The dynamic interactive neurocognitive systems underpinning language and semantic cognition, and their disorders.

A stroke or dementia patient’s ability to speak, understand, or find the right word can be shattered, leaving them isolated and dependent. This matters because language impairments are not rare—they cut across stroke, multiple forms of dementia, and acute neurological disease, yet the brain mechanisms that support healthy language and allow partial recovery remain poorly understood. Without a clear picture of how the mind stays flexible and efficient under normal conditions, clinicians cannot predict why recovery varies so widely between patients or design rehabilitation that actually works. The research programme will combine brain imaging, brain stimulation, computer models, and advanced mathematical analysis to map the dynamic interactive systems that underpin language and semantic cognition. It will study both healthy people and patients, aiming to uncover the computations and brain processes that allow language to function, break down after damage, and sometimes rebuild. If successful, this work could directly inform rehabilitation strategies tailored to individual patients, improving their ability to communicate and re-engage with personal, social, and professional life. It is fundamental science with a clear clinical target—understanding the core machinery of language to fix it when it breaks.