Programme

The Course in Neuroscience of Communication and Language aims to introduce students to the understanding of the neurocognitive correlates of communicative and linguistic competences. After defining the concept of competence, the focus will shift to communicative competence. In particular, the course will explore the features of both non-verbal and verbal communicative competences. The structural and cognitive characteristics of human language will be analyzed, highlighting the interactions between different cognitive systems (e.g., memory, attention, executive functions) and perceptual systems (e.g., visual or auditory perception) and language. Furthermore, the most recent cognitive models of language production and comprehension will be presented, drawing on findings from studies based on observations of patients with language disorders as well as healthy subjects through the use of neuroimaging techniques.

Core Documentation

The lectures will be accompanied by slides. The slides will be made available to students. For English books, please refer to professor Marini at the following e-mail address: andrea.marini@uniud.it

Reference Bibliography

For English books, please refer to professor Marini at the following e-mail address: andrea.marini@uniud.it

Attendance

Class attendance is not required, but it is strongly advised.

Type of evaluation

The assessment will consist of a test made up of 31 multiple-choice questions, each with 1 correct answer and 3 incorrect ones. For each wrong or missing answer, 0 points are awarded. For each correct answer, 1 point is awarded, for a maximum total score of 31, which corresponds to 30 with honors.