Now you are reading the descriptions of what we do, but do you know what your brain has done for you so that you can decode the meaning of each word and interpret the meaning of each sentence?
Since it has been taken for granted that we are endowed with language “skills,” we might not be aware that the brain has to go through sophisticated processes to achieve the communicative goal.
The Neurolinguistics Lab at NTHU is dedicated to the combination and reciprocity of cognitive neuroscience and linguistic theories. Here we mainly use behavioral measures and EEG (electroencephalography) as our tools to explore how syntax, phonology and semantics interacting as a phrase or a sentence is constructed over time, as well as how general cognitive mechanisms support language comprehension and production. We also examine language processing in bilinguals, from whom we can study not only how grammars of two languages interact, but also how the language system interacts with other cognitive abilities. Insights from these inquires allow us to enrich existing models of sentence processing and enhance our understanding of the biological foundation of language.