
In this project 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.
Funding NSF #IIS-1607251, 2017-2019

Jonathan R. Brennan
Associate Professor of Linguistics & Psychology
Neurolinguistics, semantics, and syntax.
Publications
Modeling structure-building in the brain with CCG parsing and large language models
To model behavioral and neural correlates of language comprehension in naturalistic environments, researchers have turned to …
Long-distance linguistic dependencies in Chinese and English brains
Words can occur arbitrarily far away from where they contribute their meaning in a sentence. Two examples are WH-questions (WHQs), …
Neuro-computational models of language processing
Efforts to understand the brain bases of language face the mapping problem: at what level do linguistic computations and …
Le Petit Prince: A Multilingual fMRI Corpus Using Ecological Stimuli
Neuroimaging using more ecologically valid stimuli such as audiobooks has advanced our understanding of natural language comprehension …
Modeling Incremental Language Comprehension in the Brain with Combinatory Categorial Grammar
Hierarchical sentence structure plays a role in word-by-word human sentence comprehension, but it remains unclear how best to …
Localizing syntactic predictions using recurrent neural network grammars
Brain activity in numerous perisylvian brain regions is modulated by the expectedness of linguistic stimuli. We leverage recent …
The Alice Datasets: fMRI & EEG Observations of Natural Language Comprehension
The Alice Datasets combine observations from magnetic resonance imaging as well as electrophysiology while human participants listened …
The Little Prince in 26 Languages: Towards a Multilingual Neuro-Cognitive Corpus
The Alice Datasets combine observations from magnetic resonance imaging as well as electrophysiology while human participants listened …
Phase synchronization varies systematically with linguistic structure composition
Computation in neuronal assemblies is putatively reflected in the excitatory and inhibitory cycles of activation distributed throughout …
Text Genre and Training Data Size in Human-Like Parsing
Domain-specific training typically makes NLP systems work better. We show that this extends to cognitive modeling as well by relating …
Hierarchical structure guides rapid linguistic predictions during naturalistic listening
The grammar, or syntax, of human language is typically understood in terms of abstract hierarchical structures. However, theories of …
Finding syntax in human encephalography with beam search
Recurrent neural network grammars (RNNGs) are generative models of (tree, string) pairs that rely on neural networks to evaluate …
Localising memory retrieval and syntactic composition: an fMRI study of naturalistic language comprehension
This study examines memory retrieval and syntactic composition using fMRI while participants listen to a book, The Little Prince. These …
Differentiating Phrase Structure Parsing and Memory Retrieval in the Brain
On some level, human sentence comprehension must involve both memory retrieval and structural composition. This study differentiates …
MEG Evidence for Incremental Sentence Composition in the Anterior Temporal Lobe
Research investigating the brain basis of language comprehension has associated the left anterior temporal lobe (ATL) with …
Naturalistic Sentence Comprehension in the Brain
The cognitive neuroscience of language relies largely on controlled experiments that are different from the everyday situations in …
Abstract linguistic structure correlates with temporal activity during naturalistic comprehension
Neurolinguistic accounts of sentence comprehension identify a network of relevant brain regions, but do not detail the information …
Temporal Lobes as Combinatory Engines for both Form and Meaning
The relative contributions of meaning and form to sentence processing remains an outstanding issue across the language sciences. We …
Modeling fMRI time courses with linguistic structure at various grain sizes
Neuroimaging while participants listen to audiobooks provides a rich data source for theories of incremental parsing. We compare nested …
Talks
MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
Colloquium presentation (virtual) at the Language Cycles research Group at the MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
Feb 9, 2023 9:00 AM
Leipzig (virtual)
Society for the Neurobiology of Language
Posters on decoding grammar from EEG, modeling memory operations with neural networks, and naturalistic electrophysiological datasets for L2 conversation
Oct 6, 2022 — Oct 8, 2022
Philadelphia
NLP@Michigan 2022
Keynote presentation Big data needs big theory to understand understanding
May 3, 2022 2:00 PM
University of Michigan, BBB 1670
Conference on Human Sentence Processing
Join us virtually for posters on morphological priming, memory interference, and multi-modal approaches to understanding …
Mar 23, 2022 — Mar 26, 2022
(Virtual) University of California, Santa Cruz
Neurobiology of Language: Key Issues and Ways Forward
The Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics hosts virtual a workshop on the challenges and the promises are for the neurobiology of language.
Apr 8, 2021 — Apr 10, 2021
(Virtual) Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Society for the Neurobiology of Language
Posters on neural entrainment, relative clause processing, and accented-speech comprehension!
Oct 21, 2020 — Oct 24, 2020
Virtual
CUNY Conference on Human Sentence Processing
All the latest from the lab! Including: a talk from Rachel Weissler about expectation-based processing for African American Language, …
Mar 19, 2020 — Mar 21, 2020
(Virtual) University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Colloquium: University of Chicago Linguistics
Feb 6, 2020 3:30 PM — 5:00 PM
University of Chicago
Symposium on Emergence in Communication & Learning
University of Michigan’s Center for the Study of Complex Systems hosts a discussion of communicating systems.
Jan 23, 2020 —
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Society for the Neurobiology of Language
Student posters on dialect processing and neural entrainment, new work on memory mechanisms, and my ‘Early Career’ talk!
Aug 20, 2019 — Aug 22, 2019
Helsinki, Finland
UM Weinberg Cognitive Science Colloquium
Mar 24, 2019 12:00 AM
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI
Workshop: Towards Mechanistic Models of Meaning Composition
Oct 9, 2018 12:00 AM — Oct 11, 2018 12:00 AM
Trondheim, Norway
Collaborative Resources for Computational Neuroscience
Jun 13, 2018 12:00 AM — Jun 15, 2018 12:00 AM
University of California, Berkeley CA
CUNY Conference on Human Sentence Processing
Mar 15, 2018 12:00 AM — Mar 17, 2018 12:00 AM
University of California, Davis
Colloquium: University of Florida Linguistics
Feb 26, 2018 12:00 AM
University of Florida, Gainesville FL
Colloquium: Michigan State Linguistics
Feb 1, 2018 12:00 AM
Michigan State University, East Lansing MI
Harvard University Laboratory for Developmental Studies
Nov 7, 2017 12:00 AM
Harvard University, Cambridge MA
Boston University Conference on Language Development
Nov 3, 2017 12:00 AM — Nov 5, 2017 12:00 AM
Boston University
Collaborative Resources for Computational Neuroscience
Jun 16, 2017 12:00 AM — Jun 18, 2017 12:00 AM
Brown University, Providence RI
Colloquium: Cornell Cognitive Science
Nov 12, 2016 12:00 AM
Cornell University, Ithaca NY
CUNY Conference on Human Sentence Processing
Mar 3, 2016 12:00 AM — Mar 5, 2016 12:00 AM
Univeristy of Florida, Gainesville FL
Colloquium: Michigan State Communication Sciences & Disorders
Nov 10, 2015 12:00 AM
Michigan State University, East Lansing MI
Society for the Neurobiology of Language
Oct 15, 2015 12:00 AM — Oct 17, 2015 12:00 AM
Chicago IL