LING 497
Fall 2022
Neurolinguistics State-of-the-Art

Author

Jonathan R. Brennan (he/him)

Course Details

Course Description

Language is a biological system unique to humans. What can we learn about this system by studying the brain, and how can we better understand the brain through the lens of language? To answer this question successfully linguists must engage with neuroscience, psychology, neurology, clinical practice, and more. Here, we take on this challenge. After learning foundational methods in brain imaging, we will engage with state-of-the-art research with topics chosen by you (some examples: The neural bases of sign language; neural plasticity and multi-lingualism; developmental language disorders and the brain, social neuroscience meets linguistics, etc.) In this class you will learn to read neuroscience papers with a focus on their impact for your own interests in linguistic theory and practice.

Course Goals

To introduce the basic principles of the cognitive neuroscience of language, and to develop skills to address questions about the cognitive faculty of language using neuroscientific data.

Expectations

To do well in this course you need to participate throughtfully in class discussions and apply the knowledge that we develop through the course.

Knowledge is applied through quizzes and a multi-stage group project that you develop over the course of the term. Participation comes in the form of synchronous discussions each week and group-work. Students are expected to come to class having done the readings and other work so they can be active participants.

Student Well-being

Students may experience stressors that can impact both their academic experience and their personal well-being. In addition to disruptions from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, these may include academic pressure and challenges associated with relationships, mental health, alcohol or other drugs, identities, finances, etc.

If you are experiencing concerns, seeking help is a courageous thing to do for yourself and those who care about you. If the source of your stressors is academic, please contact me so that we can find solutions together. For personal concerns, U-M offers many resources, some of which are listed at Resources for Student Well-being on the Well-being for U-M Students website. You can also search for additional resources on that website.

Accommodations

If you think you need an accommodation for a disability, please let me know at your earliest convenience. Some aspects of this course, the assignments, the in-class activities, and the way the course is usually taught may be modified to facilitate your participation and progress. As soon as you make me aware of your needs, we can work with the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) to help us determine appropriate academic accommodations. SSD (734-763-3000; http://www.ssd.umich.edu) typically recommends accommodations through a Verified Individualized Services and Accommodations (VISA) form. Any information you provide is private and confidential and will be treated as such.

Before reading about coursework, remember: unexpected things may come up. We will try to be as flexible as possible as we balance the needs of everyone in the class. Please communicate with me if you require special accommodations

All assignments are posted and submitted via Canvas

Optional Book

Class notes will draw substantially from the following book. Purchasing this is not a requirement for the course; required readings will be made available via Canvas.

Brennan Language and the Brain: A slim guide to Neurolinguistics (2022) Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780198814764

(50%) Research Project

You will do original research in this class and share it with your fellow students and the broader Linguistics community at U–M. While it’s hard to get into a lab and collect new data (especially during a pandemic!) there is original work to be done with existing published data. Together, we will conduct a set of meta-analyses of existing published research.

A meta-analysis brings together a set of published research findings that all address a common question and applies quantitative tools to assess the reliable and generalizable results that are shared across studies. This is one of the primary scientific tools for determining scientific consensus, and you will have all the skills you need to perform one of these yourself in this class.

Your project will be a combination of group work with students working on similar themes and independent work to write up and present your findings. The work is distributed throughout the term as we incrementally build up and practice the skills we need. A few key dates are indicated in the schedule below.

As is common in Capstone courses, everyone in the class will present their findings at meeting open to the entire Linguistics Department at the end of the semester.

(25%) Readings & Discussion

There will be a range of different types of readings assigned over the course of the semester, including short textbook chapters, review articles, and original research studies. Some readings are chosen to prompt general discussion, while others are going to form the primary sources for your original research projects. In all cases, be sure to write down your questions and points of confusion as you read! These will be great jumping off points for further discussion.

Each week, please post at least substantive one question or comments on the Canvas Discussion Board. Our real-time meetings are short! I’m really looking forward to having a robust discussion forum for digging deep into the material this semester.

Please try to make your contributions before the end of the day on Tuesday, so that they can inform our class discussion that week.

(25%) Participation

Participation is a big part of this class. Showing up means a lot to me, as does hearing your contributions in-person, or in follow-up posts on the Discussion board (both synchronous and asynchronous participation is valuable.)

You can miss at least two class meetings, no questions asked. If you think you may miss more than that, please communicate with me.

Absences due to representing the university in an official capacity, or due to conflicts with religious holidays, are accommodated without penalty so long as appropriate documentation is provided. More details are available by the Newnan Academic Advising Center.

Late Work Policy

There is a grace period of 1 day on all assignments. More flexibility may be possible in some circumstances; please check with the instructor.

Grading Scale

A B C D F
+ 97-99 87-89 77-79 67-69
94-96 84-86 74-76 64-67 <60
- 90-93 80-83 70-73 60-63

The schedule may change during the term. Be sure to check Canvas for updates!

This course is organized week-by-week. Each week follows roughly the same pattern:

  • Readings are posted by the previous Wednesday
  • We meet on Mondays and Wednesdays from 1:00 - 2:30 PM
  • Post on the discussion board by Tuesday end-of-day
  • Assignments are due by Friday at 5pm on the week they are assigned.

Note The abbreviation SGN stands for “slim guide to neurolinguistics”

Unit 1

Week 1: Aug 29, 31

Week 2: Sep 7

Week 3: Sep 12, 14

  • Topic Methods, more sentence processing and the brain
  • Re-read Zacarella et al. 2017
  • Read Matchin et al. 2017
  • Post to Discussion board with more methods questions

Week 4: Sep 19, 21

  • Topic Replicate Z et al. meta-analysis
  • Read Matchin et al. 2019
  • Read the FAQ for the NeuroSynth website and see if you can generate a meta-analysis of your own (hint: click on Metanalysis > Terms to get started)
  • Post about what you find

Week 5: Sep 26, 28

  • Topic Work on replication; “what does it mean?”
  • Read Pylkkänen 2019
  • Post on the reading or challenges and puzzles as you work on your report
  • Do Replication report

UNIT 2: Aphasia and neuroplasticity

Week 6: Oct 3, 5

  • Topic 150 years of aphasia research
  • Read Blumstein 2016
  • Read Tippett & Hillis 2016
  • Post general questions from the readings or on the similarities and differences in the perspective offered by the two overviews.

Week 7: Oct 10, 12

  • Topic Symptoms and lesions
  • Read Andrews et al. 2022 on broca’s aphasia without broca’s area
  • Skim Wilson et al. 2020 on the limitations of plasticity
  • Post on the Andrews reading

Week 8: Oct 19

  • No class Oct 17: Fall break
  • Topic On recovery
  • (Re-)read Wilson et al. 2020 on the limitations of plasticity
  • Read Wilson et al. 2022 on first-year recovery patterns
  • Post

Unit 3: Integrating speaker and message

Week 9: Oct 24, 26

  • Topic Electrophysiology and meaning(s)
  • Read van Berkum et al. 2007
  • Post on anything you’ve ever wanted to know about electrophysiology but were afraid to ask

Week 10: Oct 31, Nov 2

  • Topic Electrophysiology and grammar
  • Read Hanulikova et al. 2012
  • Read Weissler & Brennan 2020
  • Post on similarities and differences in the approach and/or reasoning underlying the papers from Unit 3 so far.

Week 11: Nov 7, 9

  • Topic Electrophysiology, expectations, and stereotypes
  • Read Zaharchuk et al. 2021
  • Skim Scharinger et al. 2012
  • Post How does Zaharchuk extend (or contrast) with the theories that guided earlier papers?

Unit 4: What’s neurally similiar, and what’s different, across languages

Week 12: Nov 14, 16

  • Topic A universal language network
  • Read Malik-Moraleda et al. 2022
  • Skim Chee et al. 1999
  • Post These two studies differ in many ways; in what ways are the results comparable, in what ways are they not?
  • Do Project outline by Nov 18th

Week 13: Nov 21

  • No Class Nov 23: Thanksgiving Break
  • Topic Different strategies for different languages
  • Read Dunagan et al. 2022
  • Post How might Dunagan et al. respond to Malik-Moraleda, or vice-versa? Are the results from these papers in tension or complementary?

Week 14: Nov 28, 30

  • Topic Reconciling the universal and the particular
  • Read Blanco-Elorrieta & Pylkkanen 2017
  • Post any personal experiences with language-switching OR questions related to the paper
  • Do Project rough draft by Dec 2

Week 15: Dec 5, 7

  • Topic Wrapping up
  • Read
  • Post

There is no final examination for this course. The final research presentation is due on Thursday December 15th.

COVID-19 and a Classroom Culture of Care

Your health and safety matters. To minimize the spread of COVID-19 please follow the guidelines laid out in the Wolverine Culture of Care and the University’s Face Covering Policy for COVID-19 If you would like to request an accommodation related to the face covering requirement under the Americans with Disabilities Act, you should contact the Office for Institutional Equity.

All students are expected to adhere to the required safety measures and guidelines of the State of Michigan and the University of Michigan, including sanitizing their work areas, maintaining appropriate personal distance, wearing a face covering that covers the mouth and nose in all public spaces, and not coming to class when ill or in quarantine.

Any student who is not able to comply with campus safety measures for this course should contact the course instructor prior to class to discuss alternate participation. They may also choose to meet with an academic advisor and consider other course options. Students who do not adhere to these safety measures while in a face-to-face class setting, and do not have an approved exception or accommodation, will be asked to participate on a remote basis.

For additional information refer to the LSA Student Commitment to the Wolverine Culture of Care and the OSCR Addendum to the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities on the OSCR website.

Course Recordings

Course lectures may be audio/video recorded and made available to other students in this course. As part of your participation in this course, you may be recorded. If you do not wish to be recorded, please contact the instructor the first week of class (or as soon as you enroll in the course, whichever is latest) to discuss alternative arrangements.

Email Policy

The best place to ask questions is via the Canvas Forum where the instructor and fellow students may all engage with the question.

Posting your questions on the forum allows for easy follow-up discussion and makes your contribution available to other students who may have similar questions. The instructors will monitor the forum to ensure answers are clear and accurate.

E-mail should only be used for personal concerns that cannot be addressed via the discussion board, in person before/after class, or in office hours. The instructor aims to respond to emails within 24 hours on weekdays. We are not available on email after business hours or on weekends.

A note on Academic Misconduct

The University of Michigan community functions best when its members treat one another with honesty, fairness, respect, and trust. The college promotes the assumption of personal responsibility and integrity, and prohibits all forms of academic dishonesty and misconduct. All cases of academic misconduct will be referred to the LSA Office of the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education. Being found responsible for academic misconduct will usually result in a grade sanction, in addition to any sanction from the college. For more information, including examples of behaviors that are considered academic misconduct and potential sanctions, please see <lsa.umich.edu/lsa/academics/academic-integrity.html>.