Evelina Fedorenko

Join Evelina Fedorenko, an MIT Associate Professor exploring the brain's language functions, along with Steve Piantadosi, a UC Berkeley expert on child language acquisition, and Gary Lupyan, who investigates language evolution at UW-Madison. They delve into the dynamic interplay between language and thought, discussing whether intelligence emerges from language or the other way around. The conversation touches on the challenges posed by large language models to traditional linguistics, individual cognitive processes, and the fascinating disconnect between language abilities and reasoning skills.

Evelina Fedorenko, a neuroscientist and MIT professor, dives into the brain's language processing. She explains how language connects with cognition and categorization. Fedorenko discusses insights from bilingualism, revealing different neurological pathways for multilingual speakers. The conversation takes a fascinating turn as she explores non-verbal semantics, showing how meaning can arise without words. Additionally, she examines the intriguing relationship between language and music while highlighting the role of AI in understanding neural functions.

Dr. Evelina Fedorenko, a cognitive neuroscientist at MIT, is at the forefront of understanding how our brain processes language. In this conversation, she reveals that our inner monologue might be an illusion and discusses how AI models like GPT mimic human cerebral activity. The exploration covers the relationship between language and thought, the distinct regions in our brains responsible for them, and the process hyperpolyglots use to learn multiple languages. Lastly, the podcast dives into the philosophical questions around AI consciousness and its implications for neuroscience.