'The human brain can create an infinite number of messages with a limited number of words and combinations. This fascinates me enormously,' says Hagoort. 'No two people are the same, so to understand why we have such a highly developed communication system, we need to find everything in the brain that has something to do with language in as many people as possible . The more individual differences we map, the more we can say about the linguistic brain. This was my goal when I started the Language and Interaction gravitational programme.'
Nearly 1,000 people were examined, and 300 people in the MRI
'We have studied a diverse group of almost a thousand people over the past decade. Of these, three hundred went into the MRI scanner so that we could compare their brain connections at the language level. That was a huge logistical operation,' says Hagoort. The scans had to be planned, the people had to be prepared, and you needed several experts for each performance. In the end, it provided unique information.
Unique data collection
So, what was unique? Hagoort explains: 'We often study the brains of people with learning or behavioural challenges, for example. But we don't know anything about people who easily speak two or three languages or, without those challenges, struggle with language. Indeed, there is a lot of variation in people's language skills. We asked ourselves: Does the developed language level correlate with IQ? or does it depend on the working memory of the brain?'
Aid components and fibre pathways
He explains: 'There are key areas in the brain for language that we all share. We found that individual differences surround these areas: the brain's aid components. Your language ability depends on how many attachments, such as attention and memory, you can use. This, in turn, depends on how the pathways to these attachments are laid out. We call these the brain's fibre pathways. We saw that these fibre pathways could be more or less present, i.e. biologically determined. In addition, they could also be more or less developed. As far as we can see now, this is environmentally determined. In people who speak several languages, for example, we saw that the fibre pathways were firmer and better developed.'
A brain area just for language?
'By the way, these connections are not made only for language,' says Hagoort. We looked at the fibre pathways specific to language, which are also connected to the part of the brain that processes images, for example. In short, they are also used when you're not dealing with language.
Stop pointing!
'We should stop trying to point to where something is happening in the brain,' says Hagoort. 'The brain is a complicated network of connections constantly working together differently. There is not one specific area for language or speech. Instead, we need to look at networks of cooperating areas and the connections that play a role in them. Our research shows that those connections can even differ individually'.
So, you have to study the linguistic brain differently to learn anything about it. 'What is unique about Nijmegen is that all disciplines are on campus. We know language and genetics; we can map brain activity; we study the differences between languages and how things like memory, information processing and problem-solving work. Therefore, a general brain scientist does not exist. Brain science is a network of different disciplines in which everything is connected. Just like the brain itself, in fact.
Highlights in the Language Sciences Conference
In July, Hagoort brought together all the experts from around the world at a conference to bring everyone up to speed on the latest knowledge in the gravitational programme and hear the latest findings elsewhere. There were experts present who could simulate language with computer algorithms and geneticists, neurobiologists, and linguists. Hagoort hopes these top experts in the field will work with his foundation to generate new knowledge.
The average person does not exist
Hagoort is about to retire and has laid the foundation for future research on the linguistic brain. He still dreams that his research can eventually be applied to education. 'The current education system does not consider children's unique abilities, leading to teaching the average child in the classroom. But the average child does not exist. In the future, it would be great to organise education to suit each student's specific needs and abilities. From A to Z.