Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354513
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$20,000.00
Summary
The Computational Processing of Human Language. Language is what makes us distinctly human; consequently, language attracts interest from many fields of research, particularly linguistics, psychology, and cognitive science. Moreover, language is the primary medium for the storage and dissemination of knowledge, a fact that has drawn many computer scientists to attempt to process, analyse and understand language. This network will bridge the many disciplines that are concerned with language, ex ....The Computational Processing of Human Language. Language is what makes us distinctly human; consequently, language attracts interest from many fields of research, particularly linguistics, psychology, and cognitive science. Moreover, language is the primary medium for the storage and dissemination of knowledge, a fact that has drawn many computer scientists to attempt to process, analyse and understand language. This network will bridge the many disciplines that are concerned with language, explore new ways in which computational models inform our understanding of human languages, and exploit new opportunities for applying theories of language in the development of human language technologies.Read moreRead less
Concepts and control in speech production. While humans produce speech fluently in the course of everyday conversation, comparatively little is understood about the underlying mental processes and brain mechanisms. The overall aim of this project is to investigate how the human brain conceives and controls speech output by using state-of-the-art neuroimaging and brain stimulation techniques. The research aims to contribute novel insights into a key human ability with particular relevance for spe ....Concepts and control in speech production. While humans produce speech fluently in the course of everyday conversation, comparatively little is understood about the underlying mental processes and brain mechanisms. The overall aim of this project is to investigate how the human brain conceives and controls speech output by using state-of-the-art neuroimaging and brain stimulation techniques. The research aims to contribute novel insights into a key human ability with particular relevance for speech disorders such as aphasia, while the methods developed for brain stimulation during imaging of speech production aim to expand Australia's capability and technical innovation in the cognitive neuroscience of language.Read moreRead less
Nurturing Australia's Little Multilingual Minds. Despite its substantial multilingual capacity of more than 300 languages, Australia has been described as a 'graveyard for languages'. In partnering with community organisations we will facilitate polyglot early learning, commencing with Spanish and Vietnamese. Expected outcomes are a deep understanding of multilingual families’ experiences, a model to support lifespan multilingual education, and openly-accessible database of child language in her ....Nurturing Australia's Little Multilingual Minds. Despite its substantial multilingual capacity of more than 300 languages, Australia has been described as a 'graveyard for languages'. In partnering with community organisations we will facilitate polyglot early learning, commencing with Spanish and Vietnamese. Expected outcomes are a deep understanding of multilingual families’ experiences, a model to support lifespan multilingual education, and openly-accessible database of child language in heritage languages. Benefits include a pivotal contribution to early childhood education with the creation of a tailor-made, principle-based program, which will enhance children’s academic achievement, familial social and mental wellbeing, and cultural and economic opportunities for all Australians. Read moreRead less
How the brain produces speech: Neuronal oscillations to neuromodulation. Speech is crucial for facilitating human communication through language, yet there is a lack of clarity about where, when and what type of activity occurs in the brain during key stages of production. This project will use intracranial recordings to characterise neuronal oscillations in combination with direct electrical stimulation, functional neuroimaging and non-invasive brain stimulation to establish critical areas and ....How the brain produces speech: Neuronal oscillations to neuromodulation. Speech is crucial for facilitating human communication through language, yet there is a lack of clarity about where, when and what type of activity occurs in the brain during key stages of production. This project will use intracranial recordings to characterise neuronal oscillations in combination with direct electrical stimulation, functional neuroimaging and non-invasive brain stimulation to establish critical areas and their timecourses with millisecond resolution. The outcome will be a better theoretical account of the brain mechanisms involved in spoken production. The benefit of this new theoretical account will be a better basis for prevention of post-surgical language impairment and neuromodulatory treatments after brain injury.Read moreRead less
A more sound approach to the neurobiology of language. How does the brain attain spoken language? Current neurobiological models assume either implicitly or explicitly that there is no relationship between a word's sound and its meaning. Yet considerable evidence shows this strong assumption about the arbitrariness of language is invalid. This project will use a combination of behavioural, neuroimaging and computational studies to characterise how the brain processes statistical regularities in ....A more sound approach to the neurobiology of language. How does the brain attain spoken language? Current neurobiological models assume either implicitly or explicitly that there is no relationship between a word's sound and its meaning. Yet considerable evidence shows this strong assumption about the arbitrariness of language is invalid. This project will use a combination of behavioural, neuroimaging and computational studies to characterise how the brain processes statistical regularities in sound-to-meaning correspondences as probabilistic cues to attain spoken language. The outcome will be a better neural account of language comprehension and production. The benefit of this new account will be a stronger basis for assessment and treatment of developmental and acquired language impairments.Read moreRead less
The flipside of noise: Does it benefit listening and learning? People with low attention capacity can experience improvements in cognitive function (eg memory) in the presence of external white noise. This project aims to determine the brain mechanisms for this improvement and how it affects oral language comprehension and verbal learning. In doing so, the research would change the prevailing view that noise is always detrimental to mental processes, and provide a theoretical framework for predi ....The flipside of noise: Does it benefit listening and learning? People with low attention capacity can experience improvements in cognitive function (eg memory) in the presence of external white noise. This project aims to determine the brain mechanisms for this improvement and how it affects oral language comprehension and verbal learning. In doing so, the research would change the prevailing view that noise is always detrimental to mental processes, and provide a theoretical framework for predicting how an individual’s cognitive capacity is affected by the presence of noise. It may support the development of methods to improve educational participation and outcomes for children, particularly those with lower attention, and for older adults.Read moreRead less
How does electrical stimulation affect brain networks? This project aims to generate fundamental knowledge about links between neural mechanisms, electrical brain stimulation and brain function. The project aims to improve knowledge about transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and its effects on complex human brain networks. Such knowledge is necessary to enhance the effectiveness of current stimulation protocols. Using the innovative and interdisciplinary approach, this project will pr ....How does electrical stimulation affect brain networks? This project aims to generate fundamental knowledge about links between neural mechanisms, electrical brain stimulation and brain function. The project aims to improve knowledge about transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and its effects on complex human brain networks. Such knowledge is necessary to enhance the effectiveness of current stimulation protocols. Using the innovative and interdisciplinary approach, this project will provide significant benefits such as crucial mechanistic information about how tDCS modulates healthy brain function which has broad implications for research and clinical use of this technique.Read moreRead less
Control of language production and its neural substrates. The ability of humans to say the right word at the right time is a critical, complex and poorly understood function. This research will determine the brain circuits responsible for language production and how this process is affected in Parkinson's disease.
Overcoming language barriers in healthcare: towards safe and effective communication when patients or clinicians use a second language. An international team of scholars will study language barriers in Australia's healthcare syste; arising from growing numbers of patients and clinicians not speaking English as their first language. The project's results will lay the foundation for future research and point to practical solutions.