Brain Signatures of Communication (BraiSiCo)

大量的神经科学研究已经解决了单词和句子的意义如何在大脑活动中表现出来的问题。然而，由于语言结构可以是用于不同目的的工具，因此理解单词或句子在不同交际语境中具有不同交际功能的机制至关重要。语言语用学理论将这些功能视为言语行为，并根据行为的顺序结构、相关承诺和交际伙伴共享的知识（共同点）来定义它们。在这里，我们使用语言-语用脑理论来模拟言语行为相关的认知和语言过程及其潜在的神经机制，并通过实验测试所得模型的关键预测。具体的实验将调查的认知和大脑相关的理解和生产的言语行为进行了相同的话语在不同的情况下。脑电图、脑磁图、功能磁共振成像和认知行为测试将用于发现言语行为的神经认知相关性，并计划对特殊人群（失语症患者、自闭症患者）进行额外的研究。重点将放在交际行为从语言语用类别的指令，这将是对比断言和表达。该项目的主要目的是映射特定的言语行为类型及其在空间和时间上的大脑激活模式的关键语言-语用组件，并使用这些结果为语言-语用理论提供信息。

Substantial neuroscience research has addressed the question how the meaning of words and sentences is manifest in brain activity. However, as linguistic structures can be tools for different purposes, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms underlying the different communicative functions a word or sentence can have in different communicative contexts. Linguistic pragmatic theories characterise these functions as speech acts, and the communicative contexts defining them, in terms of sequential structure of actions, related commitments, and knowledge shared by communication partners (common ground). We here use linguistic-pragmatic brain theory to model speech-act related cognitive and linguistic processes and their underlying neuronal mechanisms and experimentally test crucial predictions of the resultant models. Specific experiments will investigate the cognitive and brain correlates of understanding and production of speech acts performed with the same utterances in different contexts. EEG, MEG, fMRI, and cognitive-behavioural testing will be used to find neurocognitive correlates of speech acts, and additional work with special populations (aphasics, autists) is planned. A focus will be on communicative acts from the linguistic-pragmatic category of directives, which will be contrasted with assertives and expressives. The projects main aims are to map specific speech act types and their crucial linguistic-pragmatic components on brain activation patterns in both space and time and to use these results to inform linguistic-pragmatic theory.