The activities of the Laboratory include conducting research on the following topics: the behavioral and neurophysiological correlates of language processing, with particular focus on the processing of metaphors and non-literal meanings; language disorders, especially pragmatic language impairment; the evolution of linguistic abilities across the lifespan, with specific attention to the development of pragmatic and sociocommunicative skills in children and their decline in aging; the communicative impact of metaphors and figurative language, for instance in climate change communication; and the development of assessment and enhancement tools for linguistic—and specifically pragmatic—abilities across the lifespan and in pathological conditions. Among the various components of language investigated, syntax also represents a key area of interest, including its interaction with pragmatics, with particular attention to its neural correlates and its degeneration in pathological conditions. The methodologies employed include, in particular, the acquisition of behavioral responses, electrophysiological recording (EEG), as well as the use of computational and corpus-based approaches.

Ongoing research projects:
 

PI: Valentina Bambini
-    Processing Metaphors: Neurochronometry, Acquisition and Decay (PROMENADE), European Research Council (ERC). 
-    Promoting healthy aging by enhancing social interactions: intervention on the pragmatics of communication and theory of mind (PragmaToM)”, Velux Stiftung 
-    The Fragility of Metaphors (FraMe): learning, losing, and how to train them, PRIN
-    DIALOG: Understanding Disorganisation: A Language-focused Global Initiative in Psychosis, Wellcome Trust
 

PI: Luca Bischetti
-    Comprehending Humor in Children: Experience, Knowledge, and Neural Substrates (CHICKENS), MUR Young Researcher