People

Melodie Bellegarda

PhD students

I am currently finishing my PhD in Experimental Psychology at the University of Granada (with funding from an FPU fellowship). I have been involved with the Memory and Language Research Group at the Mind, Brain, and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC) since 2019. During my PhD I have had the opportunity to complete two research stays at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) and the Université de Lille (France) thanks to Erasmus+ and FPU Mobility funding,

My PhD research focuses on vocabulary learning in a foreign language, specifically how multi-modal contexts (acoustic and visual modalities) can facilitate word acquisition by enriching the learning environment (see Bellegarda, García-Gámez, & Macizo, 2025). What is the impact of environmental sounds on novel word recall and semantic integration? What are the shared neurocognitive traces related to novel word processing and congruent sound processing? These are a few of the overarching questions that encapsulate my PhD project. I use behavioral and EEG methods to explore these questions. I perform analyses using mixed-models, ANOVAs, drift diffusion models, and ERP.

Other projects I have worked on include:

phonological adaptation during social interaction (see Bellegarda, Boddaert, Knudsen, DuFour, & Brunellière, 2025)
cognitive control in bilinguals (see Bellegarda & Macizo, 2021)
fast-mapping implicit word learning strategies

Publications

Conference Presentations

Poster presentations

2024. Bellegarda, M., García-Gámez, A.B., & Macizo, P. Effects of a multimodal auditory environment on vocabulary acquisition. 14th SEPEX Conference. 23 – 25 October. Almería (Spain).

2024. Bellegarda, M., García-Gámez, A.B., & Macizo, P. A multimodal exploration of auditory effects on foreign language vocabulary acquisition: An EEG study. Highlights in the Language Sciences. 8 – 11 July. Nijmegen (Netherlands).

2024. Brunellière, A., Bellegarda, M., Boddaert, G., Dufour, S., & Knutsen, D. To what extent is a new phonemic contrast perceived after a social interaction? Examining the nature of phonological adaptations within a native language. Highlights in the Language Sciences. 8 – 11 July. Nijmegen (Netherlands).

2023. Bellegarda, M., Boddaert, G., Dufour, S., Knutsen, D., & Brunellière, A. Can social interaction give rise to the perception and production of a new phonemic contrast? A behavioral and EEG study in a French regional variety. XVI International Symposium of Psycholinguistics. 31 May – 2 June. Vitoria-Gasteiz (Spain).
2023. Bajo, T., Bellegarda, M., García-Gámez, A., López-Rojas, C., Macizo, P., Marful, A., Paolieri, D., Reyes, M., & Rivera, M. Building a multilingual brain: Research in acquisition of a second language and its cognitive implications. VI Investigation Symposium at the CIMCYC. 11 – 12 May. Granada (Spain).
2022. Bellegarda, M., & Macizo, P. The impact of non-linguistic environmental sounds on novel word learning. 22nd conference of the European Society for Cognitive Psychology (ESCoP). 19 August – 1 September. Lille (France).
2022. Bajo, T., Bellegarda, M., Iniesta, A., López-Rojas, C., Marful, A., Paolieri, D., Reyes, M., & Rivera, M. Divulgando desde la evidencia científica. V Investigation Symposium at the CIMCYC. 19 – 20 May. Granada (Spain).
2022. Bellegarda, M., & Macizo, P. Exploring cognitive control and bilingualism through behavioral and electrophysiological methods. 13th APPE-SEPEX Conference. 5 – 7 May. Faro (Portugal).
2021. Bellegarda, M., Iniesta A., López-Rojas, C., Reyes, M., & Rivera, M. ¿Cómo conviven varios idiomas en el cerebro? Transfiriendo la investigación desde el laboratorio a la sociedad. IV Investigation Symposium at the CIMCYC. 20 – 21 May. Granada (Spain).

Oral presentations

2021. Bellegarda, M., & Macizo, P. Do everyday sounds facilitate vocabulary learning? 1st Interuniversity Symposium (University of Granada and University of Malaga) for Psychology Doctoral Students. 5 – 6 June. Granada (Spain).
2020. Bellegarda, M., & Macizo, P. New word learning with musical paradigms. Psychology Doctoral Program Talks. 28 October. Granada (Spain).

Outreach

2025. Finalist (University level) of Coimbra Group «3 Minute Thesis» Competition.
2024. Winner of the University of Nebrija Competition «Tu investigación en 3 minutos» [Your research in 3 minutes]. Link to presentation (in Spanish).
2020 – Present. Member of Bilingualism Matters at Ugr, Spanish branch in Granada
- Organization that raises awareness about the social, cognitive and linguistic benefits of bilingualism and shares expertise with schools, policy-makers, and local community.

2020 – 2021. Participation in dissemination research project. «How do languages co-exist in the brain? Relaying evidence from the laboratory to our society.» Funded by Spanish Foundation of Science and Technology (FECYT) and the Ministry of Science and Innovation (Ref. FCT-19-15358). PI: Teresa Bajo. Role: Team member. 01/07/2020 – 30/09/2021. 6000€.
- Events included workshops with elementary students in Granada, open house days at the Mind, Brain, Behavioral and Research Center (CIMCYC), webinars for families of bilingual children, and dissemination videos (Link to Youtube channel).

Scientific responsabilities

Co-supervisor of undergraduate dissertations:
- 2025. Daniel Navarrete Sancho, Bachelor’s in Speech Language Therapy (University of Granada).
- 2024. María Nazaret Aguilar Fernández, Bachelor’s in Speech Language Therapy (University of Granada).