The primary goal of this application is to promote research and training in the neurobiology of speech and language via support for an annual scientific conference, the Neurobiology of Language Conference (NLC). The NLC fills a much-needed gap in scientific meetings on the neural basis of language by emphasizing the strongest work on the integration of neuroscience research and communication disorders with cognitive, linguistic, psycholinguistic, perceptual, and motor control models of speech and language. We have the following five specific aims. (1) To support an annual meeting on the Neurobiology of Language with the aim of providing a forum for the interaction of researchers in the full range of allied areas including neuroscience, genetics, communications disorders, cognitive psychology, linguistics, psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics, perception, motor control, computational modeling, and neural and psychophysical methods. (2) To expand the breadth of knowledge of researchers in the field by bringing in distinguished keynote speakers in neuroscience and biology. (3) To advance the training and education in the neurobiology of language by providing student scholarships for conference attendance. (4) To promote diversity in the field by providing scholarships for conference attendance to under-represented groups. Because the NLC meeting brings together a broad range of language scientists who don't normally interact regularly, we believe the meeting will lead to valuable new interactions, collaborations, and novel ideas in the Neurobiology of Language, including both basic scientific findings and applied findings in physiologically-based therapies for neurogenic language disorders.
Language disorders affect millions of people in the United States. There is an extensive research community, with much of this research funded by NIDCD, which targets both basic and clinically-oriented research on the neural basis of language and language disorders. By providing a forum for the communication of new research findings and emerging trends, the Neurobiology of Language Conference will play a pivotal role in scientific progress aimed at understanding, diagnosing, and treating language disorders.
