LANGUAGE AND DEVELOPMENT

We investigate the cognitive neuroscience of language, that is, how human language, both written and oral, is decoded and encoded by the adult brain and how language is acquired in childhood and adulthood, in different socio-linguistic environments. Established scientists (Gathercole, Horne, Houghton, Leek,Lowe, Mari-Beffa, Tainturier and Thierry) using a range of techniques and approaches (including behavioural measures, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), positron emission tomography (PET), event-related potential (ERPs), neuropsychology, and computational modelling).

Mechanisms of language Comprehension and Production

Based on converging evidence from behavioural testing, ERPs, PET and fMRI, Thierry made the important observation of a left/right functional dissociation between verbal and nonverbal semantic access. His work has also helped to characterize specific aspects of verbal working memory and to distinguish domain-specific versus general-cognitive neural mechanisms. Houghton has developed key models of single and dual routes to language understanding. Tainturier has identified lexical and sub-lexical processes in spelling, focusing especially on dissociations observed in aphasics.Mari-Beffa and Houghton have characterised the impact of selective attention and the role of inhibitory processes on lexical access. Lindell has provided solid evidence on the specific contributions of the left and right hemispheres in phonological, orthographic, and semantic processing. The group has thus contributed fundamental insights into the cognitive processes underlying abstract and symbolic language use and their neural bases.

Cross-language comparison and Bilingualism

Gathercole and Thierry investigate language acquisition, lexical and semantic access, categorisation mechanisms and literacy in various languages besides English (Chinese, French, Spanish, and Welsh). Work by Gathercole focussing specifically on the relationship between language and categorization from a psycholinguistics perspective has revealed intriguing cross-linguistic differences. North-Wales, with its population of highly proficient bilinguals, constitutes a unique, natural laboratory for the study of bilingualism. The excellence of bilingualism research in Bangor was recently recognized by the award of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Centre, the largest research centre on bilingualism in the UK (www.bilingualism.bangor.ac.uk). Gathercole and Thierry head two of the four research groups in this centre. The ESRC centre brings together the ‘home team’ of internationally known researchers with distinguished researchers from all over the world.

Language Acquisition

Thierry’s research on word recognition in infants has revealed differential ERP responses to familiar English words in 10-month olds, even when no overt behavioural response can be observed. Gathercole has contributed new insight into the relative contributions of key factors (e.g., cognitive complexity, input and exposure, linguistic complexity) to the process of language acquisition. She has made important challenges to traditional views by elaborating the role of functional knowledge in the child's acquisition of language and by proposing constructivist accounts of language development in monolinguals and also bilinguals. Gathercole’s research is significantly linked to practice since the study of the factors determining the transmission of Welsh in bilingual families has been reported to the Welsh Language Board and will influence national policy. Other work has been conducted within a behaviour analysis framework: In their theoretical and empirical papers, Horne and Lowe have proposed a new account of how early words are learned and how they drive categorisation of formally unrelated stimuli. Experimental tests of this theory have challenged existing behavioural theories of language and ‘stimulus equivalence’.

Neuropsychology and Language Deficits

Bangor has a long-standing tradition of research into dyslexia, thanks to pioneers such as Emeritus Professor T.R.Miles (awarded an OBE in 2003). We continue to operate a Dyslexia Unit and have a number of integrative cross-group projects on the theme of language deficits. Leek, Tainturier, and Gathercole have undertaken the first systematic study of aphasic language-production deficits in bilingual Welsh speakers. This study, collaboratively with NHS clinical services, has provided new evidence about the organization of syntax and phonology in language production and has potential for research-into-practice transfer. Lindell has revealed attentional deficits associated with Specific Language Impairment. Horne and Lowe have innovatively applied predictions from their category learning theory to study the remediation of verbal deficits in people with dementia. Finally, Tainturier's, Lindell's, and Thierry's work has shed light on phonological, visual and attentional deficits in dyslexic individuals.

In summary: Bangor’s location, within Britain’s most substantial indigenous bilingual community (of Welsh/English speakers) gives ideal scope to our expertise in bilingualism, enhanced by international partnerships and focusing especially on language acquisition and literacy.  The creation of the Bilingualism Centre will have a significant impact on research quality and quantity and when combined with our strengths in neuroscience, the result is a dynamic group working at the forefront of the psychology and cognitive neuroscience of language.