Zaid Zada زيد زاده

I'm a fifth-year Ph.D. Candidate at Princeton University working with Uri Hasson. My background education is in computer science (B.S., JMU) and machine learning (M.S., Georgia Tech).

I study language processing in the brain during naturalistic settings. My research explores how people and their brains use language to communicate and understand each other. Specifically, I'm interested in how multiple brains synchronize to share information, and the neural code underlying successful communication. I'm also broadly interested in the connection between how the brain and machines process language.

Publications

For a complete list of publications, see my google scholar page.

In search of a neural mechanism for domain-general value comparison in decision making

Samara, A.*, & Zada, Z.* (2025). The Journal of Neuroscience, 45(7), e2233242025.

A shared model-based linguistic space for transmitting our thoughts from brain to brain in natural conversations

Zada, Z., Goldstein, A., Michelmann, S., Simony, E., Price, A., Hasenfratz, L., Barham, E., Zadbood, A., Doyle, W., Friedman, D., Dugan, P., Melloni, L., Devore, S., Flinker, A., Devinsky, O., Nastase, S. A.*, & Hasson, U.* (2024). Neuron, 112(18), 3211-3222.e5.

Alignment of brain embeddings and artificial contextual embeddings in natural language points to common geometric patterns

Goldstein, A., Grinstein-Dabush, A., Schain, M., Wang, H., Hong, Z., Aubrey, B., Schain, M., Nastase, S. A., Zada, Z., Ham, E., Feder, A., Gazula, H., Buchnik, E., Doyle, W., Devore, S., Dugan, P., Reichart, R., Friedman, D., Brenner, M., … Hasson, U. (2024). Nature Communications, 15(1), 2768.

Shared computational principles for language processing in humans and deep language models

Goldstein, A., Zada, Z., Buchnik, E., Schain, M., Price, A., Aubrey, B., Nastase, S. A., Feder, A., Emanuel, D., Cohen, A., Jansen, A., Gazula, H., Choe, G., Rao, A., Kim, C., Casto, C., Fanda, L., Doyle, W., Friedman, D., … Hasson, U. (2022). Nature Neuroscience, 25(3), 369-380.

Scale matters: Large language models with billions (rather than millions) of parameters better match neural representations of natural language

Hong, Z.*, Wang, H.*, Zada, Z., Gazula, H., Turner, D., Aubrey, B., Niekerken, L., Doyle, W., Devore, S., Dugan, P., Friedman, D., Devinsky, O., Flinker, A., Hasson, U., Nastase, S. A., & Goldstein, A. (2024). eLife 13:RP101204.

Preprints

Linguistic coupling between neural systems for speech production and comprehension during real-time dyadic conversations

Zada, Z., Nastase, S., Speer, S., Mwilambwe-Tshilobo, L., Tsoi, L., Burns, S., Falk, E., Hasson, U., & Tamir, D. (2025). bioRxiv.

The “Podcast” ECoG dataset for modeling neural activity during natural narrative comprehension

Zada, Z., Nastase, S., Michelmann, S., Hasenfratz, L., Doyle, W., Friedman, D., Dugan, P., Melloni, L., Devore, S., Flinker, A., Devinsky, O., Goldstein, A., & Hasson, U. (2025). bioRxiv.

Aligning Brains into a Shared Space Improves their Alignment to Large Language Models

Bhattacharjee, A., Zada, Z., Wang, H., Aubrey, B., Doyle, W., Dugan, P., Friedman, D., Devinsky, O., Flinker, A., Ramadge, P. J., Hasson, U., Goldstein, A., & Nastase, S. A. (2024). bioRxiv.

Information-making processes in the speaker's brain drive human conversations forward

Goldstein, A., Wang, H., Sheffer, T., Schain, M., Zada, Z., Niekerken, L., Aubrey, B., Nastase, S. A., Gazula, H., Casto, C., Doyle, W. K., Friedman, D., Devore, S., Dugan, P., Hassidim, A., Brenner, M., Matias, Y., Devinsky, O., Flinker, A., & Hasson, U. (2024). bioRxiv.

Deep speech-to-text models capture the neural basis of spontaneous speech in everyday conversations

Goldstein, A., Wang, H.*, Niekerken, L.*, Zada, Z.*, Aubrey, B.*, Sheffer, T.*, Nastase, S. A., Gazula, H., Schain, M., Singh, A., Rao, A., Choe, G., Kim, C., Doyle, W., Friedman, D., Devore, S., Dugan, P., Hassidim, A., Brenner, M., … Hasson, U. (2023). bioRxiv.

Correspondence between the layered structure of deep language models and temporal structure of natural language processing in the human brain

Goldstein, A.*, Ham, E.*, Nastase, S. A., Zada, Z., Grinstein-Dabus, A., Aubrey, B., Schain, M., Gazula, H., Feder, A., Doyle, W., Devore, S., Dugan, P., Friedman, D., Brenner, M., Hassidim, A., Devinsky, O., Flinker, A., Levy, O., & Hasson, U. (2022). bioRxiv.

Presentations

2024 Mapping individual and shared cortical language representations during real-time natural dialogues at Organization for Human Brain Mapping. talk
2023 Mapping cortical language representation during real-time natural dialogues at Society for Neuroscience. poster
2023 Speaker-listener neural coupling in a shared linguistic embedding space during natural conversations at Society for the Neurobiology of Language. talk
2023 Speaker-listener neural alignment in linguistic embedding space during spontaneous conversations at Organization for Human Brain Mapping. poster
2022 Language models mediate speaker-to-listener coupling in natural conversations at Society for Neuroscience. poster
2022 Brain-to-Brain Linguistic Coupling in Natural Conversations at Conference on Cognitive Computational Neuroscience. poster
2021 Biased media reshapes the meaning of words in natural language at Six College Conference. blitz

Teaching

Princeton University, Preceptor
- 2025 Cognitive Psychology (PSY 255)
- 2023 The Life Cycle of Behaviors (PSY 260)
- 2022 Mathematical Tools for Neuroscience (NEU 314)
James Madison University, Teaching Assistant
- 2010 Advanced Programming (CS 239)

Media

Awards

2023 Graduate Student Merit Award from Society for the Neurobiology of Language.
2020 Centennial Fellowship from Princeton University Graduate School.
2012 C.S. Exceptional Graduate Award from James Madison University.
2012 C.S. Dennis Ritche Award from James Madison University.