Language rehabilitation with eCALAP: the use of psycholinguistics in digital therapy

L'objectif de ce projet est de développer l'eCALAP, version digitale du CALAP - Core Assessment of Language Processing - une batterie de rééducation du langage, afin de rendre possible le déploiement automatique d'un arbre thérapeutique personnalisé et standardisé pour la rééducation des patient.es aphasiques, et de promouvoir une évolution de la pratique clinique.

The Brilliance Barrier: Stereotypes about Brilliance Are an Obstacle to Diversity in Science and Beyond

I propose that a field’s diversity is affected by what its members believe is required for success: Fields that value exceptional intellectual talent above all else may inadvertently obstruct the participation of women and (some) minority groups. The environment in these fields may be less welcoming to women and minority groups because of the cultural stereotypes that associate intellectual talent -- brilliance, genius, etc. -- with (white) men.

TBA

The Cognitive Science Colloquium series is the most attended event of our department, hosting monthly talks by world-renowned experts in various fields of cognitive science, including neuroscience, psychology, linguistics, philosophy and anthropology.

How family background affects children’s differences in school performance

Children’s differences in school performance have pervasive long-term influence on their education, health, and wellbeing. Children’s differences in school performance are evident from the first day of primary school and are relatively stable throughout the years of compulsory education. The major source of children’s differences in school performance is family background, not schools.

Optimally Irrational

For a long time, economists have assumed that we were cold, self-centred, rational decision makers – so-called Homo economicus; the last few decades have shattered this view. The world we live in and the situations we face are of course rich and complex, revealing puzzling aspects of our behaviour. Optimally Irrational argues that our improved understanding of human behaviour shows that apparent 'biases' are good solutions to practical problems – that many of the 'flaws' identified by behavioural economics are actually adaptive solutions.

Universal Features of Auditory and Music Perception: A Cross-Cultural Perspective

Music around the world is incredibly diverse, yet some musical features are widely shared. This raises a question: in what respects does music sound the same or different to people from different cultures? In this talk I will share the results of recent research with the Tsimane’, an indigenous Amazonian society in Bolivia who have limited exposure to Western music. This work suggests that there are several universal features of pitch and harmony perception that may constrain musical behavior around the world.

Language recovery: brain networks and aphasia rehabilitation in the chronic stage post stroke

Anomia (word finding difficulties) is the hallmark of chronic aphasia.  Speech production is dependent both on regional changes within the left inferior frontal cortex (LIFC) and modulation between and within anatomically distinct but functionally connected brain regions. Interregional changes are particularly important in speech recovery after stroke, when neural plasticity changes underpinning behavioural improvements are observed in both ipsilesional and contralesional frontal cortices.

A psycholinguistic look at subjective predicates: When faultless disagreement is not so faultless

The information we encounter on a daily basis involves both objective facts about the world and people’s subjective opinions. This distinction is also reflected in language: Words that express opinions (e.g. fun, amazing) differ from words conveying more objective facts (e.g. wooden, Bostonian): Subjective adjectives are perspective-sensitive and reflect someone’s opinion/attitude.