Neurolinguistics & Language Processing Laboratory (new webpage under construction)

About

In the Neurolinguisitics and Language Processing Laboratory, we conduct a range of studies examining the nature, real-time processing, and neural instantiation of human language. Our research is typically cross-method, utilizing a variety of psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic measurements, and cross-linguistic, examining a variety of languages. Major domains of language investigated include morphology/morphosyntax and semantics/pragmatics, and populations investigated include both native speakers and adult second language learners. The lab is part of the Department of Linguistics at the University of Kansas, and has a number of active collaborations with members of the Second Language Acquisition Lab, Developmental Psycholinguistics Lab, and Phonetics/Psycholinguistics Lab (KUPPL), . Members of the Neurolinguistics & Language Processing Lab also participate in a shared weekly lab research group, organized under the recurring seminar Research in Acquisition and Processing, in which students present their in-progress research and receive peer and faculty feedback on their work.

Facilities

EEG: The EEG (electroencephalography) laboratory is fully equipped for both visual and auditory ERP (event-related potentials) studies utilizing our 70-channel Neuroscan Synamps2 EEG system, with stimulus presentation via the Neuroscan STIM hardware/software and other experiment programs including Presentation, DMDX, and Paradigm. EEG is a non-invasive method for measuring brain activity with high precision in timing, which allows precise tracking of changes of brain activity during real-time language processing.

Psycholinguistic Testing Rooms:The laboratory has two dedicated testing rooms equipped with computer workstations for conducting psycholinguistic experiments. Psycholinguistic studies conducted in the laboratory utilize experimental paradigms including lexical decision, priming, picture-word matching, and self-paced reading. The laboratory is also equipped to collect a wide range of verbal and non-verbal cognitive measures (e.g., working memory measures, aptitude measures, language proficiency tests, etc.).

Data Analysis: The laboratory workspace is equipped with high-performance workstations and specialized software (e.g., BESA, MNE, Freesurfer, and other programs/MATLAB toolboxes/scripts) for the analysis of EEG, MEG, and MRI data. Workstations are available for both LINUX-based and Windows-based software applications. The lab also includes a Japanese Windows XP workstation for use in stimulus design/corpus analysis for experiments using Japanese stimuli. We also utilize a high-performance computing cluster at KU for data processing.

Other Facilities:

Hoglund Biomedical Imaging Center
The Hoglund Biomedical Imaging Center at KU is equipped with a 151-channel biomagnetometer MEG system (CTF/VSM), a Siemens Skyra 3 Tesla MRI system, a BrainVision EEG-EMG system, and an 83-channel biomagnetomer MEG system custom designed for fetal biomagnetic experiments.

Department of Linguistics
The Linguistics Department has multiple laboratories equipped for psycholinguistic testing and data analysis, with equipment including a head-mounted eye-tracker (EyeLink II), a child-friendly eye-tracker (EyeLink 1000), and an anechoic chamber.

Contact Information