Neurobiology of Language

Neurobiology of Language Department

At the Neurobiology of Language Department, we focus on the production, comprehension, and acquisition of language from a cognitive neuroscience perspective.

One of the main issues we are researching is how the human brain enables us to command one or more languages. To investigate this, we have to connect cognitive architecture models of speaking, reading, and listening with computational models of language, and with our insights into the neural architecture of the human brain. That is exactly what we do in our triangular approach to the neurobiology of language.

In order to achieve our mission, we have access to world-class research facilities, both here at the Max Planck Institute as well as at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging. These include high-density EEG labs, two Virtual Reality labs, a whole-head 275 channel MEG system, three MRI scanners at 3 Tesla, a high-field MRI scanner at 7 Tesla, a TMS lab, an fNIRS lab, several behavioural labs, and a high-performance computing cluster.