Language Function and Dysfunction

Research in our group  focuses on language function in healthy and neurological populations, such as stroke, brain tumour, epilepsy, and degenerative disorders (e.g., dementia, Parkinson’s). Our group is active at the Donders Centre for Cognition and Donders Centre for Medical Neuroscience and Department of Medical Psychology of Radboudumc.

We use a range of behavioural and neuroimaging methods and pay special attention to the intersection of language and other functions, such as executive control and (semantic) memory.

Our approach is bi-directional. On the one hand, we use models from cognitive neuroscience to better understand language function in neurological populations. One of the main goals of this approach is to develop novel diagnostic tools and methods to improve language capacity in patients. On the other hand, we use observations of the breakdown of language and/or communicative abilities following brain insult to obtain unique insights informative for cognitive (neuro)science models.

Ongoing projects:

• Language function in stroke and small vessel disease
• Neuroplasticity after left-hemisphere stroke through right-hemisphere recruitment
• Cognitive function in relation to speech problems in head and neck cancer prior to treatment

Media coverage

De Volkskrant,

Donders Newsletter

NWO

Daily Californian