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Jonathan R. Brennan

Associate Professor of Linguistics

University of Michigan

I study the mental structures and computations used to understand words and sentences, with a focus on how these processes are implemented in the brain. My research uses formal, computationally grounded models of language comprehension to probe neural signals collected with electroencephalography (EEG), magnetoencephalography (MEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Order Language and the brain: A slim guide to neurolinguistics
from your local bookstore

I have a particular interest in experimental methods that are as natural as possible, such as having participants read or listen to a story. Naturalistic techniques are especially suitable with populations for which standard experimental tasks may be inappropriate, such as with children with developmental disorders.

I am the director of the Computational Neurolinguistics Lab in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Michigan.

Interests

  • Cognitive neuroscience of language
  • Syntax and semantics
  • Naturalistic experimental methods

Education

  • PhD in Linguistics, 2010

    New York University

  • BA in Cognitive Science & Classics, 2003

    Vassar College

Projects

Language and the brain: A slim guide to neurolinguistics

This breezy guide introduces readers to the state-of-the-art neuroscientific research that is revolutionizing our understanding of language.

Meaning in a Social World

We investigate how the brain supports building meaning that combines what people say with who is saying it, guided by the understanding that stereotypes and biases can shape (and misshape) comprehension.

Accessing Words Within and Across Languages

We model and test the neural mechanisms that allow us to recognize the meanings of spoken and written words rapidly and efficiently.

Neuro-Computational Models of Natural Language

We build computational models of sentence understanding and evaluate their fit against neural signals collected from people performing a relatively natural task, like listening to a story. (NSF #1607251, 2017-2019)

Neural Coherence at Rest and During Language Processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder

We use magnetoencephalography to probe processing of sounds, words, and sentences in school-aged children with high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder. (U-M M-Cubed Initative, 2013-2015)

Where’s Jon?

The lab website lists all presentations and posters since 2013. For older presentations, click here

Conference on Human Sentence Processing

Lab presentations on teasing apart syntactic and acoustic effects in comprehension and naturalistic story-listening as a window into …
Mar 26, 2025 — Mar 29, 2024 University of Maryland

Exploring Temporal Response Functions (TRFs) in Real-World Speech Processing

Workshop discussing the application of temporal response functions to understand the neural electrophysiological dynamics of every-day language use.
Dec 9, 2024 — Dec 11, 2024 Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg Instituate for Advanced Study, Delmenhurst, Germany
Project

Society for the Neurobiology of Language

Lab members presenting work on L1/L2 surprisal and layerwise alignment between artificial neural networks and human electrophysiology.
Oct 24, 2024 — Oct 26, 2024 Marseille
Project

Conference on Human Sentence Processing

We’re hosting! Special session on Socially Situated Language Processing
May 16, 2024 — May 18, 2024 University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Colloquium: McMaster University Linguistics

Grammatical dynamics and neural decoding with EEG
Mar 5, 2024 12:00 AM Hamilton ON, Canada
Project Project
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Papers

Junyuan Zhao (赵隽元), Ruimin Gao (高睿敏), Jonathan R. Brennan (2025). Decoding the Neural Dynamics of Headed Syntactic Structure Building. Journal of Neuroscience.

Project DOI

Chi-Lin Yu, Rachel Eggleston, Kehui Zhang, Nia Nickerson, Xin Sun, Rebecca A Marks, Xiaosu Hu, Jonathan R. Brennan, Henry M. Wellman, Ioulia Kovelman (2025). Neural Processing of Children's Theory of Mind in a Naturalistic Story-Listening Paradigm. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience.

Project DOI

Jeonghwa Cho, Jonathan R. Brennan (2025). Prefix priming within and across languages in early and late bilinguals. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition.

Project DOI

Michael Wolfman, Donald Dunagan, Jonathan R. Brennan, John T. Hale (2024). Hierarchical syntactic structure in human-like language models. Proceedings of CMCL 2024.

PDF Project

Csilla Tatár, Jonathan R. Brennan, Jelena Krivokapić, Ezra Keshet (2024). Examining melodiousness in sarcasm: wiggliness, spaciousness, and contour clustering. Proceedings of the Speech Prosody.

DOI

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