People | CSPL

Principal Investigator

Dr. Lekhnath Sharma Pathak

Assistant Professor · Central Department of Linguistics, Tribhuvan University

PhD Cognitive Science · University of Hyderabad

Psycholinguistics · Cognitive Science · Pedagogy · Linguistics

Dr. Pathak founded Nepal's first Cognitive Science & Psycholinguistics Lab. His PhD from the Center for Neural & Cognitive Sciences at the University of Hyderabad (under Ramesh Kumar Mishra) focused on bilingual language processing. His research spans child language acquisition, multilingual cognition, dyslexia, psycholinguistic approaches to honorification, and cross-linguistic spatial semantics.

Beyond the lab, Dr. Pathak has advocated for cognitive science as an academic discipline in Nepal. In February 2020, he delivered the keynote “Situation of Illiterates in Nepal: What Does It Mean for Cognitive Science?” at the Third International Workshop of the Society for Cognitive Science of Culture at BITS Pilani, Goa. He also undertook an SNSF Scientific Visit to the University of Zurich.

Selected Works

2025 Trilingual parallel processing: Do the dominant languages grab all the attention? (Bilingualism: Language and Cognition)
2025 Immersion in second language does not always attenuate and attrite first language: Evidence from Nepali–English bilinguals (Int. J. Bilingualism)
2023 Spatial communication across languages (Coventry et al., Nature Human Behaviour)
2022 Initiating and Institutionalizing CogSci in Nepal (Gipan)
2022 Nepali–English–Sanskrit parallel activation (Nepalese Linguistics)
2019 Why TU Needs an Academic Program in Cognitive Science
2019 Honorification in Nepali: A Psycholinguistic Perspective (Gipan)
2007 Poshak Revisited: Nepali child language acquisition, 6mo–4.5yr
2005 Thus Spake Poshak: first longitudinal case study
2004 Child Language Acquisition: first study from Nepali
2002 Agglutination in Garo (Nepalese Linguistics)

Public Writing

संज्ञानात्मक विज्ञानबाट नेपालको परिचय (Gorkhapatra)

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Faculty

Dr. Karnakhar Khatiwada

Associate Professor & Head · Central Department of Linguistics, Tribhuvan University

Collaborating faculty member of the CSPL.

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Researchers

Mohan Gurung

MPhil–PhD Scholar · Journalist
Central Department of Linguistics, Tribhuvan University

Mohan Gurung holds master’s degrees in Population Studies and Media Technology and is a practising journalist who has worked with several media houses. Under the supervision of Dr. Lekhnath Sharma Pathak, he studies Gurung language acquisition and intergenerational transmission. His work forms part of a research collaboration with the Institute for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution at the University of Zürich.

Sambit Rimal

MA Linguistics Student · Student Lab Manager
Central Department of Linguistics, Tribhuvan University

Sambit Rimal is an MA Linguistics student at the Central Department of Linguistics, Tribhuvan University, and CSPL’s Student Lab Manager. He has a background in Computer Science and Information Technology and is completing a Higher Diploma in Writing and Research at The Open Institute, with a focus on science and technology studies (STS). His current research uses eye-tracking and mouse-tracking to investigate trilingual parallel language activation, cognitive control and agent preference in visual event apprehension. He was a 2025 CogSci × Gorilla Grant recipient.

Selected presentation

2024 · Cross-Cultural Psycholinguistics and Cognitive Science Workshop Measuring Cognitive Control using Mouse-tracing and Eye-tracking, University of Zurich & Tribhuvan University.

Personal website

Sabita Rijal

Architect. Psycholinguistics and Cognitive Science Researcher. Literacy and Cognition

Sabita Rijal is an architect who completed an MA in Linguistics at Tribhuvan University. For her master’s thesis, supervised by Dr. Pathak, she investigated how first- and second-language-mediated instruction relates to cognitive control. The study used linguistic measures alongside Stroop and Flanker tasks in a mouse-tracking paradigm. During her free time, she enjoys painting, hiking, reading and listening to music.

Selected publications & presentation

2020 · Poster presentation Presented with Lekhnath Sharma Pathak at the 3rd International Workshop of the Society for Cognitive Science of Culture, BITS Pilani, Goa, India, February 3–7, 2020: Bilingual literacy effect on executive control: A kinematic study.

2020 · MA thesis Effect of First and Second Language Mediated Instruction on Cognitive Control: A Psycholinguistic Study.

2022 · Nepalese Linguistics A Study on Bilingual Verbal Fluency Task to Measure the Effect of Instruction in First and Second Language Performance.

2021 · Journal of Cultural Cognitive Science Instruction in second language enhances linguistic and cognitive abilities in first language as well: Evidence from public school education in Nepal.

Aarya Pathak

Research Intern · Computer Science Undergraduate
School of Computer Science and Engineering, Kathmandu University

Aarya Pathak works on technology-assisted approaches to cognition, language and mental health. At CSPL, he is developing AR-assisted vocabulary-learning tools for children with autism and exploring how AI may support people with speech and language difficulties. He is also involved in Cognify, a platform combining cognitive tools and natural language processing for mental-health support. His team won the national Code for Impact hackathon and received seed funding for its AR vocabulary-learning project, followed by startup mentoring and incubation at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. In his free time he enjoys reading, hiking, cycling and endurance training.

Selected publication & presentation

2024 · KJSET / NCCI Cognify: Enhancement of Mental Conditions Using Cognitive Tools.

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Reshma Niraula

Incoming Fulbright Scholar

Reshma Niraula is a recent Cornell University graduate and an incoming Fulbright Scholar. Under the mentorship of Dr. Lekhnath Sharma Pathak, she will investigate whether bilingualism modulates the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia among older adults in Nepal.

Alumni

Poshak Pathak

Alumnus
Computer Science Graduate, University of Louisiana at Monroe

Poshak Pathak is a Computer Science graduate from the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM). He is also the Founding President of the Chess Club of ULM. He was one of the first research interns of the lab. He has published and presented in several national and international forums.

Selected publications & presentation

Presentation Watch Poshak’s presentation on YouTube.

Google Scholar Personal website