Kristof StrijkersCerveau, cognition et comportement
Laboratoire parole et langage (LPL – CNRS / Aix-Marseille University)
Kristof Strijkers obtained an MA in psychology (theoretical and experimental psychology) at Ghent University in Belgium in 2006, and a second MA in cognitive neuroscience and language in 2007 at Barcelona University in Spain. In 2012, he obtained his PhD, “The Electrophysiology of Language Production: Lexical Access in Picture Naming”, at the University of Barcelona. He then obtained a Marie Curie post-doctoral fellowship at the CNRS at the Laboratoire de psychologie cognitive (LPC) in France. Since 2014, he has been a CNRS researcher at the Laboratoire parole et langage (LPL) in Aix-en-Provence.
In his research, Kristof Strijkers attempts to bridge linguistics and psycholinguistics with neuroscience. His main research themes are:
- The cognitive and neural bases of linguistic interaction and conversation;
- The spatio-temporal dynamics of language production and comprehension;
- The role of attention and prediction in language processing.
LaDy - Language in the Dyad. Linking linguistic and neural alignment
Current research in linguistics, psychology, and neuroscience predominantly focuses on the individual, neglecting the dynamic interplay between interlocutors as the primary form of communication. This project aims to address this limitation by investigating language and the brain in their most functional context, the dyad. The objective is to connect the cognitive mechanisms of dialogue with the neurophysiology of interacting brains.
The central theme of this project is the concept of alignment, since it is observed in both behaviour and brain activity. Linguistic alignment concerns the convergence of language use between interlocutors. Neural alignment refers to correlated brain activity between speakers and listeners. While tempting to assume both phenomena are related, at present this is an open question. This project sets out to investigate whether neural alignment is the brain's signature of linguistic alignment, and whether prediction is the mechanism that can link neural and linguistic alignment.
To achieve these objectives, the project employs a novel paradigm combining EEG hyper-scanning with interactive dyadic language games. Preliminary results highlight the feasibility of this novel paradigm to assess interactive naming behaviour. Using this approach, three work packages will explore (1) neural alignment for basic linguistic components, (2) the impact of prediction on alignment, and (3) the emergence of neural alignment in spontaneous linguistic interactions.
This interdisciplinary proposal has ground-breaking potential: If successful, the project will significantly advance our understanding of language in interaction, shed light on the role of prediction in the dyad, and provide a brain basis for models of dialogue and conversation. In sum, this comprehensive approach seeks to unravel the intricate connections between neural and linguistic alignment while exploring the role of prediction as a fundamental driver of these phenomena.
