Neurolinguistics and Experimental Pragmatics Lab
The Laboratory of Neurolinguistics and Experimental Pragmatics (NEPLab), founded in March 2023, addresses the study of human language and its neurocognitive correlates, with a special focus on pragmatic processes. We investigate the brain signatures of language, as well as its development in children and decay in the lifespan and clinical groups, mainly combining neurolinguistics and experimental pragmatics methods.
Metaphor is the queen of the Lab: we see metaphor as the pinnacle of human interpretative capacity, and we are strongly committed to investigating how it is learned, how it is lost, and how the brain derives its meaning. We also look at metaphors in the world, for instance how they can be used to communicate climate change or to describe the most personal nuances of human experiences. We are devoting great attention to language impairment, assessing pragmatic profiles across a range of conditions, from schizophrenia to neurological diseases. In addition to developing novel assessment tools (APACS is the main one), we have also designed tools to improve pragmatic skills, to encourage the clinical translation of our findings.
The NEPLab crew is also interested in other phenomena, such as humor and the interface between language and syntax, and how to incorporate computational tools into clinical and neurophysiological investigations. Theoretically, we are (post)Gricean and Chomskyan at the same time, and we strive to advance theoretical accounts with experimental findings.
Social #NEPLab
Don't miss the first #IUSSLinguisticsSeminar of the 2025 series: EEG source connectivity in neuropsychiatric disorders: the case of schizophrenia, w/ Prof. Giorgio Di Lorenzo (@unitorvergata)
— Federico Frau (@federico_frau) February 6, 2025
🗓️February 10, 3.30-5.00 pm CET
📍@IussPavia
Zoom link: https://t.co/HY7cKt6KWr#NEPLab pic.twitter.com/rvYQM1TjNR
Applying NLP and metaphor analysis to understand the subjective experience of physical restraint in psychiatric settings. Our new study, in collaboration with seven mental health services in Italy https://t.co/icy1qmqmZW #NEPLab @IussPavia @SciReports @cbarattieri_eu @BScalingi
— Valentina Bambini (@VBambini) January 22, 2025
I can't wait to discuss one of my favorite topics with the team of the PRIN Project "Metaphor & Epistemic Injustice in Mental Illness" (@fraervas @sophia_79 & Francesca Ferri). I'll bring a neuropragmatic perspective & our works on metaphor comprehension in schizophrenia #NEPLab pic.twitter.com/wpMuVdjE4H
— Federico Frau (@federico_frau) January 22, 2025
Yesterday I had the pleasure to present a study on #MultimodalMachineLearning in #Schizophrenia, highlighting the key role of #Language in predicting symptom severity. It was very nice to meet people from the #2ndItalianConferenceofComputationalPsychiatry in #Parma!#NepLab pic.twitter.com/OOTH8lGNj2
— Biagio Scalingi (@BScalingi) November 30, 2024