Project description
Real-time language mapping in psychosis
Language is vulnerable in psychosis. Previous evidence shows that speech patterns in patients diverge both at conceptual and referential levels of meaning. The ERC-funded SENSOR project conceptualises grammar as a mechanism mediating the transition from lexical concepts in semantic memory to referential meaning in speech. Using magnetoencephalography, the team will implement an experiment to study brain reactions to lexical and referential semantic violations, at a millisecond resolution. They will hypothesise that the transition in question involves a cortical-hippocampal loop, which may be altered in psychosis. Overall, the project develops a new conceptual and experimental framework for a better understanding of the mechanistic basis of language anomalies in psychosis, and of language as such.
Objective
The distinction between sense and reference has been foundational in the study of linguistic meaning since Frege’s classic On sense and reference (1892). More than a century later, the neural correlates of reference remain opaque. Meanwhile in computational psychiatry, a burgeoning field uses computational neural language models (NLMs) to predict psychosis from spontaneous speech. Clear behavioural evidence has emerged that patients with psychosis navigate the semantic space differently when retrieving words and building them into grammatical structures, causing shifts in patterns that are detectable through computational semantic similarity and probabilistic metrics. We propose the new concept that (i) grammar plays a specific role in mapping concepts onto referents so as to construct a cognitive map, which (ii) can be tracked in real time at a millisecond level, (iii) involves a cortical-hippocampal loop, and (iv) is a neural mechanism vulnerable in psychosis. Using MEG with optically pumped magnetometers (OPM), we will implement a naturalistic story comprehension paradigm in which the construction of reference through grammar will be tracked and regressed on computational semantic metrics. We aim to generate value through a novel sustainable, theoretically and computationally grounded framework for the study of language in psychosis, which will enable a transition to the larger goal of fully exploiting spontaneous speech as a rich and multidimensional data source for clinical practice.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-POC
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
08002 Barcelona
Spain
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.