ERC Consolidator Grant · 2025
Language in Balance: an Imprint of Brain Electrophysiology?
It has long been recognised that the brain functions in a neural balance of periodic and aperiodic activity. The significance of this is a matter of intense debate. It seems clear that such a fundamental neural balance would manifest as other forms of balance—in cognition and behaviour. BALANG pursues this idea for human language. Here, balance is described for both information and acoustics. We don’t like to hear the same old story, but being completely caught off guard isn’t pleasant either. Similarly, speech rhythm is neither monotone nor overly animated. I propose that the neural balance of periodic and aperiodic explains balance in language. Pilot data and prior literature suggest that…
From the public funding record at EU CORDIS. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.