Publications

Abstract

Large language models are interesting, but linguistics and cognitive science should be cautious about centering any new technology as a magic bullet. Doing so reinforces the historically “narrow focus” of linguistics identified in the target article, rather than expanding our understanding of human language. We argue that centering values instead of technology is the best way to future-proof scholarly work and to keep finding out new things about language.

Abstract

Dynamic time warping (DTW) is a well-known algorithm used to assess the similarity between signals of varying lengths. Initially developed for automatic speech recognition, DTW has found applications in psycholinguistics, particularly in analyzing gesture form similarity. An open question in this domain is how effectively DTW captures gesture form similarity. Here, we validate DTW against human annotations of gesture form similarity across two multimodal interaction corpora and explore its utility as an automatic, continuous measure of gesture form similarity. Our findings reveal weak to moderate correlations between DTW distance and the number of similar gesture features – such as handshape, movement, orientation, and position – suggesting that DTW serves as a useful proxy for gesture form similarity. Additionally, we highlight the importance of qualitative analysis of raw data and DTW predictions in enhancing DTW’s predictive accuracy. Our study offers a rigorous validation of DTW as a measure of gesture form similarity and presents a detailed framework for preprocessing motion tracking data and calculating DTW distance. While none of the methods is perfect, the combination of automatic and manual measures provides a comprehensive approach to understanding and measuring gesture form similarity.

Abstract

Background
Impaired plasticity has been implicated in major depressive disorder (MDD), which is reflected in impaired automatic sensory detection as measured using mismatch negativity (MMN). Intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) is used to treat MDD and its mechanism of action has been suggested to be plasticity dependent. Thus, we aimed at evaluating MMN as a MDD biomarker and predictor of antidepressant effect of iTBS.

Methods
This study comprised 46 patients with MDD and 64 healthy controls. The participants completed an auditory duration deviant MMN paradigm. In patients, MMN was recorded before and after a two-week intervention of twice-daily stimulation with a prolonged iTBS protocol, or sham, over the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC). Depressive symptoms were assessed with the affective subscale of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS-affective) and through the self-report version of the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS-S).

Results
There were no differences in MMN amplitude at baseline between patients and controls, nor any correlations between depressive symptoms and MMN amplitude. MMN amplitude did not change after iTBS. However, in the active iTBS group a larger baseline MMN amplitude correlated significantly with greater reductions of depressive symptoms following iTBS, Δ-MADRS-S (r = 0.48, p = 0.021) and Δ-BPRS-affective (r = 0.46, p = 0.026). No correlation between baseline MMN amplitude and change of depressive symptoms was observed in the sham group.

Conclusion
Larger MMN amplitudes at baseline were associated with greater improvement in depressive symptoms only after active iTBS over the DMPFC. Indicating potential predictive properties of MMN in DMPFC iTBS in MDD, warranting replication in larger samples.

Abstract

This article provides an overview of diachronic stages in counting systems, from early pre-numerical tally, token, and measurement systems to concrete and abstract numeral systems. Numerals present strong variation within and across languages with phenomena that often reflect different stages of development, including range, abstractness, monomorphism versus composition, origins, base and underlying operations, and involvement in grammatical processes. The article outlines these phenomena and assesses their diachronic value.

Abstract

Data allow the identification of several stages in the evolution of counting systems. The pre-numerical token system as found in the Near East – containing symbols that convey quantity and commodity in one form – prepared the ground for numeracy in some languages. Certain aspects of the token system are found in measurement systems as well, where each commodity has its own linguistic units of quantification and conversion factors. While these systems were very early, they linger in numerous languages today, even those that feature full-fledged decimal numerals. Numerical systems are based on numerals and are sequential, but they may vary substantially, also reflecting here different stages of development. Concrete numerals, for example, continue the link between quantity and commodity found in measurement and token systems. Body-part numerals may have relatively high upper limits, but they need additional linguistic specification or gestures (multimodality) to convey precise information. Moreover, early abstract numeral systems in general have no or low bases and relatively low upper limits; they tend to be monomorphemic and to exclusively favor addition in compounds. Later systems by contrast typically are characterized by abstract and decimal numerals, (often combined) arithmetical operations, recursion, high upper limits (‘infinite’), and consistency. Because of this consistency at all levels – base, operations, recursion – the modern decimal system has a low level of complexity in comparison to early counting systems.

Abstract

Art can evoke strong emotional responses in humans. Here, we examine genetic contributions to chills, a marker of such responses. We gather self-reports from a genotyped sample of thousands of partly related individuals from the Netherlands (n = 15,606). Using genomic relationships based on common single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data, we find that up to 29% of the variation in proneness to aesthetic (visual art and poetry) and music chills can be explained by familial relatedness effects, one-fourth of which is attributed to SNP variation. Furthermore, we reveal a moderate genetic correlation of .58 between aesthetic and music chills, pointing to shared genetic variation affecting susceptibility to strong emotional responses across different art forms. Finally, we find that a polygenic index (PGI) for openness to experience (n = 220,015) is associated with susceptibilities to both aesthetic and music chills. Our results show that additive genetic variation, but also familial relatedness beyond shared common SNPs, contributes to proneness to chills from artistic, poetic, and musical expressions. These results open up a promising path towards studying the human attitude towards art, via both state-of-the-art genomics and intergenerational models of transmission.

Abstract

Humans typically move and vocalize in a time-synchronized fashion, aligning prominence-lending hand movements to acoustically emphasized syllables. This requires complex coordination. When speaking a foreign language, learners often place prominence on the wrong syllable in a word, which contributes to a noticeable foreign accent. In this pre-registered kinematic-acoustic study, we test whether a foreign accent is present in the timing of co-speech manual movements. Results demonstrate a ‘kinematic accent’ in Dutch learners of Spanish producing Spanish cognates (e.g., Spanish profeSOR - Dutch proFESsor). Dutch learners time the maximum extension of their co-speech movements closer to the prominent syllable in their native Dutch (i.e., on -fes), even when acoustically emphasizing the correct Spanish syllable (-sor). Conversely, when incorrectly acoustically emphasizing the Dutch target (-fes), the maximum extension of their hand movement is attracted to the Spanish target syllable (-sor). This reveals competing timing processes between movement and vocalization systems for foreign language learners, demonstrating that not only your spoken accent but also your co-speech manual kinematics may give away your native language.

Abstract

When asking for something significant from another person, speakers not only set the tilt of the question toward the affirmative or negative but also display an optimistic or pessimistic stance toward the request’s ultimate fulfillment. Existing sociological theories provide contrasting predictions about whether optimism or pessimism will dominate request behavior in routine social interactions. This paper evaluates the relative strength of these predictions using conversation analysis (CA), supplemented with structured coding and inferential statistics, to examine everyday requests in seven diverse language communities. We focus on two specific practices for making requests—the tilt of the requesting talk and the use of pre-requests. We find that speakers exhibit a systematic preference for requesting with optimistic stances despite frequently encountering resistance from interlocutors. Consonant with Cerulo’s concept of positive asymmetry, the details of everyday behavior reveal a pervasive bias wherein interactants treat socially desirable, cooperative outcomes as expected while disattending from potential resistance.

Abstract

Sleep disturbances are among the most prevalent clinical features of FOXP1 syndrome, yet their nature and underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we report that individuals with FOXP1 syndrome suffer from insomnia with sleep maintenance problems and early waking. Consistently, common variants in FOXP genes were associated with insomnia symptoms and short sleep. These sleep disturbances were recapitulated in Drosophila FoxP mutants, which exhibit severely fragmented and reduced sleep. FoxP loss also led to circadian arrhythmicity and impaired the plasticity of neuropeptide pigment dispersing factor–secreting (PDF-secreting) neurons in a non-cell-autonomous manner. FoxP was required during development for adult sleep integrity, particularly in peptidergic neurons. Transcriptomic analyses revealed a dysregulation of genes involved in peptidergic signaling, including hugin. FoxP was expressed in hugin+ neurons (afferent to PDF-secreting neurons) during development, and its knockdown in these cells was sufficient to induce sleep fragmentation. Our findings establish an evolutionarily conserved role for FOXP proteins in the peptidergic regulation of sleep.

Abstract

Current theories of speaking suggest that the structure of the lexicon is flexible and changes with exposure. We tested this claim in two experiments that investigated whether the word frequency effect was moderated by item repetition within and across experimental sessions. Participants named high frequency (HF) and low frequency (LF) pictures (Experiment 1) and words (Experiment 2) six times. In both experiments, participants were faster to name HF than LF pictures or words, but this effect was eliminated with repetition. Importantly, this word frequency effect was still absent when participants returned up to 2 weeks later and named old HF and LF pictures, whose names they had produced before, together with new HF and LF pictures, whose names they had not produced. These findings suggest that producing a word multiple times in short succession alters its long-term accessibility, making it easier to produce later.

Abstract

Word frequency (WF) and name agreement (NA) affect a word’s accessibility during speech production. Speakers are faster to name pictures with high-frequency (e.g. dog) compared to low-frequency names (e.g. rhinoceros) and those that a group of speakers tend to agree on the name of (high NA; e.g. arm) than those that they do not (low NA; e.g. sofa, couch). Recent accounts of lexical access suggest that the structure of the mental lexicon is flexible and changes with exposure. Consistent with this view, repetition priming studies have shown that low-frequency and low NA items benefit from repetition more than high-frequency and high NA items. But there is little evidence that repetition has long-term effects on WF and NA. We tested this issue in a two-session (online) picture naming study. In Session 1, participants named pictures varying in WF and NA three times each, and so we could test the short-term effects of repetition on WF and NA. We tested long-term effects of repetition by having participants name the same old items 1 week later in Session 2, together with new items that they had not named previously. In Session 1 the WF effect was eliminated by repetition, while the NA effect was reduced but still present. Thus, previous naming affected both the WF and NA effects. However, both effects reappeared in Session 2. These findings suggest that previous naming can reduce the WF and NA effect, thus affecting how easy it is to produce a word, but these effects are relatively short-lived.

Abstract

SATB2-associated syndrome is an autosomal dominant neurodevelopmental syndrome caused by genetic alterations in the transcription factor SATB2. The associated phenotype is variable, and genotype-phenotype correlation studies have not yet been able to explain differences in severity and symptoms across affected individuals. While haploinsufficiency is the most often described disease mechanism, with the majority of variants consisting of whole- or partial-gene deletions and protein truncating variants with predicted loss-of-function, approximately one-third of affected individuals carry a SATB2 missense variant with an unknown effect. In this study, we sought to functionally characterize these missense variants to uncover associated pathogenic mechanisms. We combined a set of human cell-based experiments to screen 31 etiological SATB2 missense variants for effects on nuclear localization, global chromatin binding, and transcriptional activity. Our data indicate partial loss-of-function effects for most of the studied missense variants, but identify at least eight variants with increased SATB2 function showing a combination (or subset) of features that include stronger co-localization with DNA, decreased nuclear protein mobility suggesting increased overall chromatin binding, and maintained or increased transcriptional activity. These results demonstrate that phenotypes associated with variants in SATB2 may have distinct underlying disease mechanisms, and the data could provide a resource for future studies investigating disease variability and potential therapies for this condition.

Abstract

The emergence of human language is a complex process, and to investigate the role of iconicity in this, researchers have combined insights from computational models with empirical observations from laboratory experiments. This chapter provides an overview of the most important insights on the interaction between iconicity and other linguistic properties such as combinatoriality and systematicity. In the experimental and computational work reported, it is shown how iconicity can affect the way in which emerging languages are learned and used. The chapter also discusses how computational methods can help to better understand the gradient and subjective nature of iconicity.

Abstract

Developmental stuttering is a common childhood condition characterized by disfluencies in speech, such as blocks, prolongations, and repetitions. While most children who stutter do so only transiently, there are some for whom stuttering persists into adulthood. Rare-variant screens in families including multiple relatives with persistent stuttering have so far identified six genes carrying putative pathogenic variants hypothesized to act in a monogenic fashion. Here, we applied a complementary study design, searching instead for de novo variants in exomes of 85 independent parent-child trios, each with a child with transient or persistent stuttering. Exome sequencing analysis yielded a pathogenic variant in SPTBN1 as well as likely pathogenic variants in PRPF8, TRIO, and ZBTB7A - four genes previously implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders with or without speech problems. Our results also highlighted two further genes of interest for stuttering: FLT3 and IREB2. We used extensive bioinformatic approaches to investigate overlaps in brain-related processes among the twelve genes associated with monogenic forms of stuttering. Analyses of gene-expression datasets of the developing and adult human brain, and data from a genome-wide association study of human brain structural connectivity, did not find links of monogenic stuttering to specific brain processes. Overall, our results provide the first direct genetic link between stuttering and other neurodevelopmental disorders, including speech delay and aphasia. In addition, we systematically demonstrate a dissimilarity in biological pathways associated with the genes thus far implicated in monogenic forms of stuttering, indicating heterogeneity in the etiological basis of this condition.

Abstract

Humans represent word knowledge in different modalities, including spoken and written forms. Language processing, such as reading comprehension, benefits from the synchronous retrieval of both forms. However, it is unknown how spoken and written words are best acquired and linked for subsequent synchronous retrieval. In the present study, we examine whether presentational timing affects word-form acquisition and linking. We test whether synchronous or asynchronous presentation of novel written and spoken forms leads to better retention. In two exploratory (Experiment 1 = 30, Experiment 2 = 48) and one pre-registered (Experiment 3 = 142) three-session experiments, participants studied Chinese words. During study, written (Pinyin) and spoken forms were presented simultaneously or asynchronously, with spoken preceding written forms and vice versa. In both exploratory experiments, we observed a recall advantage for spoken-first presentation at test, which required generating written forms when cued with the corresponding spoken forms. Experiment 3 assessed the robustness of these effects across tasks: the recall task used before and two recognition tasks (forced choice and match/mismatch). Replicating the earlier results, spoken-first learning enhanced later recall. However, recognition was unaffected by presentational timing. This dissociation suggests that only tasks with higher cognitive demands – such as recall – are sensitive to differences in presentational timing, whereas recognition tasks are not. The recall advantage for spoken-first aligns with prediction-based accounts of learning and highlights the importance of timing in linking novel word forms. These findings have implications for models of word learning and for instructional approaches in (foreign) language acquisition and rehabilitation.

Abstract

Disfluencies in speech frequently occur before the production of longer and more complex speech content. Listeners are thought to use the distribution of disfluencies in the comprehension of speech to inform their predictions. Here, we investigated whether the presence of disfluencies in speech affects word processing also in naturalistic listening conditions. Participants (n = 36) listened to the spoken recall of the events of a television series while undergoing fMRI. We modelled word processing effort using parametric modulations for word length, frequency, entropy, as well as surprisal and presence/absence of a disfluency. To investigate the effects of disfluencies on word processing, we tested the interaction between disfluency and frequency, and disfluency and surprisal. Words preceded by a disfluency were associated with increased activity in the left and right STG. Lower word frequency was associated with an increase in activity in the left mid STG. Increased word surprisal elicited a similar distribution of activity, with bilateral superior temporal activation. The effect of surprisal was reduced after a disfluency in a cluster in the left posterior temporal lobe, while the effect of frequency increased following disfluencies in the left superior temporal gyrus and the left inferior frontal cortex. Therefore, the presence of a disfluency affects the response to upcoming input, suggesting that it prepares the listener for higher complexity in the upcoming speech, by potentially allocating increased attention resources that facilitate integration in context.

Abstract

When speakers refer to objects in the world, they frequently overinform. Contrary to classical theories in linguistics, we hypothesise that overinformativeness is an efficient means of facilitating listener comprehension: speakers use redundancy to provide their listeners with search-efficient perceptual information. In Experiment One (N = 72), we operationalise search efficiency as the ease or difficulty of perceptual discrimination. We borrow methods from psychophysics to manipulate discriminability across attributes (material, colour) and across sensory modalities (audition, vision). We show that across both attributes and modalities, speakers overinform more often when the redundant information helps the listener perceptually discriminate the referent, thus aiding listener-search. Contrary to our expectations, we also find that speakers disproportionately overinform with colour information (relative to material). In Experiment Two (N = 97), we investigate the disproportionate use of colour directly, addressing explanations that appeal to colour’s perceptual salience by 1) dampening colour’s perceptual distinctiveness, and 2) controlling linguistic complexity both in terms of language production and retrieval effort. Contrary to widespread explanations, these factors cannot explain the disproportionate use of colour: colour is privileged in reference.

Abstract

Theories of predictive processing propose that sensory systems constantly predict incoming signals, based on spatial and temporal context. However, evidence for prediction in sensory cortex largely comes from artificial experiments using simple, highly predictable stimuli, that arguably encourage prediction. Here, we test for sensory prediction during natural scene perception. Specifically, we use deep generative modelling to quantify the spatial predictability of receptive field (RF) patches in natural images, and compared those predictability estimates to brain responses in the mouse visual cortex—while rigorously accounting for established tuning to a rich set of low-level image features and their local statistical context—in a large scale survey of high-density recordings from the Allen Institute Brain Observatory. This revealed four insights. First, cortical responses across the mouse visual system are shaped by sensory predictability, with more predictable image patches evoking weaker responses. Secondly, visual cortical neurons are primarily sensitive to the predictability of higher-level image features, even in neurons in the primary visual areas that are preferentially tuned to low-level visual features. Third, unpredictability sensitivity is stronger in the superficial layers of primary visual cortex, in line with predictive coding models. Finally, these spatial prediction effects are independent of recent experience, suggesting that they rely on long-term priors about the structure of the visual world. Together, these results suggest visual cortex might predominantly predict sensory information at higher levels of abstraction—a pattern bearing striking similarities to recent, successful techniques from artificial intelligence for predictive self-supervised learning.

Abstract

It has been argued that lexical access in bilinguals is language nonselective. However, little is known about how the input modality (spoken or written) affects cross-language activation during listening and reading. The current study characterizes the nature of within- and cross-language competition for spoken and written words in adults who are bilingual and biliterate in Spanish and English. Using a recently developed cross-modality version of the Visual World Paradigm, we found that competition differs for spoken and written words. For spoken words, the auditory stimulus unfolds overtime giving an additional boost to within- and cross-language competition. Conversely, written words can be seen at once, and thus, incremental processing is less of a factor, resulting in less competition within a language and no competition across languages. The findings show that word recognition is fundamentally language nonselective but can behave in selective ways depending on the modality of the input and language experience.

Abstract

Our ability to produce words and sentences relies on lexical retrieval and structural assembly processes, which are supported by domain-general skills. In the present study, we adopted an individual-differences approach to examine how linguistic experience and domain-general skills jointly contribute to language production at different levels of complexity. Our participants (n = 169) completed three production tasks that capitalized on lexical retrieval (picture naming) and structural assembly (phrase generation and sentence generation) processes, respectively. In addition, they completed 15 tests measuring linguistic experience, processing speed, working memory, and nonverbal reasoning. Our analyses of speech onset latencies and speech durations showed that linguistic experience was primarily associated with faster speech initiation, particularly in picture naming, consistent with its role in supporting efficient lexical access. In contrast, processing speed emerged as a robust predictor of both earlier speech initiation and shorter utterance durations, with effects that were disproportionately larger for phrase and sentence production than for picture naming, highlighting its role in coordinating multiword structural assembly under time pressure. Working memory was linked to a redistribution of planning across time, with higher capacity associated with longer onset latencies but shorter speech durations. By integrating multiple predictors, our study provides novel insights into the cognitive architecture underlying language production and highlights the value of a holistic individual-differences approach.

Abstract

Traditional psycholinguistic approaches to language have examined production and comprehension in isolation. However, these processes are tightly intertwined and embedded in social interactions. In this Review, we summarize empirical work that highlights the behavioural and cognitive complexities of communicating meaning in face-to-face conversation and that should be captured by psycholinguistic accounts and paradigms. To begin, we consider the implications of conceptualizing language as a situated joint action. Then, we summarize work on three defining features of conversation. First, visual bodily signals play an integral role in composing and comprehending meaning and achieving mutual understanding. Second, addressee feedback signals understanding or difficulty understanding, and the monitoring of interlocutors for such signals adds demands on cognitive resources. Third, multi-party interactions require participants to keep track of and adapt to multiple people’s understanding, signals and shared knowledge. In closing, we point to issues that require further research and the development of experimental paradigms that can capture defining features of face-to-face conversation while maintaining experimental control.

Abstract

Language processing is facilitated by the prediction of upcoming linguistic content. Natural speech is full of disfluencies that have potential predictive power for the listener. The extent to which different pragmatic cues, such as disfluencies, are integrated with semantic context to inform predictions is, however, currently unknown. Here we combine electroencephalography (EEG), eye tracking and virtual reality to investigate to what extent predictive processing during naturalistic language comprehension is influenced by hesitation disfluencies in speech. Participants (n= 64) listened to sentences spoken by a virtual agent in various virtual scenes (e.g., office, street) while their eye-movements and EEG were recorded. Spoken sentences were predictable or unpredictable based on the verb constraints, and were either fluent or disfluent with a hesitation disfluency (“uhh”) preceding the noun phrase. Referents were visible or absent in the scene to be congruent or incongruent with listeners’ predictions, respectively. In predictable but not unpredictable sentences, fixations towards the referent increased before it was mentioned, which confirmed that participants predicted the referent. After hesitation onset, fixations towards the referent no longer increased but shifted towards the virtual speaker. EEG data at noun onset (N400 amplitudes and alpha and theta frequency power) provided no evidence that listeners discard their prediction after hearing a hesitation disfluency. Rather, the disfluency further facilitates predictable noun processing, possibly through mechanisms of increased attention and processing time.

Abstract

We examined the morphosyntactic prediction ability of child heritage speakers and the role of reading skills and language experience in predictive processing. Using visual world eye-tracking, we focused on predictive use of case-marking cues in Turkish with monolingual (N=49, Mage=83 months) and heritage children, who were early bilinguals of Turkish and Dutch (N=30, Mage=90 months). We found quantitative differences in magnitude of the prediction ability of monolingual and heritage children; however, their overall prediction ability was on par. The heritage speakers’ prediction ability was facilitated by their reading skills in Dutch, but not in Turkish as well as by their heritage language exposure, but not by engagement in literacy activities. These findings emphasize the facilitatory role of reading skills and spoken language experience in predictive processing. This study is the first to show that in a developing bilingual mind, effects of reading-on-prediction can take place across modalities and across languages.

Abstract

Children often use gestures to express concepts before expressing them in speech, particularly in domains rich in visual-spatial information. For example, spatial relations such as left-right are cognitively and linguistically challenging for children. Consequently, 8-year-olds struggle to convey these complex relations verbally, but they frequently rely on gestures to describe these spatial concepts informatively. This study builds on this prior work on the descriptions of left-right relations to investigate further (1) the differing functions of gestures (complementary or redundant) in relation to speech in both children and adults; (2) the change in semantic information conveyed in both of these types of gestures in childhood to adulthood, aiming to shed light on the interaction between spatial language and spatial cognitive development. Eight-year-old and adult monolingual Turkish speakers described pictures of objects in left-right spatial relations shown among a quartet of other types of spatial relations between these objects. Results demonstrated that when describing left-right relations between objects, children, compared to adults, provided more under-informative descriptions (i.e., using “side” instead of “left-right”) in speech but used complementary gestures to convey missing information multimodally. Adults already used informative spatial terms in speech and used gestures mostly redundantly. Moreover, children showed a preference for iconic gestures depicting the relative locations of objects over directional pointing gestures indicating single locations, especially when gestures complemented speech. In contrast, adults showed no reliable preference for either gesture type. These results indicate the significance of gestures as mechanisms of change, alongside speech, in spatial language and cognition, particularly in the context of describing cognitively complex left-right spatial relations between objects.

Abstract

Background
Social anxiety (SA) is marked by a persistent fear of social scrutiny, but its neurocognitive mechanisms remain incompletely understood. We tested whether SA is associated with altered engagement of theory of mind (ToM) systems supporting inferences about others’ thoughts and emotions or with broader interpretive tendencies biasing social information processing toward more internally guided responses.
Methods
Functional magnetic resonance imaging, heart rate, and pupil diameter were recorded from 43 individuals with elevated SA and 43 control individuals with low SA during viewing of a nonverbal animated film. ToM engagement was assessed via scene-specific neural activation, while broader interpretive processing was indexed using dynamic intersubject correlation (ISC), quantifying the degree to which neural responses were shared versus idiosyncratic across viewers over time.
Results
Participants with elevated SA showed reduced activation in the left posterior superior temporal sulcus during ToM-relevant scenes, as well as preserved engagement of the broader ToM network. Dynamic ISC analyses revealed increased alignment in early sensory regions and reduced alignment in higher-order regions outside the ToM network, consistent with more individualized processing at higher levels. These effects occurred without group differences in autonomic arousal or pupil-linked attention, and an exploratory comparison with an autism cohort revealed opposite alignment patterns in overlapping higher-order regions.
Conclusions
SA is associated with focal alterations in ToM-related processing and broader shifts in movie-driven neural alignment across the cortical hierarchy. Divergent alignment patterns in SA and autism suggest that movie-driven neural alignment may serve as a transdiagnostic marker distinguishing mechanistically distinct forms of atypical social cognition.

Abstract

This study explores how accents influence hiring decisions, focusing on evaluations made by non-native speakers. A total of 391 Turkish-speaking university students assessed candidates for tutoring positions for English (a language-relevant role) and math (a non-language-related role). Candidates spoke either Standard American English (SAE), signaling native speaker status, or Turkish-accented English (TAE), reflecting ingroup membership. Results showed that SAE speakers were consistently rated as more competent and preferred for both English and math tutoring positions, regardless of the group membership implied in their CVs. The effect of accents on hiring decisions was mediated by higher competence attribution to standard accents. The findings highlight the strong influence of standard accents in competence attributions, which can overshadow other group membership cues and job specifications, even among non-native evaluators. The results underscore the pervasive nature of accent biases in professional settings, suggesting that competence perceptions tied to standard accents may fuel discrimination across diverse contexts.

Abstract

Rhythm is a fundamental aspect of human behaviour, and musical rhythm provides one of its most elaborate instances. Unlike speech, this rhythmic behaviour is characterized by the production of temporal patterns structured around small-integer ratios, which emerge early in life and change systematically across development. Whether such developmental trajectories are uniquely human or reflect broader biological constraints remains an open question. Here, we adopt a comparative developmental approach to map the ontogeny of rhythmic structure in the vocalizations of a non-human primate, the singing lemur Indri indri. We recorded songs from individuals of different age classes and quantified temporal organization by measuring inter-onset intervals between successive note onsets. From these intervals, we computed rhythmic ratios between adjacent units and assessed their correspondence to small-integer values. We find that isochrony (1:1 ratios), a core feature of human rhythm, is present from the earliest stages of vocal production. Over development, indris produce an increasing diversity of rhythmic structures corresponding to simple numerical relationships between adjacent intervals. This similarity to humans contrasts with three key differences. First, in indri, binary ratios (1:2 and 2:1) emerge gradually. Second, rhythmic precision around small-integer ratios does not systematically increase with age. Third, developmental trajectories differ between males and females. Together, these findings reveal both shared and divergent developmental pathways of rhythm production in humans and non-human primates, suggesting that early-emerging temporal regularity (i.e., isochrony) may reflect conserved biological constraints, whereas later-developing aspects of rhythmic structure are shaped by species-specific developmental processes.

Abstract

Children’s exposure to language is shaped by interactional needs in conversation. Prior research has largely focused on how such language influences word learning and long-term lexical knowledge. However, the effects of interactional language are likely to go far beyond word learning. Earlier studies showed that in conversation, from around age 2;6 children who are watching a conversation are more likely to spontaneously switch their gaze to an upcoming responder when they hear a question compared to when they hear a non-question. However, what information drives these predictions remains unclear. Tracking the eye gaze behavior of Dutch children (1–4-year-olds) and adults, the purpose of this research was to examine whether participant’s predictions are driven by individually informative linguistic cues, comparing two cues associated with interrogatives: one lexical cue (subject pronoun) and one canonically associated prosodic cue (utterance-final intonation). We find that from age children 2;0 make more and earlier anticipations of an upcoming addressee response when hearing the early lexical cue (you vs. I subject pronouns), but we have no evidence that their predictions are changed by the later prosodic cue. Further, we investigated how cue use depends on linguistic context by comparing semantically meaningful (Study 1) and non-meaningful (Study 2) context. Only in meaningful contexts did participants show a pronoun advantage in predicting conversational structure. This suggests that using these cues relies on broader linguistic context. The findings take us a step closer to understanding how linguistic and interactional skills become intertwined in development.

Abstract

Purpose:
Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) sometimes experience difficulties with turn-taking. Smooth turn-taking requires efficient use of linguistic information in real-time interaction. Children as young as 2 years of age already use linguistic cues to predict upcoming conversational structure; for example, they anticipate more speaker switches following questions than nonquestions (question advantage), especially questions with the second-person pronoun (“you”) than questions with the first-person pronoun (“I”; pronoun advantage). We investigated whether children with DLD were less efficient than their typically developing (TD) peers in using these linguistic cues to predict conversational structure in real time.
Method:
We tracked the gaze of 23 three-year-olds with DLD and 23 TD peers while they watched two characters in conversation. We compared the size and timing of the question advantage and the pronoun advantage in both groups of children.
Results:
We find no evidence that the sizes of the question advantage and pronoun advantage differed between children with DLD and their TD peers. However, the timing of their anticipatory looks to the addressee differed; TD children already looked more at the addressee for questions than nonquestions while the speaker was still talking, while children with DLD began looking more at the addressee after the speaker finished their turn. In their use of the pronoun cue, both groups of children already looked more at the addressee while the speaker was still talking.
Conclusions:
Three-year-olds with and without DLD thus use linguistic cues to predict conversational structure in real time. The outcomes suggest, however, that children with DLD may be slower in their predictions. This slower processing may contribute to the turn-taking difficulties sometimes observed in children with DLD.

Abstract

Dyslexia is a specific difficulty in learning to read that affects 5–10% of school-aged children and is strongly influenced by genetic factors. While previous studies have identified common genetic variants associated with dyslexia, the role of rare variants has only recently begun to emerge from pedigree studies and has yet to be systematically tested in larger cohorts. Here, we present a whole-exome sequencing (WES) study of 53 individuals with dyslexia, followed by an analysis in 38 cases with reading difficulties and 82 controls assessed with reading measures. Of the 22 genes that had high-impact variants filtered through stringent bioinformatic approaches in at least three dyslexia cases, five genes were validated in the follow-up analysis: CACNA1D, CACNA1G, CLDN3, CNGB1, and CP. Notably, a specific variant (7-73769649-G-A; c.C401T; p.P134L) in the CLDN3 gene was identified in six independent cases, showing a four-fold higher frequency compared to population reference datasets. CACNA1D and CACNA1G encode subunits of voltage-gated calcium channels expressed in neurons, and variants in both genes have been implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and epilepsy. Segregation analyses in available family members were consistent with patterns of dominant inheritance with variable expressivity. In total, high-impact variants in the five genes of interest were found in 26% (N = 14) of individuals of the discovery cohort. Overall, our findings support the involvement of rare variants in developmental dyslexia and indicate that larger WES studies may uncover additional associated genes.

Abstract

According to Levelt, W. J., Roelofs, A., and Meyer, A. S. [(1999). A theory of lexical access in speech production. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 22(1), 1–38.] theory of lexical access, word production begins with the selection of a lemma, which gives access to the syntactic properties of the word. The notion of the lemma is well motivated on theoretical grounds and within Roelofs’ computational model WEAVER++, which captures central aspects of the theory [Roelofs, A. (1992). A spreading-activation theory of lemma retrieval in speaking. Cognition, 42(1–3), 107–142.; Roelofs, A. (2014). A dorsal-pathway account of aphasic language production: The WEAVER++/ARC model. Cortex, 59, 33–48.]. But what is the evidence for access to syntactic word representations? The author provides a comprehensive review of the relevant experimental evidence and concludes that, in spite of much research effort, it is still unknown whether or not speakers access abstract syntactic information during single-word access, and that further work within the established research paradigms is unlikely to change this picture. A fruitful way forward may be to broaden the perspective and explore how the syntactic properties of lexical items are retrieved when speakers produce longer utterances, where access to syntactic information is mandatory.

Abstract

Background

The factors that contribute to language alternation by bilingual speakers with aphasia have been debated. Some studies suggest that atypical language mixing results from impairments in language control, while others posit that mixing is a way to enhance communicative effectiveness. To address this question, most prior research examined the appropriateness of language mixing in connected speech tasks.
Aims

The goal of this study was to provide new insight into the question whether language mixing in aphasia reflects a strategy to enhance verbal effectiveness or involuntary behaviour resulting from impaired language control.
Methods & procedures

Semi-structured web-based interviews with bilingual speakers with aphasia (N = 19) with varying language backgrounds were conducted. The interviews were transcribed and coded for: (1) Self-reports regarding language control and compensation, (2) instances of language mixing, and (3) in two cases, instances of repair initiation.
Outcomes & results

The results showed that several participants reported language control difficulties but that the knowledge of additional languages could also be recruited to compensate for lexical retrieval problems. Most participants showed no or very few instances of mixing and the observed mixes appeared to adhere to the pragmatic context and known functions of switching. Three participants exhibited more marked switching behaviour and reported corresponding difficulties with language control. Instances of atypical mixing did not coincide with clear problems initiating conversational repair.
Conclusions

Our study highlights the variability in language mixing patterns of bilingual speakers with aphasia. Furthermore, most of the individuals in the study appeared to be able to effectively control their languages, and to alternate between their languages for compensatory purposes. Control deficits resulting in atypical language mixing were observed in a small number of participants.

Abstract

Speakers sometimes produce lexical errors, such as saying “salt” instead of “pepper.” This study aimed to better understand the origin of lexical errors by assessing whether they arise from a hasty selection and premature decision to speak (premature selection hypothesis) or from momentary attentional disengagement from the task (attentional lapse hypothesis). We analyzed data from a speeded picture naming task (Lampe et al., 2023) and investigated whether lexical errors are produced as fast as target (i.e., correct) responses, thus arising from premature selection, or whether they are produced more slowly than target responses, thus arising from lapses of attention. Using ex-Gaussian analyses, we found that lexical errors were slower than targets in the tail, but not in the normal part of the response time distribution, with the tail effect primarily resulting from errors that were not coordinates, that is, members of the target’s semantic category. Moreover, we compared the coordinate errors and target responses in terms of their word-intrinsic properties and found that they were overall more frequent, shorter, and acquired earlier than targets. Given the present findings, we conclude that coordinate errors occur due to a premature selection but in the context of intact attentional control, following the same lexical constraints as targets, while other errors, given the variability in their nature, may vary in their origin, with one potential source being lapses of attention.

Abstract

Little is known about how or when language and visuospatial processing lateralise in the brain, and if individual differences in lateralisation are related to early language or visuospatial abilities. We explored if patterns of language and visuospatial lateralisation are related to cognitive skills in young children. A large sample of 3-year-olds (n = 136) attempted two functional transcranial Doppler ultrasound (fTCD) tasks to estimate language and visuospatial lateralisation. At the group level, language was lateralised to the left hemisphere, but visuospatial processing was weakly lateralised to the right hemisphere. The relationship between patterns of lateralisation and cognitive skills was investigated using regression analyses with novel calculations of how typical a child’s lateralisation pattern was, the degree of crowding of both functions to one hemisphere, or how strongly both functions were lateralised. Language and visuospatial abilities were not predicted by any of these measures. Degree of visuospatial lateralisation, and not language lateralisation, was associated with higher language ability. Future research should investigate if patterns of lateralisation are related to cognitive skills in older children, when lateralisation is more established.

Abstract

Vocal individuality has important biological functions in mammals: at crucial stages of development, it ensures feeding and is a prerequisite for auditory-based mother–pup recognition. Is vocal individuality only shaped by maturation or also by the degree of conspecific acoustic input? Here, we test how the neonatal auditory environment shapes development and individualization of calls in harbour seal pups (Phoca vitulina). To simulate low- versus high-conspecific acoustic density, 18 pups heard playbacks of calls from either 2 or 30 conspecifics. We recorded calls before and after playback exposure and extracted 12 acoustic parameters. Supervised machine learning and discriminant function analyses showed greater individual distinctiveness in both groups after playback, indicating a developmental trend toward individualization. Notably, pups exposed to less-variable input showed higher individuality. Euclidean distances on call parameters showed that both groups diverged from the playback signals. Distances on within-pup and between-pups housed together revealed opposite trajectories in the two groups: after the exposure, less-variable auditory input determined steadier individual calls, while more-variable auditory input scattered calls across the acoustic space. Altogether, our findings indicate that auditory input modulates vocal development in pups, making harbour seals a promising model for unravelling how neonatal environment affects vocal plasticity in a non-human mammal.

Abstract

* = Joint first authorship I risultati evidenziano l’utilità e l’adattabilità dei materiali nella pratica clinica logopedica (con alcune differenze in funzione del setting di impiego e della popolazione coinvolta) e incoraggia la prosecuzione del progetto e l’implementazione dei materiali, con l’obiettivo di favorire la partecipazione sociale delle PcA.

Abstract

Explaining how children build a language system is a central goal of research in language acquisition, with broad implications for language evolution, adult language processing, and artificial intelligence (AI). Here, we propose a constructivist framework for future theory-building in language acquisition. We describe four components of constructivism, drawing on wide-ranging evidence to argue that theories based on these components will be well suited to explaining developmental change. We show how adopting a constructivist framework both provides plausible answers to old questions (e.g., how children build linguistic representations from their input) and generates new questions (e.g., how children adapt to the affordances provided by different cultures and languages).

Abstract

All languages in the world have demonstrative terms such as ‘this’ and ‘that’ in English, which have traditionally been treated as spatial words. Here we aim to provide experimental evidence that demonstrative choice is jointly determined by spatial considerations (e.g., whether the referent is near or far) and socio-cognitive factors (e.g.,the listener’s attention focus). We also test whether demonstrative choice varies depending on the speaker’s use of pointing, to provide evidence for a multimodal account of demonstrative systems. We focus on the Turkish system and compare it with the Spanish one to better understand the cross-linguistic variability of 3-term demonstrative systems. Corpus studies have suggested that the Turkish proximal ‘bu’ and distal ‘o’ mark a spatial contrast between near and far space, whereas the medial ‘s¸u’ is used to direct the listener’s attention to a new referent. Supporting this analysis, an online experiment using a picture-based demonstrative-choice task revealed that the medial form ‘s¸u’ was preferred when the listener was looking at the wrong object. The results of a second experiment using video stimuli further showed that the medial ‘s¸u’ was preferred when the speaker pointed to the referent to direct the listener’s attention, whereas the proximal demonstrative was used in near space and the distal in far space, mostly in joint attention and without pointing. The results of a third experiment in Spanish showed radically different patterns of demonstrative-pointing use. The medial ‘ese’ was preferred in joint attention, whereas the proximal ‘este’ and distal ‘aquel’ were selected to direct the listener’s attention towards the intended referent but without an effect of pointing. Our results confirm that demonstrative choice within a given system is determined by both spatial and socio-cognitive factors, interacting with pointing patterns and varying across languages. Leveraging recent experimental work in several languages, we interpret these findings as further evidence for the weighted parameters framework (e.g., referent position and listener attention), which explains demonstrative choice beyond previous categorical analyses.

Abstract

Common ground is the information that the participants in a conversation treat as background information for the purposes of their interaction. We review two traditions of research on common ground. The formal tradition, consisting mainly of theoretical linguists and philosophers of language, has developed increasingly sophisticated formal models of common ground to generate predictions about an expanding range of empirical phenomena. Meanwhile, the psycholinguistic tradition has focused on a narrower range of phenomena while developing more realistic theories of the psychological mechanisms that allow us to select and represent common ground. After summarizing these two traditions, we consider several reasons why they should be reintegrated, and we argue that the best way to bring them back together would be to adopt a cognitive-pluralist approach, whereby language users have access to a variety of mechanisms for managing background information, which are more or less available and efficient depending on the communicative situation and the kind of information mentally represented as well as the cognitive demands of each mechanism.

Abstract

The study of great ape cognition offers insights into the evolutionary origins of human intelligence, but is hindered by small sample sizes and restricted access to data. To address this, we present the EVApeCognition Dataset, a publicly available resource comprising 262 experimental datasets from 150 scientific publications from the Wolfgang Köhler Primate Research Center (2004–2021) in Leipzig, Germany. Eighty-one apes participated in 150 studies, with a majority (N = 78) participating in more than one study. Publication of the dataset aims to make these unique datasets accessible for future meta-analyses and correlational analyses, helping us better understand how our great ape relatives think, learn, and behave.

Abstract

The human brain is thought to constantly predict future words during language processing. Recently, a new approach emerged that aims to capture neural prediction directly by using vector representations of words (embeddings) to predict brain activity prior to word onset. Two findings have been proposed as hallmarks of neural next-word prediction: (i) significant encoding prior to word onset and (ii) its modulation by word predictability. However, natural language is rife with temporal correlations, where upcoming words share statistical information with preceding ones. This raises a critical question: do these these hallmarks emerge from the brain actively predicting future content, or might they be equally well explained by the regression model exploiting these inherent stimulus dependencies? To distinguish between these alternatives, we applied the same encoding analysis to passive control systems, i.e., representational systems that encode the stimulus but cannot predict upcoming words. We show that both hallmarks emerge in two such control systems, namely in word embeddings themselves and in speech acoustics. We further show that proposed methods to correct for these dependencies are insufficient, as the effects persist even after such corrections. Together, these results suggests that pre-onset prediction of brain activity might reflect dependencies in natural language rather than predictive computations. This questions the extent to which this new encoding-based method can be used to study prediction in the brain.

Abstract

Autistic individuals often show differential sensory perception, including hypo- or hypersensitivities to sound. Previous research also suggests that autistic individuals often have difficulty processing intentional and affective cues in speech acoustics. However, general speech processing difficulties remain underexplored. We investigated self-reported auditory perception using the Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Questionnaire among autistic (self-identifying (n = 18) and clinically diagnosed (n = 45)) and non-autistic adults (N = 66). The study was conducted in the Netherlands, but the questionnaire and call for participation were in English and open to anyone regardless of country of residence. Both clinically diagnosed and self-identifying individuals with autism reported significantly lower scores on the Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Questionnaire score and on the Speech subscale compared with non-autistic individuals, indicating challenges in overall quality of auditory perception, speech comprehension. Clinically diagnosed individuals also showed lower scores on the quality and spatial subscales compared with non-autistic individuals. Post hoc analysis further suggested that speech hearing is particularly challenging for many autistic individuals. In addition, our finding that self-identifying and clinically diagnosed autistic individuals show similar patterns of hearing difficulties emphasizes the need for more inclusive research practices that collect the experiences of all the individuals in the autistic community in the study of sensory perception in autism.

Abstract

Language comprehension requires the integration of information from a wide variety of sources, including sensory input and memory. The present study contributes to a growing literature examining how probability and uncertainty shape language comprehension in close collaboration with grammatical knowledge, wherein the specifics of when and how these sources of information come together during sentence processing remain opaque. Here we asked how morphosyntax and lexical surprisal impact subject-verb agreement in Dutch: an online self-paced reading experiment tested whether lexical surprisal affects the use of grammatical information. Using a combination of model-comparison and permutation testing, we showed that reading times cannot be explained by a dichotomous interactive, nor by a purely additive account. While both factors must be modeled in order to best describe reading time data, the data provided evidence that lexical surprisal is leveraged more reliably when the constraints placed by the grammar are obeyed. We propose a novel “structure bottleneck”, where the use of probabilistic cues is conditionalized on grammatical status of a subject-verb agreement relation. Viewed in the context of previous findings, the results are consistent with an account of language comprehension wherein grammatical and contextual probabilistic cues are weighted based on their reliability.

Abstract

Quantifiers specify semantic relations between sentence constituents. Due to their abstract meanings, they form a learning challenge for children. This challenge is made more difficult by the fact that different universal quantifiers instantiate slightly different meanings. We investigated what evidence is available in the input that might help children learn the meaning of universal quantifiers by exploring the use of these words in naturalistic child-ambient language in English and Dutch. The cross-linguistic component in this analysis is relevant because languages differ in how they carve up the space of universal quantification. Our analysis revealed language- and quantifier-specific patterns in frequency, variability, and contexts of use. We discuss how these quantifier-specific usage patterns lead to quantifier-specific developmental trajectories and challenges.

Abstract

Simultaneous constructions present a unique linguistic property in sign languages where multiple body articulators (hands, torso, head, facial expression, and eye gaze) are used to structure linguistic information not only linearly, as is done in speech, but also simultaneously. Simultaneous constructions allow a more direct encoding of scenes and events by using various iconic strategies to depict multiple event elements (e.g. referents and their actions), their spatial relations and temporal overlap, mirroring how they are perceived in the world; that is, simultaneously. The chapter provides an overview of how iconicity is operationalized in simultaneous constructions and the methods used to study their function, and discusses the history and future directions of the study of iconicity as a structuring principle in sign languages.

Abstract

According to relevance theory, communication relies on speakers’ ability to signal relevant information, which addressees use to infer meaning efficiently. Most research within the relevance theoretic framework has examined how relevance is marked in speech, treating it as the primary channel for signaling informative content. Yet, little is known about whether, how, and in what contexts speakers highlight information in co-speech gestures. Here, we investigate how speakers use ostensive cues—specifically, visual and verbal deixis (e.g. gaze toward a gesture, demonstratives like “this,” “that,” or “here”)—to highlight the communicative relevance of iconic gestures in child- versus adult-directed communication and whether addressees show sensitivity to these cues. Sixteen Italian adults explained the rules of two logic puzzles to a child and another adult. Results show that speakers highlight more gestures for children than for adults, primarily by using visual deixis. Furthermore, addressees of both age groups, adults and children, were more likely to shift their gaze to highlighted than to non-highlighted gestures. These findings demonstrate that speakers dynamically adapt multimodal cues to highlight iconic gestures for addressees, providing empirical support for extending relevance theory to a multimodal view of language.

Abstract

Gaze is a key non-verbal cue in face-to-face interaction, yet we know relatively little about how people visually explore a robot’s face during conversation. In human-human interactions (HHI), gaze allocation is shaped by conversational role and task demands: speakers typically avert their gaze from their partner’s face more than listeners do, and listeners often shift gaze from the eyes to the mouth to support speech understanding. In human-robot interactions (HRI), it is often implicitly assumed that gaze to humanoid robots follows similar patterns, but this has rarely been tested quantitatively at the level of specific facial regions. In this late-breaking report, we report a secondary analysis of an existing HRI dataset with usable eye-tracking data from 31 participants who took part in semi-structured interviews with a social robot (Furhat). Using MediaPipe Face Mesh on participant’s egocentric video from eye tracking glasses, we segmented the robot’s face into eye, mouth, and full-face regions of interest (ROI), and quantified how participants distributed their gaze at each ROI over the entire interaction, and separately for speaking and listening. Participants spent most of the interaction looking at the robot’s face; within the face, the eyes and mouth were the main targets, and gaze to these regions increased during listening, especially for the mouth. This pattern aligns with the central findings from HHI and offers empirical evidence for assumed similarities in gaze allocation between HHI and HRI. In an exploratory analysis, we additionally examined how the robot’s own gaze behaviour, with or without human-like gaze aversions, shaped gaze to the eyes and mouth. We discuss how these findings inform the interpretation of gaze as an implicit engagement cue in HRI. Finally, we provide baseline references and show how ROI-based analyses can enrich future gaze studies in HRI.

Abstract

Language neuroscience has historically relied on highly controlled experimental paradigms that differ markedly from the conditions of real-world communication. Although such approaches have yielded important insights, they often fail to capture the integrative processes required for discourse and connected language. Here, we treat discourse as language extending beyond a single simple clause and used for a specific purpose. Recent advances in computational modeling, natural language processing, and neurophysiological measurement now make it possible to study language in more naturalistic, temporally extended, and ecologically valid contexts. In this closing editorial for a special issue of Cortex, we synthesize contributions that collectively argue for a discourse-centered neuroscience: the view that the neural basis of language becomes most fully visible when language is studied in its connected, purposeful form. We organize the issue around four broad themes—cortical topography and continuous integration, structural connectivity, large-scale network dynamics, and clinical mapping of language, thought, and interaction—and show how each reveals aspects of language organization that remain difficult to detect in isolated word- and sentence-level paradigms. We conclude by considering the implications of this work for basic and clinical science and by outlining future directions for the neurocognitive study of discourse.

Abstract

Previous studies have evaluated the role of the microRNA-137 (miRNA137) regulatory pathway in schizophrenia by using in silico or in vitro predicted target genes. These approaches do not capture the dynamic spatiotemporal nature of the miRNA137 regulatory pathway or tend to overestimate direct miRNA binding sites. To provide a more accurate representation of the miRNA137 pathway during human brain development, we evaluated the biological functionality of direct ex vivo miRNA137 targets previously documented in the early prenatal and adult brain. We studied the role of differential expression and genetic predisposing variation to schizophrenia and related disorders within these miRNA137 targets by gene set enrichment analyses (GSEA) and gene-set based polygenic score predictions in an independent schizophrenia case-control cohort. All results were compared to those from in silico or in vitro predicted targets. Only direct miRNA137 targets at prenatal and adult human brain displayed significant enrichments in synaptic and neuronal functions and captured the transcriptomic and genetic predisposing variation to schizophrenia. Furthermore, while adult target genes showed a more consistent enrichment in predisposing variation to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in case/control polygenic models, prenatal target genes predicted negative symptomatology in schizophrenia patients. Our results suggest that using direct, temporally specific miRNA137 targets significantly improved the detection of biological mechanisms underlying its relationship with psychosis, clarified the association between schizophrenia and related conditions, and suggested association with specific symptomatology domains at different developmental stages of the disorder.

Abstract

This study explored kanji handwriting behavior of Vietnamese learners of Japanese as a Foreign Language (JFL), focusing on single-kanji words with Kun-readings to minimize phonological overlap between Japanese and Vietnamese. Participants completed a real-time handwriting task using a stylus and tablet. The study analyzed writing latency, duration, and accuracy, examining how these were influenced by lexical knowledge, kanji frequency, visual complexity, and difficulty level. Results showed that higher lexical proficiency and more frequent kanji led to faster initiation times. Writing duration increased with visual complexity, as kanji with more strokes took longer to execute. Accuracy decreased for complex and difficult kanji (e.g., N2 level), especially among lower proficiency learners. Notably, learners with stronger lexical knowledge could better compensate for complexity during writing. These findings highlight the distinct cognitive and motor demands of kanji production and underscore the value of combining vocabulary exposure with structured handwriting practice in JFL instruction.

Abstract

How does the brain turn a physical signal like speech into meaning? It draws on two key sources: linguistic structure (e.g., phonemes, syntax) and statistical regularities from experience. Yet how these jointly shape neural representations of language remains unclear. We used MEG to track phonemic and acoustic encoding during spoken language comprehension in native Dutch, Mandarin-Chinese, and Turkish speakers. Phoneme-level encoding is stronger during sentence comprehension than in word lists, and more robust within words than random syllables. Surprisingly, similar encoding emerges even in an uncomprehended language but only with prior exposure. In contrast, acoustic edges are briefly suppressed early in comprehension. This suggests that the brain’s alignment to speech (in phase and power) is robustly tuned by structure and by learned statistical patterns. Our findings show how structured knowledge and experience-based learning interact to shape neural responses to language, offering insight into how the brain processes complex, meaningful signals.

Abstract

To navigate in and communicate about the continuous world we experience, our minds segment this experience into discrete event units. Yet, languages differ in how they package core aspects of events into linguistic units. Here, we ask how event units in language and cognition relate to each other, and how this relation might change during language acquisition. To do so, we focus on motion events and compare child and adult speakers of Turkish—a verb-framed language encoding motion events in multiple linguistic units with distinct units for each path segment. In a linguistic task, there were systematic differences in the number of linguistic units used for expressing motion paths when describing events with versus without direction changes in adults and to a lesser extent in 5-year-olds but not in 4-year-olds. In a non-linguistic eye-tracked dwell-time task, both children and adults had similar visual attention profiles for events with and without direction changes. These findings indicate that although linguistic event units become increasingly language-specific with age, cognitive event units remain stable and independent of linguistic encoding. These findings show that people flexibly shift between different levels of granularity when segmenting events in language and cognition. Further, this flexibility seems to emerge in children as young as 4 to 5 years old.

Abstract

Background

Facial emotion processing deficits and atypical eye gaze are often described in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and those with conduct disorder (CD) and high callous unemotional (CU) traits. Yet, the underlying neural mechanisms of these deficits are still unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate if eye gaze can partially account for the differences in brain activation in youth with ASD, with CD, and typically developing youth (TD).

Methods

In total, 105 adolescent participants (NCD = 39, NASD = 27, NTD = 39; mean age = 15.59 years) underwent a brain functional imaging session including eye tracking during an implicit emotion processing task while parents/caregivers completed questionnaires. Group differences in gaze behavior (number of fixations to the eye and mouth regions) for different facial expressions (neutral, fearful, angry) presented in the task were investigated using Bayesian analyses. Full-factorial models were used to investigate group differences in brain activation with and without including gaze behavior parameters and focusing on brain regions underlying facial emotion processing (insula, amygdala, and medial prefrontal cortex).

Results

Youth with ASD showed increased fixations on the mouth compared to TD and CD groups. CD participants with high CU traits tended to show fewer fixations to the eye region compared to TD for all emotions. Brain imaging results show higher right anterior insula activation in the ASD compared with the CD group when angry faces were presented. The inclusion of gaze behavior parameters in the model reduced the size of that cluster.

Conclusions

Differences in insula activation may be partially explained by gaze behavior. This implies an important role of gaze behavior in facial emotion processing, which should be considered for future brain imaging studies. In addition, our results suggest that targeting gaze behavior in interventions might be potentially beneficial for disorders showing impairments associated with the processing of emotional faces. The relation between eye gaze, CU traits, and neural function in different diagnoses needs further clarification in larger samples.

Abstract

How do children allocate visual attention to scenes as they prepare to describe them multimodally in speech and co-speech gesture? In an eye-tracking study, Turkish-speaking 8-year-old children viewed four-picture displays depicting the same two objects in different spatial relations as they prepared to describe target pictures depicting left-right relations. Children's visual attention was sustained on the target picture when they were planning descriptions that expressed the spatial relation multimodally in speech and gesture, but not unimodally in speech only. This pattern persisted regardless of the semantic relation between speech and gesture (i.e., for both complementary gestures that disambiguated speech and redundant gestures that supplemented already unambiguous speech). Importantly, visual attention patterns did not differ across description types while children were previewing the displays before message preparation. These results indicate that multimodal message preparation might place different demands on visual attention than unimodal message preparation, possibly due to the affordances of gestures for expressing spatial relations.

Abstract

The philosopher G.E. Moore first observed that making a statement and then denying that one knows or believes that statement is unacceptable. For example, "It is raining, but I don’t think that" is defective. Across six experiments (n = 600), this study investigates the nature and extent of this unacceptability as a way to adjudicate between alternative theoretical explanations of this defectiveness. Results confirm that Moorean conjunctions are judged more acceptable than semantic contradictions (e.g., "It is raining, but it isn’t") but less so than felicitous conjunctions (e.g., "It is raining, but it’s okay"), and this is so regardless of whether Moorean conjunctions are produced by a person or by an artificial agent such as ChatGPT. However, if the first conjunct is anchored on a perspective other than the speaker’s, Moorean conjunctions increase in acceptability (e.g., "The train arrives at noon, but I think it won’t"). Several features can drive this perspective-shift, yet the acceptability of Moorean conjunctions did not match that of felicitous sentences in our sample. Our findings support the view that the unacceptability is a byproduct of mindreading, a key part of the social cognition that is crucial to using and understanding language.

Abstract

Listeners vary in the perception and interpretation of speech prosody (the variations in intonation, loudness, and rhythm of spoken language). The source of this variability is unknown. We investigated whether the ability to recognise and classify prosodic structure is related to working memory (WM) capacity. This hypothesis stems from the tight connection between prosodic and syntactic (grammatical) structure, while processing syntax is known to relate to WN capacity. Healthy adult speakers of Dutch judged prosodic structures in a gating paradigm. The phrases contained early and late intonational cues that signalled whether the phrases contained an internal grouping or not. Listeners also took part in WM (digit span) and processing speed (letter comparison) tasks. There was an interaction between performance in the prosody judgement and WM tasks: high-WM listeners were better at classifying prosodic structure and required less prosodic information to detect the correct structure. The results demonstrate a close relationship between prosody processing and WM abilities, implying that WM is an important component of prosody processing.

Abstract

Background Systematic reviews are essential for evidence-based decision-making, but the screening stage is often labor-intensive and susceptible to human error. Machine learning (ML) approaches, including active learning (AL), have increasingly been used to support title and abstract screening. One such approach is the SAFE procedure, which has been proposed to guide the use of AL-assisted screening in systematic reviews. However, evidence on how well this procedure performs in large, heterogeneous datasets generated by broad search strategies remains limited. This study therefore evaluates the effectiveness and reliability of AL-assisted screening with particular focus on the SAFE procedure. Specifically, it examines the comprehensiveness and necessity of the recommended SAFE procedure, assesses the influence of different labeling strategies, and investigates whether AL-assisted screening can help reduce manual screening errors. Methods Screening of four large, heterogeneous datasets from medication management systematic reviews was simulated using ASReview. The datasets ranged from 3475 to 16218 records. For these datasets 0.08 to 1% of records were included in the final systematic review. Our simulations systematically varied all parameters defined by the SAFE procedure. Recall versus sampling behavior was analyzed, with a focus on the impact of parameter choices on retrieving records selected for full text inclusions and on reducing the number of records to be screened. Results AL-assisted screening can effectively reduce the number of records to screen by almost 90% without increasing the risk of missing relevant records in comparison to manual screening. For three of the four datasets, the best performance was achieved with the SAFE procedure combined with the elas-u4 and elas-h3 models and full-text labeling. Under these conditions, ASReview identified all studies included after full-text review and reduced the screening workload by 89–90%. In practical terms, this means that screening only 10–11% of the original records was sufficient to identify all final included studies in these datasets. This parameter combination identified 87% of the studies ultimately included after full-text review in the remaining dataset (16,218 records; 0.6% included at title/abstract screening and 0.08% included after full-text review). For this dataset, the best performance, identifying all studies included after full-text review while reducing the screening workload by 90%, was achieved when using the SAFE procedure with the simpler Naive Bayes model, the TF-IDF feature extractor, and title/abstract labeling. Conclusions AL-assisted screening can safely and effectively reduce the workload needed to screen the large, heterogeneous datasets common in medication management systematic reviews. We recommend the modified SAFE procedure using full-text labels and the elas models. If the estimated ratio of full text includes is very low, it may be more appropriate to use the original SAFE procedure with title/abstract labeling.

Abstract

Background

Mastering gross motor abilities in early infancy and culturally defined actions (e.g. self-care routines) in late infancy can initiate cascading developmental changes that affect language learning. Here, we adopt a genetic perspective to investigate underlying processes, implicating either shared or “gateway” mechanisms, where the latter enable children to interact with their environment.
Methods

Selecting heritable traits (h2, heritability), we studied infant gross motor (6 months) and self-care/symbolic (15 months) skills as predictors of 10 language outcomes (15–38 months) in genotyped children from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (N ≤ 7,017). Language measures were combined into three interrelated language factors (LF) using structural equation modeling (SEM), corresponding to largely different age windows (LF15M, LF24M, LF38M, 51.3% total explained variance). Developmental genomic and non-genomic relationships across measures were dissected with Cholesky decompositions using genetic-relationship-matrix structural equation modeling (GRM-SEM) as part of a multivariate approach.
Results

Gross motor abilities at 6 months (h2 = 0.18 (SE = .06)) and self-care/symbolic actions at 15 months (h2 = 0.18 (SE = .06)) were modestly heritable, as well as the three derived language factor scores (LFS15M-h2 = 0.12 (SE = .05), LFS24M-h2 = 0.21 (SE = .06), LFS38M-h2 = 0.17 (SE = .05)), enabling genetic analyses. Developmental genetic models (GRM-SEM) showed that gross motor abilities (6 months) share genetic influences with self-care/symbolic actions (15 months, factor loading λ; λ = 0.22 (SE = .09)), but not with language performance (p ≥ .05). In contrast, genetic influences underlying self-care/symbolic actions, independent of early gross motor skills, were related to all three language factors (LFS15M-λ = 0.26 (SE = .09), LFS24M-λ = 0.28 (SE = .10), LFS38M-λ = 0.30 (SE = .10)). Multivariate models studying individual language outcomes provided consistent results, both for genomic and non-genomic influences.
Conclusions

Genetically encoded processes linking gross motor behaviour in young infants to self-care/symbolic actions in older infants are different from those linking self-care/symbolic actions to emerging language abilities. These findings are consistent with a developmental cascade where motor control enables children to engage in novel social interactions, but children's social learning abilities foster language development.

Abstract

This workshop proposes looking at errors in humans and robots. The workshop will focus along three axes: Human, Robot and Interaction induced errors. Errors in Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) pose a crucial challenge for the deployment of robots. Errors can affect the safety and trust of users, therefore it is important for empowering society that these robots can handle errors robustly. The workshop intends to foster interdisciplinary discussion among researchers in robotics, HCI, cognitive science, and social sciences, to encourage the development of robust, user-centered, and socially responsible HRI systems. The invited speakers, paper presentations and discussions will focus around topics of detecting errors, handling errors, adapting to errors, restoring trust, using intentional errors, communication strategies, issues of expectation as well as look at design, interdisciplinary and ethical approaches to research. In this way we will help inform research into errors, and develop robotic systems capable of robust interaction and collaboration.

Abstract

Various aspects of brain organization differ between the left and right hemispheres. Clues to the developmental origins of these asymmetries may be gained through associations with situs inversus totalis (SIT), a rare condition in which visceral organs are reversed on the left-right axis. In the largest previous brain imaging analyses of SIT (38 cases, 38 controls from Belgium), typical functional asymmetries such as left-hemisphere language dominance were mostly unaltered, but various aspects of asymmetrical cerebral structure - petalia, bending, and posterior venous anatomy – were often reversed in this condition. SIT can be a monogenic trait that arises from rare genetic variants, usually affecting motile cilia which help to create the embryonic left-right body axis. However, most SIT cases do not have obvious genetic causes and may arise from environmental or random effects during embryogenesis. We sequenced the genomes of 23 SIT cases and 23 controls from the Belgian brain imaging dataset and pooled with prior data from 15 cases and 15 controls. We aimed to discover whether there are altered brain asymmetries in SIT cases with disruptive DNA variants in ciliary genes, or in other types of genes, as compared to genetically unsolved cases. In total, 19 cases had likely causal variants affecting ciliary function, while 19 cases remained genetically unsolved. Functional and structural brain asymmetries were not significantly different in genetically solved versus unsolved SIT cases. Therefore, functional brain asymmetries seem largely independent of known mechanisms of visceral situs formation, while structural brain torque is altered in SIT regardless of the presence or absence of overt genetic causes.

Abstract

Aims and objectives:
Masked priming lexical decision research involving relatively high-proficient Japanese–English bilinguals suggests that past-tense and present-tense morphological connections (e.g., fell-FALL and looked-LOOK) are represented in their L2 (English) lexicons in a way that is similar to how they are represented in L1 (English) lexicons. The goal of the present research was to determine whether the same is true for low-proficient Japanese–English bilinguals.

Methodology:
Seventy-seven low-proficient Japanese–English bilinguals were tested in the masked priming lexical decision task. We manipulated the morphological or orthographic similarity between L2 English prime-target pairs.

Data and analysis:
We analyzed response latencies and error rates using (generalized) linear mixed-effects models.

Findings:
Although participants responded significantly faster to targets preceded by past-tense primes (e.g., fell-FALL and looked-LOOK) when compared to unrelated primes (e.g., slow-FALL and danger-LOOK), those priming effects were the same size as priming effects produced by orthographically similar primes (e.g., fill-FALL and lonely-LOOK), suggesting that the facilitation from past-tense primes is likely orthographic in nature. Nevertheless, the low-proficient bilinguals showed significant L2-L2 repetition priming (e.g., fall-FALL and look-LOOK), suggesting that, for those individuals, L2 (English) words are at least represented at the lexical level.

Originality:
The present study empirically confirmed a prediction, derived from a post hoc exploratory analysis in our previous research, that masked morphological priming effects are no larger than orthographic priming effects in low-proficient bilinguals. This indicates that a certain level of functional proficiency is required to observe morphological priming effects for Japanese–English bilinguals.

Implications:
Our results suggest that morphological connections in L2 are not yet established for low-proficient bilinguals, even when L2 words are lexically represented in their mental lexicon.

Abstract

Bilinguals use languages strategically and make decisions differently depending on the language context. Here, we explored whether verbal feedback modulates language use and risk-taking in bilinguals engaged in a coin-drawing game that incentivises lying. In the game, participants announced bets in Chinese or English, and feedback on the outcome of the current bet was given in the same language. They selected Chinese over English after receiving positive feedback in Chinese, and no language difference was found when feedback was provided in English. They also tended to take more risks after receiving positive than negative feedback. Furthermore, participants were more likely to switch from one language to the other following negative feedback as compared to positive feedback, and when telling the truth, they were faster after negative than positive feedback. Thus, the language in which bilinguals receive feedback constrains language use, which may have implications for understanding interactions in multilingual communities.

Abstract

This study investigates whether and, if so, how cognates facilitate lexical–semantic processing during early bilingual development. Additionally, we examine the interaction between the cognate facilitation effect (CFE) and bilingual experience factors, such as language proficiency, exposure, and age. We investigated language backgrounds and recorded event-related potentials during a semantic priming task in Dutch–German bilingual children. Most participants were Dutch-dominant, characterized by higher exposure and proficiency in Dutch. We compared the N400 response to target words preceded by semantically related cognate versus non-cognate primes. We found a reduced N400 effect (indexing cognate facilitation) only in the non-dominant language (nDL; German). Individual difference analyses further revealed that higher proficiency of nDL and increasing age attenuated the CFE. In contrast, higher cumulative exposure was associated with an amplified CFE. These findings suggest that cross-linguistic activation in lexical–semantic processing may benefit younger children with either lower proficiency or higher exposure to their non-dominant language during language processing. Together, the study offers direct neural evidence for bilingual cognate facilitation effects and highlights the importance of investigating interactions with external factors in early bilingualism. Future longitudinal research should examine whether cognate reliance serves as a temporary scaffolding mechanism for the acquisition of the non-dominant language.

Abstract

Growing up bilingual has a remarkable influence on language processing and brain development in children, yet a systematic neurobiological overview remains elusive. The current review addresses this gap by collecting, summarising, and critically examining findings on the effect of bilingual experience(s) on brain development and language processing in infants, toddlers, and children, with a focus on neurobiological methodologies. In this review, we scrutinise the developmental (neural) trajectories of early and late bilingual children, based on 94 peer-reviewed articles. In early-immersive bilinguals, dual-language input influences various aspects of early language development and processing. For instance, they initially demonstrate delayed perceptual narrowing compared to monolinguals. Subsequently, during semantic and syntactic processing, bilinguals often demonstrate behavioural performance comparable to monolinguals; however, neuroimaging studies consistently reveal additional recruitment of executive function regions beyond the canonical language network. Furthermore, early bilinguals and monolinguals exhibit numerous differences in brain structure and function, indicating ongoing neural refinement and potentially more efficient language processing. Regarding second-language learning children (L2 learners), the focus is on the interaction between neural adaptation and language input. As input and proficiency increase, L2 learners demonstrate more mature ERP responses and greater activation within language-specific brain regions. In sum, this review highlights the dynamic neuroplasticity and distinct neural mechanisms linked to the bilingual experience from infancy onward. Finally, this review provides a comprehensive literature overview of the developing bilingual brain, emphasising the substantial impact of bilingualism on both language-specific and general cognitive networks, and highlighting possible future directions.

Abstract

The present intervention study examines how parents' use of gestures changes the way they provide math talk to their children, and whether increased use of parental gestures promotes children's math skills. In this parent-administered book reading intervention study, three- to four-year old Turkish-speaking children (N = 56, Mage = 49.8 months, SD = 3.6) and their parents were randomly assigned to one of the following conditions: parents asked to use gestures while reading a numerical language book (NL + G, n = 19), parents asked not to use gestures while reading a numerical language book (NL-G, n = 18), no specific instruction on gesture use to parents while reading a book without numerical language (L, n = 19). Children were assessed on four math tasks (verbal counting, cardinality, nonverbal, and verbal arithmetic) before and after the intervention phase. Parents also read their assigned book to children in both the pre- and post-intervention sessions. Results showed that parents provided more math talk when they were assigned to NL + G and NL-G compared to L in the post-intervention reading session. Moreover, parents in the NL + G group provided more math talk than those in the NL-G group. Children assigned to the NL + G group showed better improvement in their verbal arithmetic skills than those in the NL-G group. No other significant improvements in child performance were found. These results suggest that parental gesture use was associated with higher levels of math input and children's math skills exclusively in the context of the verbal arithmetic task. The possible mechanisms and contributions of providing math talk to children through different modalities are discussed.

Abstract

Rhythm and language-related traits are phenotypically correlated, but their genetic overlap is largely unknown. Here, we leveraged two large-scale genome-wide association studies performed to shed light on the shared genetics of rhythm (N=606,825) and dyslexia (N=1,138,870). Our results reveal an intricate shared genetic and neurobiological architecture, and lay groundwork for resolving longstanding debates about the potential co-evolution of human language and musical traits.

Abstract

Introduction

Children's early language and communication skills are efficiently measured using parent report, for example, communicative development inventories (CDIs). These have scalable potential to determine risk of later language delay, and associations between delay and risk factors such as prematurity and poverty. However, there may be measurement difficulties in parent reports, including anomalous directions of association between child age/socioeconomic status and reported language. Findings vary on whether parents may report older infants as having smaller vocabularies than younger infants, for example.

Methods

We analysed data from the UK Communicative Development Inventory (Words and Gestures); UK-CDI (W&G) to determine whether anomalous associations would be replicated in this population, and/or with gesture. In total 1204 families of children aged 8–18 months (598 girls, matched to UK population for income, parental education and ethnicity as far as possible) completed Vocabulary and Gesture scales of the UK-CDI (W&G).

Results

Overall scores on the Gesture scale showed more significant relationships with biological risk factors including prematurity than did Vocabulary scores. Gesture also showed more straightforward relationships with social risk factors including income. Relationships between vocabulary and social risk factors were less straightforward; some at-risk groups reported higher vocabulary scores than other groups.

Discussion

We conclude that vocabulary report may be less accurate than gesture for this age. Parents have greater knowledge of language than gesture milestones, hence may report expectations for vocabulary, not observed vocabulary. We also conclude that gesture should be included in early language scales partly because of its greater, more straightforward association with many risk factors for language delay.

Abstract

Prediction in language is often about objects in the language users’ visual surroundings. Previous research suggests that linguistic working memory limitations in such task environments constrain language-mediated anticipatory eye movements. In this study, we investigated the effects of visuospatial cognitive load on language-mediated predictive eye gaze behaviour in a diverse group of L2 English speakers using the visual-world paradigm. Participants completed three levels of an increasingly difficult visuospatial working memory task before hearing either semantically constraining or unconstraining sentences, choosing an object best fitting the sentence, and completing the working memory task. Evidence of L2 anticipatory eye gaze was observed in all conditions. Importantly, a significant effect of difficulty, especially in the higher-load condition, suggests that increasing visuospatial working memory reduces anticipatory eye gaze. We close by discussing the importance of (visual) working memory in visual world studies and highlight the inherently integrative nature of predictive processing during language-vision interactions.

Abstract

Semantic knowledge is a defining property of human cognition, profoundly influenced by cultural experiences. In this study, we investigated whether literacy enhances lexical-semantic processing independently of schooling. Three groups of neurotypical adults - unschooled illiterates, unschooled ex-illiterates, and schooled literates - from the same residential and socioeconomic background in Portugal were tested on serial rapid automatized naming (RAN) and on discrete naming of everyday objects (concrete concepts) and basic color patches (abstract concepts). The performance of readers, whether schooled literate or unschooled exilliterate, was not affected by stimulus category, whereas illiterates were much slower on color than object naming, irrespective of task. This naming advantage promoted by literacy was not significantly mediated by vocabulary size. We conclude that literacy per se, regardless of schooling, contributes to faster naming of depicted concepts, particularly those of more abstract categories. Our findings provide further evidence that literacy influences cognition beyond the mere accumulation of knowledge: Literacy enhances the quality and efficiency of lexical-semantic representations and processing.

Abstract

Following Ariel (2021. Why it’s hard to construct ad hoc number concepts. In Caterina Mauri, Ilaria Fiorentini, & Eugenio Goria (eds.), Building categories in interaction: Linguistic resources at work, 439–462. Amsterdam: John Benjamins), we argue that number words manifest distinct distributional patterns from open-class lexical items. When modified, open-class words typically take selectors (as in kinda table), which select a subset of their potential denotations (e.g., “nonprototypical table”). They are typically not modified by loosening operators (e.g., approximately), since even if bare, typical lexemes can broaden their interpretation (e.g., table referring to a rock used as a table). Number words, on the other hand, have a single, precise meaning and denotation and cannot take a selector, which would need to select a subset of their (single) denotation (??kinda seven). However, they are often overtly broadened (approximately seven), creating a range of values around N. First, we extend Ariel’s empirical examination to the larger COCA and to Hebrew (HeTenTen). Second, we propose that open-class and number words belong to sparse versus dense lexical domains, respectively, because the former exhibit prototypicality effects, but the latter do not. Third, we further support the contrast between sparse and dense domains by reference to: synchronic word2vec models of sparse and dense lexemes, which testify to their differential distributions, numeral use in noncounting communities, and different renewal rates for the two lexical types.

Abstract

Explaining the origins of language is a key challenge in understanding ourselves as a species. We present an empirical framework that draws on synergies across fields to facilitate robust studies of language evolution. The approach is multifaceted, seeing language emergence as dependent on the convergence of multiple capacities, each with their own evolutionary trajectories. It is explicitly biocultural, recognizing and incorporating the importance of both biological preparedness and cultural transmission as well as interactions between them. We demonstrate this approach through three case studies that examine the evolution of different facets involved in human language (vocal production learning, linguistic structure, and social underpinnings).