This group focuses on the connections between the neural and cognitive sciences and the humanities. Research explores the implications of modern neuroscience research for the study of language, literature, and philosophy and also examines the methodological and historical foundations of scientific research in neuroscience and psychology.

Anderson, Michael, Computer Science

Berens, Melody,

Dr. Melody Berens is a Cognitive Neuroscientist at the Center for Advanced Study of Language. Her research investigates the biological foundations and experiential factors of language and higher cognition. She studies how capacity and expertise develop, how expertise might transfer to both near and far domains of knowledge, and the interplay between nature and nurture in learning and development. The goal of her research is to unravel how Brain, Behavioral, and Genetic factors mediate the acquisition and development of important higher cognitive abilities and expertise, and crucially, how these abilities might transfer to other domains. Dr. Berens utilizes state of the art behavioral, brain-imaging (functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, fNIRS; functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, fMRI/MRI), and genetic (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, SNP) methods for her investigations.

Bolger, Donald J., Human Development

The core of my research focuses on key issues of reading from a neurobiological, cognitive, and educational perspective.* *The primary goal of my research is to understand brain development with respect to reading and language and how impairment and remediation are reflected in cortex. From school-based and cross-sectional paradigms to adult training tasks, my work combines innovative and complex methodologies in functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and event-related potentials (ERP) with developmental and behavioral research.

Carlson, Thomas, Psychology

My general research interests are in object recognition and visual attention. Current research in my lab seeks to address the the following questions: How do we recognize objects under natural viewing conditions? How are we able to dynamically track moving objects? And, how does the brain's representation of external objects interact with the the brain's representation of our body.

Carruthers, Peter, Philosophy

His primary research interests for most of the last decade have been in the philosophy of psychology. He has worked especially on theories of consciousness and on the role of natural language in human cognition. But he has also published on such issues as: the nature and status of our folk psychology; nativism and modularity; theories of intentional content, and defence of a notion of narrow content for psychological explanation; and issues to do with evolutionary psychology and cognitive architecture. Before coming to College Park he was at the University of Sheffield (UK), where he had a spell as Head of Department and was Director of the Hang Seng Centre for Cognitive Studies. (He continues to be connected with the latter through his involvement in a large three-year interdisciplinary research project on "Innateness and the Structure of the Mind".) In a previous incarnation he trained as a Wittgensteinian, and published a couple of monographs on Wittgenstein's Tractatus.

Cohen, Leonardo G., Chief, Human Cortical Physiology Section and Stroke Neurorehabilitation Clinic,

The goal of our activity is to understand the mechanisms underlying plastic changes in the human central nervous system and to develop novel therapeutic approaches for recovery of function based on these advances. We utilize transcranial magnetic (TMS)and DC (tDCS) stimulation, fMRI, TMS in combination with fMRI, MR spectroscopy, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), PET scanning and magnetoencephalography (MEG) alone or in combination with brain computer interfaces (BCI). We investigate mechanisms of human plasticity in healthy volunteers and the impact in treatment of patients with stroke.

Israel, Michael, English

Linguistics

Lasnik, Howard, Linguistics

Syntactic Theory; Logical Form; Learnability.

Norman, Kent, Psychology

His interests are in cognitive psychology, judgment and decision making, and cyberpsychology. Cyberpsychology includes the study of psychological issues at the intersection of human behavior and computer technologies including the Internet, social computing, human-computing, and mobile computing. Current research involves the cognitive aspects human/computer interaction, interface design, usability testing, online surveys and experiments, menu navigation, and the assessment of user satisfaction to frustration and computer rage. In addition, Dr. Norman is interested in the design of electronic educational environments for collaborative learning and the construction of knowledge.

Rey, Georges, Philosophy

His primary interest is in the relation of contemporary cognitive science to traditional problems in the philosophy of mind, especially the difficulties raised by rationality, intentionality and qualitative experience. He has written numerous articles, and a recent book on contemporary philosophy of mind, in which he argues that a computational/representational theory of mind seems to present a promising way of meeting the first two difficulties, and even a weakened version of the third; but that it will never satisfy us completely because of problems inherent in the way we involuntarily think of things that look and act like our conspecifics.

Shah, Yasmeen, Hearing and Speech Sciences

At the Aphasia Research Center we study language production and comprehension of individuals with aphasia using methods such as language analysis, reaction time measures, grammaticality judgments, and treatment efficacy. In particular, we are interested in the following issues: What neural mechanisms are involved in the processing and production of verb inflections and sentences (both in normal and aphasic individuals, using magnetoencephalography)? Why do some individuals with aphasia experience difficulty in producing verb inflections? Do these individuals have parallel deficits in comprehending verb inflections? What variables, if any, influence the production of verb inflections in aphasic individuals? Do aphasic individuals experience difficulties in encoding and/or expressing temporal information? Why do some aphasic individuals experience difficulties in sentence production? How can findings from psycholinguistic literature aid in designing treatment programs for aphasic individuals?

Uriagereka, Juan, Linguistics

In my work, I study syntactic patterns with an eye on trying to understand what they may tell us about the broader questions that my research pursues. I have specialized mostly in Indo-European (particularly Romance) languages and Basque, presenting analyses from these arenas in a comparative way. I often attempt to relate conclusions reached in the area of syntax to work in the evolution of language or a variety of its performative aspects.