People

M-BIC Language Lab

The Language Lab aims at understanding cognitive and brain mechanisms underlying language and language development. Our lab is part of the Maastricht Brain Imaging Center (M-BIC) founded by the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience (FPN/UM) at Maastricht University. We investigate neural transformations of auditory (speech perception) and visual (reading, object perception) signals into meaningful messages and of thoughts and images into speech plans (speech production). Furthermore we investigate the formation and fine-tuning of these transformations during typical and anomalous language development (dyslexia).

Our research employs tailored psychophysical paradigms for adults and children with and without language disorders, combined with measurements of brain activity at high temporal (EEG), spatial (fMRI at 3T, 7T) and spatio-temporal (ECoG) resolution. We zoom into underlying brain mechanisms by analyzing our data using advanced analysis techniques including multivariate EEG/fMRI pattern analysis, functional connectivity and fMRI ‘encoding’ analysis. Moreover we assess individual brain-behavior relations by linking these brain measures to different types of behavioral measures including on-line task performance, real-time MRI of vocal tract gestures and cognitive and reading skills.

Researchers

Students

Master students

Miha Churusinova

Nadeshda Durdova

Amy Habich

Hayley Jones

Loek Knoors

Liwen Meng

Laura Moreno Bernal

Naz Onat

Isabel Schimdt

Muhammet Sercik

Varsha Shashi Kumar

Nadine Sajo

Caleb Thompson

Weronika Tyrala

Sai Yadnik

Student assistants

Tatyana Branco

Miriam Langerbeck

Giovanni Menon

Lise Vrolix

Alumni

Mario E Archila-Melendez
Postdoctoral researcher, Technical University München, Dept. Neuroradiology, Germany

Mart Bles
Consultant energietransitie, Enexis Groep, ‘s Hertogenbosch, NL

João Correia
Researcher at University of Algarve, Portugal

Alexandra Emmendorfer
Postdoc MPI and RU Nijmegen

Giada Guerra
Specialist Assistant Psychologist/Clinical Research Assistant, Open Door Young People’s Service, London, UK

Boukje Habets
Postdoctoral researcher, University of Bielefeld, Germany

Anke Hammer
Psychologist and Researcher, Department of Psychiatry, University of Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany

Kasia Chyl
Postdoctoral researcher, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Warsaw, Poland

Kiki van der Heijden
Postdoctoral researcher, Donders Insitute for Brain Cognition and Behavior, Nijmegen, NL

Roef Janssen
Content developer Kind en Jeugd / Triage psycholoog, Embloom, NL

Tieme Janssen
Assistant professor, VU University Amsterdam, NL

Sara Mazzini
PHD student MPI and RU Nijmegen

Inge Timmers
Associate Professor Tilburg University

Maaike Vandermosten
Professor at KU Leuven, Belgium

Gonny Willems
Managing Director – Studio Europa, Maastricht, NL

Gojko Žarić
Data analyst, Booking.com, Amsterdam, NL

In memoriam: Leo Blomert (1952 – 2012)

Leo Blomert has been the founding chair of the Cognitive Neuroscience Department at the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience…  read more