Explore neurolinguistics and discover how the brain processes language.
Reading does not rely solely on vision. By engaging circuits similar to visual reading, Braille shows that the brain processes words beyond the sensory channel through which they are perceived. Reading without ever seeing a letter may sound counterintuitive. In most societies, written language is inseparable from vision: pages, screens, symbols scanned by the eyes….
Can a simple word trigger an uncontrollable reaction? Some rare phenomena suggest that language can act far beyond its meaning. Some oddities slip into everyday life like flashes of absurdity. In Morocco, for reasons no one has yet explained, the mere mention of the word “honey” can trigger uncontrollable outbursts in certain individuals a phenomenon…
What if some non-speaking autistic individuals can read but can’t show it? A study challenges how we assess language abilities. The absence of functional speech in some autistic individuals often leads to a general underestimation of their cognitive and linguistic abilities. This perception is rooted in a confusion between language and spoken output, as if…
Learning a new language later in life may slow cognitive decline. Can learning a foreign language still stimulate the aging brain? Once considered a marginal question in cognitive science, this issue is now taking center stage in the neuroscience of aging. As life expectancy continues to rise, preserving brain function has become a critical concern….
Reading feels automatic until it disappears. Pure alexia shows that understanding a word is far more complex than it seems. Professor M. lived surrounded by books, in a house lined with ancient volumes and dictionaries. Reading and teaching were his life, language was his home, as familiar to him as the walls he lived in….
A few letters are enough to create meaning, images, emotions. But this apparent simplicity hides an extraordinary neural feat. Reading is one of the most fascinating feats of the human brain, a mysterious intersection of culture and biology that astonishes with both its apparent simplicity and the astonishing complexity it conceals. We move our eyes…
We think we use words to think. Yet much of the mind operates in silence, far beyond language. We often assume that thinking means talking to ourselves silently. But is that truly the case?Imagine a world without words. Could we still reason, anticipate, and solve problems? Some argue that without language, complex thought would be…
One word to say everything. Behind this silence, a scientific revolution was unfolding. Some silences speak louder than words. In Mr Tan’s case, his silence was not an absence, but a riddle. When he arrived at Dr. Paul Broca’s office, he brought with him a fundamental question: How does the brain create what makes us…
Why do familiar words slip away after learning a new language? Language learning is often viewed as an asset, an opportunity to broaden cultural and cognitive horizons. However, many polyglots report a peculiar challenge. As they acquire a new language, they sometimes struggle to recall words in the languages they had already mastered. This intriguing…