Aparna Venugopal

Bio

Aparna Venugopal is a certified Speech-Language Pathologist and cognitive-linguistic researcher. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Speech Pathology and Audiology at NIMHANS, Bengaluru, and holds a degree in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology from the All-India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH), Mysore.

She is also a Research Associate in the Department of Neurology, where she leads community-based research as part of an NIH-funded study examining the role of bilingualism in cognitive reserve. Her doctoral work focuses on how bilingual experience influences cognition and language across healthy ageing, mild cognitive impairment, and dementia, with an emphasis on culturally and ecologically valid tools for early detection of cognitive disorders.
In addition to her research, she provides speech-language assessment and intervention for individuals with neurogenic communication disorders through the Cognitive Neurology services at NIMHANS. Her broader interests lie at the intersection of bilingualism, cognitive neuroscience, speech-language pathology, and public health, including bilingual language processing, cognitive-communication disorders, aphasia, and connected-speech analysis.

Experience

• Speech Therapist: Karnataka Brain Health Initiative (KaBHI), NIMHANS
• Sector Manager: AADAR Dementia Science Program (DBT-India), NIMHANS
• Research Officer: AIISH, Mysore

Research & Publications

1. Venugopal, A., Paplikar, A., Varghese, F. A., Thanissery, N., Ballal, D., Hoskeri, R. M., … & Alladi, S. (2024). Protective effect of bilingualism on aging, MCI, and dementia: A community-based study. Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 20(4), 2620–2631. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.13702
2. Bidisha Bhattacharyya, Avanthi Paplikar, Feba Varghese, Gautam Das, Vasundhara Shukla, Faheem Arshad, Aakansha Gupta, Shailaja Mekala, Adreesh Mukherjee, Ruchira Mukherjee, Aparna Venugopal.,…&Alladi, S. (2024). Illiterate Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination-III in Three Indian Languages: An Adaptation and Validation Study. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, acad106.DOI: 10.1093/arclin/acad106
3. Paplikar, A., Venugopal, A., & Alladi, S. (2024). Chapter Neuropsychological Assessment in Dementia for Global Populations. In A Guide to Global Language Assessment (pp. 323-354). Routledge.DOI:10.4324/9781003524472-22
4. Avanthi Paplikar., Aparna Venugopal., & Sneha Rozelena Anthony (2024). Language Assessment and Speech Therapy in Primary Progressive Aphasia, Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology.