Neuroscience of Language

Humans are the only species with language. Their brains evolved to enable communication through language. With language, they can express every idea with exquisite precision and speed; on the receptive side, they can accurately understand the information communicated in the language they have learned. The course focuses on the brain mechanisms underpinning this uniquely human ability. By reading scientific articles, students learn about current views on the mechanisms supporting the processing of different components of human language, including words, grammar, and speech sounds. Class discussions are designed to highlight the specific contribution of a brain perspective to the investigation of human language. Although the focus is on language, the course examines features of brain organization and functioning with broader implications for cognitive processes. The course will be of interest to neuroscience students concentrating on cognitive neuroscience as well as to linguistics students who want to explore the brain mechanisms underlying language.