The Language Neuroscience Podcast

In this episode, I talk with Nina Kazanina and Alexis Hervais-Adelman, both at the University of Geneva, about the science behind the upcoming SNL 2026 meeting in Geneva, and the evolutionary and cross-species perspective that the NCCR Evolving Language consortium brings to it. We discuss Nina’s argument that the neural ingredients for a “language of thought” are already available in the spatial navigation system of the rodent brain, and Alexis’s proposal that vocal communication came to dominate human language because of how early the fetus hears and learns in the womb. Kazanina N, Poeppel D. The neural ingredients for a language of thought are available. Trends Cogn Sci 2023; 27: 996-1007. [ doi ] Kazanina lab (NeuroLingo Lab) Hervais-Adelman A, Townsend SW. How did vocal communication come to dominate human language? A view from the womb. PLoS Biol 2025; 23: e3003141. [ doi ] Hervais-Adelman lab (Dynamics of Brain and Language Lab) NCCR Evolving Language SNL 2026

In this episode, I talk with Michael Alley, Engineering Communications Teaching Professor in the Penn State College of Engineering about his radical approach to better scientific presentations. Alley M. The craft of scientific presentations: Critical steps to succeed and critical errors to avoid . Springer, 2013. [ doi ] Garner JK, Alley M. How the design of presentation slides affects audience comprehension: A case for the assertion-evidence approach. Int J Eng Educ 2013; 26: 1564-79. [ pdf ] Wilson SM. Neural correlates of recovery from aphasia after stroke. C-STAR Lecture Series . Columbia, SC. Sep 9, 2022. [ video ] Hayashi C. The magnificence of spider silk. TED Talks . Sep, 2011. [ video ] Alley website

In this episode, I talk with Valentina Borghesani and Ryan Law from the SNL Program Committee about their exciting plans for the 2026 conference in Geneva, Switzerland. SNL 2026

In this epidode, I talk with Ellen Bialystok, Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology at York University, about her case for the “bilingual advantage”, or to be more precise, the case that growing up in a bilingual environment reconfigures mind and brain for adaptability, effiency, and resiliance. Bialystok E, Craik FIM, Klein R, Viswanathan M. Bilingualism, aging, and cognitive control: Evidence from the Simon task. Psychol Aging 2004; 19: 290-303. [ doi ] Bialystok E, Craik FIM, Freedman M. Bilingualism as a protection against the onset of symptoms of dementia. Neuropsychologia 2007; 45: 459-64. [ doi ] Schweizer TA, Ware J, Fischer CE, Craik FIM, Bialystok E. Bilingualism as a contributor to cognitive reserve: Evidence from brain atrophy in Alzheimer’s disease. Cortex 2012; 48: 991-6. [ doi ] Berkes M, Bialystok E, Craik FIM, Troyer A, Freedman M. Conversion of mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer disease in monolingual and bilingual patients. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord 2020; 34: 225. [ doi ] Bialystok E, Hawrylewicz K, Grundy JG, Chung-Fat-Yim A. The swerve: How childhood bilingualism changed from liability to benefit. Dev Psychol 2022; 58: 1429-40. [ doi ] Bialystok E. Bilingualism modifies cognition through adaptation, not transfer. Trends Cogn Sci 2024; 28: 987-97. [ doi ] Related papers: Alladi S, Bak TH, Duggirala V, et al. Bilingualism delays age at onset of dementia, independent of education and immigration status. Neurology 2013; 81: 1938-44. [ doi ] Zahodne LB, Schofield PW, Farrell MT, Stern Y, Manly JJ. Bilingualism does not alter cognitive decline or dementia risk among Spanish-speaking immigrants. Neuropsychology 2014; 28: 238-46. [ doi ] Lifespan Cognition And Development Lab

In this epidode, I talk with Greg Hickok, Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Sciences & Language Science at the University of California, Irvine, about his new book ‘Wired for words: the neural architecture of language’ . Hickok G. Wired for words: The neural architecture of language. 2025; MIT Press. Key Hickok papers: Hickok G, Poeppel D. The cortical organization of speech processing. Nat Rev Neurosci 2007; 8: 393-402. [ doi ] Hickok G. Computational neuroanatomy of speech production. Nat Rev Neurosci 2012; 13: 135-45. [ doi ] Hickok G, Houde J, Rong F. Sensorimotor integration in speech processing: Computational basis and neural organization. Neuron 2011; 69: 407-22. [ doi ] Hickok G, Buchsbaum B, Humphries C, Muftuler T. Auditory-motor interaction revealed by fMRI: speech, music, and working memory in area Spt. J Cogn Neurosci 2003; 15: 673-82. [ doi ] Matchin W, Hickok G. The cortical organization of syntax. Cereb Cortex 2020; 30: 1481-98. [ doi ] Hickok G, Venezia J, Teghipco A. Beyond Broca: Neural architecture and evolution of a dual motor speech coordination system. Brain 2023; 146: 1775-90. [ doi ] Rogalsky C, Basilakos A, Rorden C, Pillay S, LaCroix AN, Keator L, Mickelsen S, Anderson SW, Love T, Fridriksson J, Binder J, Hickok G. The neuroanatomy of speech processing: a large-scale lesion study. J Cogn Neurosci 2022; 34: 1355-75. [ doi ] Rogalsky C, Pitz E, Hillis AE, Hickok G. Auditory word comprehension impairment in acute stroke: relative contribution of phonemic versus semantic factors. Brain Lang 2008; 107: 167-9. [ doi ] Hickok G, Okada K, Barr W, Pa J, Rogalsky C, Donnelly K, Barde L, Grant A. Bilateral capacity for speech sound processing in auditory comprehension: evidence from Wada procedures. Brain Lang 2008; 107: 179-84. [ doi ] Other papers mentioned: Wilson SM, Entrup JL, Schneck SM, Onuscheck CF, Levy DF, Rahman M, Willey E, Casilio M, Yen M, Brito AC, Kam W, Davis LT, de Riesthal M, Kirshner HS. Recovery from aphasia in the first year after stroke. Brain 2023; 146: 1021-39. [ doi ] Risse GL, Gates JR, Fangman MC. A reconsideration of bilateral language representation based on the intracarotid amobarbital procedure. Brain Cogn 1997; 33: 118-32. [ doi ]

In this epidode, I talk with Deborah Levy, Lecturer at Princeton University, about her paper ‘Role for left dorsomedial prefrontal cortex in self-generated, but not externally cued, language production’, which just came out in Neurobiology of Language . Levy D, Greicius Q, Wang C, Ko E, Xu D, Andrews J, Chang EF. Role for left dorsomedial prefrontal cortex in self-generated, but not externally cued, language production. Neurobiol Lang 2025; 6:nol_a_00166. [ doi ] Levy website

In this episode, I talk with Steve Politzer-Ahles and Bernard Jap about their paper ‘Can the mismatch negativity really be elicited by abstract linguistic contrasts?’, which was recently published as a Registered Report in Neurobiology of Language . Politzer-Ahles S, Jap BAJ. Can the mismatch negativity really be elicited by abstract linguistic contrasts? Neurobiol Lang 2024; 5: 818–843. [ doi ] Politzer-Ahles website Jap website

In the episode, I talk with Julius Fridriksson, Professor of Communication Sciences and Vice President for Research at the University of South Carolina, about what's going on with the NIH since the recent change of administration.

In this episode, I talk with Masud Husain, Professor of Neurology and Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Oxford, about his recent editorial ‘A mountain of small things’. Husain website Husain M. A mountain of small things. Brain 2024; 147: 739. [ doi ]

In this episode, I talk with Maaike Vandermosten, Associate Professor in the Department of Neurosciences at KU Leuven, about the neural basis of developmental dyslexia, and neuroplasticity in recovery from aphasia. Vandermosten website Vanderauwera J, Wouters J, Vandermosten M, Ghesquière P. Early dynamics of white matter deficits in children developing dyslexia. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2017; 27: 69-77. [ doi ] Beelen C, Vanderauwera J, Wouters J, Vandermosten M, Ghesquière P. Atypical gray matter in children with dyslexia before the onset of reading instruction. Cortex 2019; 121: 399–413. [ doi ] Phan TV, Sima D, Smeets D, Ghesquière P, Wouters J, Vandermosten M. Structural brain dynamics across reading development: A longitudinal MRI study from kindergarten to grade 5. Hum Brain Mapp 2021; 42: 4497-509. [ doi ] Clercq PD, Gonsalves AR, Gerrits R, Vandermosten M. Individualized functional localization of the language and multiple demand network in chronic post-stroke aphasia. bioRxiv 2024; 2024.01.12.575350. [ doi ]

In this episode, I talk with Dorothy Bishop, Emeritus Professor of Developmental Neuropsychology at the University of Oxford, about her work on developmental langauge disorder and its neural basis. Bishop website Bishop DVM. Comprehension in developmental language disorders. Dev Med Child Neurol. 1979;21:225-38. [ doi ] Bishop DVM, Snowling MJ, Thompson PA, Greenhalgh T, CATALISE consortium. CATALISE: A multinational and multidisciplinary Delphi consensus study: Identifying language impairments in children. PLoS One. 2016;11:e0158753. [ doi ] Bishop DVM, Snowling MJ, Thompson PA, Greenhalgh T, CATALISE‐2 consortium. Phase 2 of CATALISE: a multinational and multidisciplinary Delphi consensus study of problems with language development: Terminology. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2017;58:1068-80. [ doi ] Wilson AC, Bishop DVM. Resounding failure to replicate links between developmental language disorder and cerebral lateralisation. PeerJ. 2018;6:e4217. [ doi ] Bishop D. Rein in the four horsemen of irreproducibility. Nature. 2019;568:435. [ doi ]

In this episode, I talk with Rob Cavanaugh, Research Data Analyst at the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics Center at Northeastern University, about his dissertation ‘Determinants of multilevel discourse outcomes in anomia treatment for aphasia’. Cavanaugh website Cavanaugh, R. Determinants of multilevel discourse outcomes in anomia treatment for aphasia. Doctoral dissertation, University of Pittsburgh. [ dissertation ]

In the episode, I talk with Jean-Rémi King, Research scientist and team leader at Meta AI, and Associate Researcher at CNRS, École Normale Supérieure, about three recent papers from his lab on deep learning algorithms, natural language processing, and the brain. King website Millet J, Caucheteux C, Orhan P, Boubenec Y, Gramfort A, Dunbar E, Pallier C, King J-R. Toward a realistic model of speech processing in the brain with self-supervised learning. In Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS) 2022. [ doi ] Caucheteux C, King JR. Brains and algorithms partially converge in natural language processing. Commun Biol. 2022;5:134. [ doi ] Caucheteux C, Gramfort A, King JR. Evidence of a predictive coding hierarchy in the human brain listening to speech. Nat Hum Behav. 2023;7:430-41. [ doi ]

In this episode, I talk with Laura Gwilliams, soon-to-be Assistant Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Data Science at Stanford University, about her recent paper ‘Neural dynamics of phoneme sequences reveal position-invariant code for content and order’. Gwilliams lab website Gwilliams L, King JR, Marantz A, Poeppel D. Neural dynamics of phoneme sequences reveal position-invariant code for content and order. Nat Commun 2022; 13: 6606. [ doi ]

In this episode, I talk with Alexander Huth, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience and Computer Science at the University of Texas, Austin, about his work using functional imaging and advanced computational methods to model how the brain processes language and represents meaning. Huth lab website Huth AG, Nishimoto S, Vu AT, Gallant JL. A continuous semantic space describes the representation of thousands of object and action categories across the human brain. Neuron 2012; 76: 1210-24. [ doi ] Huth AG, de Heer WA, Griffiths TL, Theunissen FE, Gallant JL. Natural speech reveals the semantic maps that tile human cerebral cortex. Nature 2016; 532: 453-8. [ doi ] Jain S, Huth AG. Incorporating context into language encoding models for fMRI. Proceedings of the 32nd International Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems 2018, pp. 6629-38. [ doi ] Tang J, LeBel A, Jain S, Huth AG. Semantic reconstruction of continuous language from non-invasive brain recordings. Nat Neurosci in press. [ doi ]

In this episode, I talk with Liina Pylkkänen, Professor of Linguistics and Psychology at NYU, about her research program, and in particular her recent paper ‘Disentangling semantic composition and semantic association in the left temporal lobe’. Pylkkänen lab website Li J, Pylkkänen L. Disentangling semantic composition and semantic association in the left temporal lobe. J Neurosci 2021; 41: 6526-38. [ doi ]

In this episode, I talk with Eddie Chang, Professor of Neurological Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco, about his recent paper ‘Speech computations of the human superior temporal gyrus’. Chang lab website Bhaya-Grossman I, Chang EF. Speech computations of the human superior temporal gyrus. Annu Rev Psychol 2022; 73: 79-102. [ doi | pdf ] Chang EF, Rieger JW, Johnson K, Berger MS, Barbaro NM, Knight RT. Categorical speech representation in human superior temporal gyrus. Nat Neurosci 2010; 13: 1428-33. [ doi ] Sjerps MJ, Fox NP, Johnson K, Chang EF. Speaker-normalized sound representations in the human auditory cortex. Nat Commun 2019; 10: 2465. [ doi ] Leonard MK, Baud MO, Sjerps MJ, Chang EF. Perceptual restoration of masked speech in human cortex. Nat Commun 2016; 7: 13619. [ doi ] Hamilton LS, Edwards E, Chang EF. A spatial map of onset and sustained responses to speech in the human superior temporal gyrus. Curr Biol 2018; 28: 1860-71. [ doi ] Oganian Y, Chang EF. A speech envelope landmark for syllable encoding in human superior temporal gyrus. Sci Adv 2019; 5: eaay6279. [ doi ]

In this episode, I talk with Olivia Leow, who experienced an awake craniotomy for resection of a brain tumor surrounded by language areas in her left posterior temporal lobe. Vanderbilt Brain Cancer Patient Assistance Fund, established by Olivia Leow Diachek E, Morgan VL, Wilson SM. Adaptive language mapping paradigms for presurgical language mapping. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 2022; in press. [ pdf ] Wilson SM, Yen M, Eriksson DK. An adaptive semantic matching paradigm for reliable and valid language mapping in individuals with aphasia. Hum Brain Mapp 2018; 39: 3285-307. [ doi ] Yen M, DeMarco AT, Wilson SM. Adaptive paradigms for mapping phonological regions in individual participants. NeuroImage 2019; 189: 368-79. [ doi ] Wilson SM, Lam D, Babiak M, Perry D, Shih T, Hess CP, Berger MS, Chang EF. Transient aphasias after left hemisphere resective surgery. J Neurosurg 2015; 123: 581-93. [ doi ] McCarron A, Chavez A, Babiak MC, Berger MS, Chang EF, Wilson SM. Connected speech in transient aphasias after left hemisphere resective surgery. Aphasiology 2017; 31: 1266-81. [ doi ] Penfield W, Roberts L. Speech and Brain-Mechanisms . Princeton University Press; 1959. [ book ] Long Monday by John Prine Clay Pigeons by John Prine

In this episode, I talk with Noam Chomsky, Institute Professor and Emeritus Professor of Linguistics at MIT and Laureate Professor of Linguistics at the University of Arizona. After starting with a discussion of the early development of Chomsky’s key ideas, our conversation is centered on the relationship between generative linguistics and the neuroscience of language. Grodzinsky Y, Finkel L. The neurology of empty categories: Aphasics’ failure to detect ungrammaticality. J Cogn Neurosci 1998; 10: 281-92. [ doi ] Chomsky N. Linguistics and brain science. In: Marantz A, Miyashita Y, O’Neil W, editors. Image, language, brain: Papers from the first mind articulation project symposium . MIT Press; 2000. p. 13-28. [ pdf ] Musso M, Moro A, Glauche V, Rijntjes M, Reichenbach J, Büchel C, Weiller C. Broca’s area and the language instinct. Nat Neurosci 2003; 6: 774-81. [ doi ] Chomsky N. Language and mind . Cambridge University Press; 2006. [ doi ] Friederici AD, Chomsky N, Berwick RC, Moro A, Bolhuis JJ. Language, mind and brain. Nat Hum Behav 2017; 1: 713-22. [ doi ] Chomsky N. Linguistics then and now: Some personal reflections. Annu Rev Linguist 2021; 7: 1-11. [ doi ] Chomsky website

In this episode, I talk with Fred Dick, Professor of Auditory Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Birkbeck, University of London, about his work, with a focus on his recent paper ‘Extensive tonotopic mapping across auditory cortex is recapitulated by spectrally directed attention and systematically related to cortical myeloarchitecture’. Dick F, Bates E, Wulfeck B, Utman JA, Dronkers N, Gernsbacher MA. Language deficits, localization, and grammar: evidence for a distributive model of language breakdown in aphasic patients and neurologically intact individuals. Psychol Rev 2001; 108: 759-88. [ doi ] Dick F, Tierney AT, Lutti A, Josephs O, Sereno MI, Weiskopf N. In vivo functional and myeloarchitectonic mapping of human primary auditory areas. J Neurosci 2012; 32: 16095-105. [ doi ] Lutti A, Dick F, Sereno MI, Weiskopf N. Using high-resolution quantitative mapping of R1 as an index of cortical myelination. NeuroImage 2014; 93: 176-88. [ doi ] Dick FK, Lehet MI, Callaghan MF, Keller TA, Sereno MI, Holt LL. Extensive tonotopic mapping across auditory cortex is recapitulated by spectrally directed attention and systematically related to cortical myeloarchitecture. J Neurosci 2017; 37: 12187-201. [ doi ] Dick faculty webpage Transcript