# Syntactic control of lexical activation during speech production - Resubmission - 1

> **NIH NIH F32** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2022 · $67,581

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Language is a defining feature of being human. No other animal has the ability to systematically order words or
signs so as to communicate complex thoughts, nor does such complex communication play nearly as central a
role in other species. According to the NIDCD, roughly 1 million people in the United States have some form of
aphasia, or loss of linguistic ability. The consequences are devastating for individuals and families.
The power of language derives from a unique evolutionary development: syntax, the abstract rules that allow us
to combine finite words into infinitely many possible strings. Without syntax, communication is painstaking and
error-prone. Despite its centrality, little remains known about its neural instantiation. Previous research has
attempted to experimentally isolate syntax so as to localize it in the brain, but this approach has produced mixed
and inconsistent results. We take a novel approach, using electrocorticography (ECoG) to investigate a well-
defined component of syntax: sequencing, or selecting words in an order determined by syntax.
A main impediment to progress in understanding syntax at the neural level is a granularity mismatch problem.
Neuroscience tends to deal in broader conceptual distinctions, as evidenced by experimental manipulations that
attempt to isolate all of syntax. However, psycholinguistic models tend to be much finer grained, portraying
syntactic abilities as a conglomerate of processes and representations rather than a monolithic entity that can
be turned on or off. Here, we leverage computationally explicit models to make linking hypotheses between
cognitive processes and commensurate neural mechanisms. For instance, sequencing critically relies on a
binding mechanism for linking particular words to positions in a syntactic tree. The central hypothesis of this
proposal is that binding between syntax and words is instantiated as neural synchrony between regions encoding
syntax and those encoding words.
Our approach has a number of strengths. (1) As ECoG is largely insensitive to production artifacts, we will employ
a production paradigm, allowing us to more clearly isolate particular syntactic processes than traditional
comprehension studies. (2) ECoG has unparalleled spatial and temporal resolution. (3) Our research draws not
only from findings in neuroscience, but from computationally explicit psycholinguistic models, allowing us to test
hypotheses that have a high probability of being at least partially correct.
This project leverages the applicant’s expertise in linguistics and cognitive psychology, and complements this
background with additional training in neuroscience and signal processing. The applicant will be embedded in a
world-class research and clinical environment, with dedicated mentors who are leading experts in ECoG and the
neurobiology of language. The findings will deepen our understanding of normally functioning communication,
in line with the NID...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10537853
- **Project number:** 1F32DC019533-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Adam M Morgan
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $67,581
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-07-01 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10537853

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10537853, Syntactic control of lexical activation during speech production - Resubmission - 1 (1F32DC019533-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10537853. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*