14.05.2019 The opening of the Neuroscience of Language Laboratory

On May 14, 2019, the Neuroscience of Language Laboratory at the Faculty of English was officially opened. The laboratory is currently located in the building of the Wielkopolska Center for Advanced Technologies (WCZT).
The Neuroscience of Language Laboratory is a place where language processing is studied with the use of an electroencephalograph. The use of electroencephalography (EEG) in language research allows to record the bioelectrical activity of the brain while the participants of research perform various tasks, for example read words presented on a computer screen. The system allows simultaneous recording of electroencephalographic signals from 64 active electrodes.
This important event gathered a large group of distinguished guests such as Pro-rector of AMU, prof. dr hab. Marek Nawrocki; director of the Center of Advanced Technologies, prof. dr hab. Bronisław Marciniak; prof. Guillaume Thierry from Bangor University in the UK; Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Modern Languages, prof. dr hab. Maciej Karpiński; and head of the Action and Cognition Research Laboratory at the Institute of Psychology, prof. dr hab. Grzegorz Króliczak.
The ceremony began with a short speech by the UAM Vice-Rector, prof. dr hab. Marek Nawrocki, who expressed great joy at the creation of another research laboratory at AMU, especially in the context of AMU’s efforts to obtain the status of a research university. Then, in a short speech, the director of the Center of Advanced Technologies, prof. dr hab. Bronisław Marciniak expressed his joy at the fact that the laboratory is located in the WCZT building. Dean of the Faculty of English, prof. dr hab. Katarzyna Dziubalska-Kołaczyk noted in a short speech that the establishment of the Neuroscience of Language Laboratory will contribute to further development of interdisciplinary research in the field of language processing, conducted at the Faculty of English for many years.
After the speeches, the head of the laboratory, Dr. Karolina Rataj, briefly presented the research activities that contributed to the establishment of the laboratory at the Faculty of English. This presentation was followed by a ribbon cutting ceremony and a short visit to the laboratory, during which the system for measuring and analyzing electroencephalographic signals, was presented. After this presentation, our special guest, prof. Guillaume Thierry gave a short speech on the use of electroencephalography in language processing research. After a short break for refreshments, and at the end of the ceremony, prof. Guillaume Thierry gave a lecture entitled: Wired words: How EEG advances our understanding of language. Read more here.