opportunity to shine a light on the work we have been doing in our Lab.

As such, Sonia had the opportunity to showcase the findings of our UK-wide survey (described in more detail here), and Hajra presented BOATIM, the world’s first standardised and clinically tested resource for English-language object and action naming, that is now freely available to clinicians through our open-access platform (accessible via this link). Hajira’s session drew considerable interest from neurosurgeons and clinicians attending the conference, many of whom expressed enthusiasm about incorporating BOATIM into their own intraoperative protocols. Hajira’s presentation was awarded the SBNS 2025 Best Oncology Presentation, acknowledging the originality and clinical importance of this work within the neuro-oncological field.

To round things off, Anna delivered the prestigious Sir Hugh Cairns Lecture, an invited plenary that closed the final day of the conference. Her talk took the audience on a journey through several decades of psycholinguistic research, tracing how our understanding of the brain’s language system has evolved — from early debates about whether bilingualism could “rot the brain” to contemporary discussions on how human language processing compares to large language models (LLMs).

The lecture highlighted how psycholinguistic evidence continues to inform modern neurosurgical practice, especially in the context of awake brain surgery, where precise knowledge of language organisation in the brain is essential for preserving communication during tumour resection. The lecture took an engaging and interdisciplinary perspective, which resonated strongly with the audience, reinforcing the vital role of language science in advancing clinical innovation and patient care.

The SBNS conference reinforced the crucial role of cross-disciplinary collaboration in advancing both surgical techniques and our understanding of the brain. We are proud that the BLB Lab’s research was showcased alongside the UK’s most innovative neurosurgical work — and even more honoured that our contribution was recognised with an award.

The insights and connections gained at SBNS 2025 will continue to guide our work as we develop and refine clinically grounded, linguistically informed tools for use in awake brain surgery. We look forward to returning to future SBNS meetings and continuing to strengthen the dialogue between neurosurgery, cognitive neuroscience and psycholinguistics.

Digital poster of our survey study, led by Sonia Mariotti.

Exploring the frontiers of awake brain surgery: Highlights from the 2025 Awake Craniotomy Symposium at UWE

annapiasecki | 23 May 20255 November 2025

Today, our Brain, Language and Behaviour (BLB) Lab played host to a landmark event in the field of brain tumour surgery: the 2025 Awake Craniotomy Symposium. Organised in collaboration with the North Bristol NHS Trust and the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission, the symposium brought together a community of more than a hundred neurosurgeons, speech and language therapists, neuropsychologists, physiotherapists, anaesthetists, and researchers to explore the latest advancements and challenges in awake brain surgery. Scroll down to see the photo gallery from the event!

The day began with a warm welcome from organisers, and our BLB Lab’s co-leads, Anna Piasecki and Neil Barua, setting the tone for a programme rich in interdisciplinary insight and clinical innovation. The first session focused on preoperative planning, featuring talks on cutting-edge techniques such as Navigated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (nTMS) by Jose Pedro Lavrador, and Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) by Puneet Plaha and Natalie Voets. Neil Barua also introduced the role of mixed reality in surgical planning, highlighting how immersive technologies can support surgical approaches with the whole multidisciplinary team’s involvement. All attendees were then invited to explore some of these technologies for themselves at the featured sponsor stands throughout the day, including wearing VR goggles, which created a high level of interest and excitement.

Session two shifted the spotlight to intraoperative test selection. Hajira Mumtaz presented the first outcome of her research at the BLB Lab: the world’s first standardised and clinically tested resource for English-language object and action naming testing, freely available to clinicians (gain access to our BOATIM material here). This was followed by a compelling trio of perspectives on cognitive and sensorimotor testing during surgery—from physiotherapy, neuropsychology, and neurosurgery—delivered by Charly Moran, Margaret Newson, and Francesco Vergani respectively. Their insights underscored each discipline’s contribution in preserving complex brain functions during the surgery.

Following the morning sessions, clinical teams from across the UK and international delegates presented some of their innovative practice over joint lunch-poster session conversations. The winning poster was collectively decided by the symposium delegates and was awarded to the clinical team from the North Midlands and North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare Trust, sharing an evaluation of their originally designed Awake Craniotomy Video Leaflet for patients.

After lunch, the afternoon resumed with Sonia Mariotti and Clare Toner, who provided an overview of clinician and patient experience of awake brain surgery practices in the UK (see here and here for their respective work), setting the scene for two subsequent panel discussions. These two interactive sessions involved the attendees in a lively conversation with a multidisciplinary panel of experts, discussing the need for consensus on test selection and follow-up protocols. The conversations revealed both the diversity of current practices across the UK and a shared desire for more unified approaches to patient care and research.

The final session, “Directions for Networking and Collaboration,” featured a series of flash talks that showcased innovative projects and case studies. Highlights included Aimun Jamjoom’s introduction of Map-OR, a digital platform for intraoperative language testing, and Sonia Mariotti’s exploration of bilingual patient testing. Tom Williamson presented on the challenges of testing multiple linguistic modalities, while Will Singleton addressed the unique considerations of awake craniotomy in paediatric patients.

The symposium concluded with reflective feedback and closing remarks, followed by a well-earned dinner at PepeNero, where conversations continued informally among colleagues and new collaborators.

The 2025 Awake Craniotomy Symposium was more than a meeting of minds—it was a celebration of the collaborative spirit that drives progress in brain surgery and cognitive science. By bridging clinical practice with research and technology, the event highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary dialogue in improving patient care and advancing our understanding of the brain. And the overwhelmingly positive feedback from delegates reaffirmed just that – followed by requests for further iterations of our symposium that helps bringing this key community together. So, watch this space!

Photo Gallery

Anna Piasecki and Neil Barua kick off the Symposium

BLB Lab joins forces with the European Master’s of Clinical Linguistics

annapiasecki | 29 October 202422 January 2026

We are incredibly excited to announce that our Lab has become one of the associated partners of the European Master’s in Clinical Linguistics (EMCL++). This partnership is based on the increasingly significant and relevant work our Lab conducts, as we strive to improve the standards of patient care nationally and internationally, as well as our current understanding of the neurobiology of language.

About the EMCL Programme

Co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, the EMCL is an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree (EMJMD) that has been running for over 20 years. With a strong emphasis on student mobility, the programme runs across three countries, Finland, Belgium, and The Netherlands, which allows students on this programme to immerse themselves in a rich academic and cultural experience.

At the University of Groningen, the emphasis is on crosslinguistic studies of language-impaired children and adults, language testing in neurosurgical settings, and the usage of neurotechnology and IT for the diagnosis and treatment of language impairments. At Ghent University, students are familiarised with advanced topics in statistics and psycholinguistics, including bilingualism, dyslexia, and eye tracking. Finally, at the University of Eastern Finland, the main focus is on speech technology and programming with Python, including both fundamental theory and methods, as well as their application to the assessment of, and adaptive solutions for, speech impairments.

EMCL also collaborates with over twenty associated partners, ranging from a diverse group of academic institutions that conduct research in related disciplines and have complementary expertise, to non-academic partners from the R&D (neurotechnology) and the clinical sector. Students are required to complete an internship at one of those associated partners and can choose to continue their work as part of a Master’s dissertation, with the possibility of securing future employment at one of these workplaces.

How This Partnership Came About

The focus of the work we pursue in our Lab is on applied, translational research, which has a wide appeal to academic researchers and clinical teams within and beyond the UK. Over the past two years, we have been growing our networks with those researchers and clinical teams in related disciplines across Europe and North America, including the EMCL programme, which has recognised us as a key stakeholder.

Let’s also not forget that our Lab’s first postgraduate researcher, Hajira, was a graduate from the EMCL programme and has been doing some fantastic work with us since!

Between January and July 2025, we will welcome a new EMCL student to our research team, Aleksandra, who will be doing an internship at the lab, followed by a research project and dissertation.

Stay tuned for more updates on Aleksandra’s work and further research & collaboration news!