Envisioning language
19 June 2018
What are the basic mechanisms of understanding language? Markus Ostarek explored to what extent the comprehension of concrete words like ‘bird’ relies on processes that are otherwise used for visual perception. He will defend his thesis on this topic, 25 June 2018 at 16:30 in the Aula of the Radboud University.
According to a recent theory, the brain generates meaning by simulating what the things that words refer to look like, how we interact with them, etc. Using behavioural and neuroimaging experiments, Markus Ostarek investigated how this works. His primary results showed that words can activate surprisingly basic visual processes that were not previously known to contribute to language comprehension. However, visual simulations are not activated automatically whenever one encounters a word. Rather, they are part of a highly flexible cognitive machinery that excels at providing those aspects of our knowledge that are most relevant in a given context.
More information
- Markus Ostarek will defend his thesis on Monday 25 June 2018 at 16:30 in the Aula of the Radboud University.
- For more information: Markus.Ostarek [at] mpi.nl (Markus[dot]Ostarek[at]mpi[dot]nl)
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