Neuroscience

Leah’s research involves linking current syntactic theory with the cognitive neuroscience of language. Current studies are probing the processing units during language comprehension and testing whether sentential processing aligns with the predictions of the Minimalist Program proposed by Noam Chomsky. Specifically, behavioral studies have been finding processing differences between relative clauses and prepositional phrases, in that semantic content within clauses appears to be encapsulated from surrounding content more so than the content of a prepositional phrase.

Stanley Donahoo’s research is broadly concerned with how language is represented in the mind/brain, and how this process is informed by social meaning. As such, Stanley is currently working on the comprehension mechanisms of swearing. This project employs both behavioural (reaction times, computer keyboard responses) and EEG methods. Currently, the project examines how our understanding of swears and other taboo language unfolds at the lexical level, but the project will be extended to sentence-level phenomena as well.

Rachel’s project examines the interaction between context, meaning and linguistic structure during sentence processing using behavioral (reaction times or keyboard responses) and neurological methods (EEG). Specifically, she is working on how contextual information influences the reading of ambiguous multi-word phrases like *mechanical pencil eraser *(“eraser from a mechanical pencil” or “pencil eraser that is mechanical”).