This October, the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) annual meeting in Chicago, which runs from October 5 to 9, 2024, is set to feature a standout symposium chaired by Alejandra Hüsser and Huw Swanborough of LiZZ&LiRI. Titled From Womb to Words: Pre-linguistic Neurodevelopment of Language, this symposium will explore the intricate journey of language development from before birth to the emergence of speech.
The development of the neural circuitry underpinning language begins long before linguistic speech production, starting prenatally and changing rapidly during infancy. This period is crucial for infant-to-parent communication and can predict healthy or pathological language outcomes. The session focuses on early neurolinguistic maturation, offering insights into recent breakthroughs and ongoing research, thereby underlining the importance of language abilities for a child’s overall development.
The goal of the symposium is to provide an overview of this developmental trajectory, with specific deep dives along it, and to highlight how this "pre-speech" period of language development is an important, distinct field of research.
Alejandra will co-chair and present her work on the Neuronal basis of language production in the fetal brain, alongside five other top-notch researchers from Europe and the US, bringing a diverse mix of expertise and perspectives to the session.
And there's more—while still in the approval stages, the team aims to make a significant impact by also participating in the Advances and Perspectives in Auditory Neuroscience satellite conference and showcasing posters at the SfN itself. This ensures that LiZZ&LiRI, especially the Neurolinguistics lab, will have a prominent presence.
The SfN annual meeting is a major event for neuroscience enthusiasts worldwide, offering opportunities to share groundbreaking research, discover the latest in science, and connect with fellow researchers. For those interested in the foundational stages of language acquisition, this symposium is not to be missed.
Stay tuned for more information and keep an eye on the
SfN website for updates.
