To what extent do pragmatic cues from disfluencies inform our predictions of spoken language during naturalistic language processing?. New paper by Eleanor Huizeling & al. with Peter Hagoort doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2026.04.018

Can AI really understand language — or is it just predicting words? On 18 May, researchers at a public symposium in Amsterdam will explore how AI is reshaping ideas about language, cognition, and intelligence. [see below for more information]

Want to contribute to language research and earn €17.50? We’re looking for participants for a study with: 📍 1 session at the Max Planck Institute in Nijmegen 💻 1 online session from home ⏱️ Max. 30 minutes per session 🖼️ Task: naming pictures [follow thread for more info]

Altered theory of mind engagement and neural alignment in social anxiety during movie viewing. New paper by Saskia B.J. Koch & al. with Peter Hagoort doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsgos.2026.100721

The role of presentational timing in acquiring novel written and spoken word forms. New paper by Johanna Funk, @falkhuettig.bsky.social & @florian-hintz.bsky.social doi.org/10.1037/xge0001915

The ontogeny of vocal rhythms in a non-human primate. New paper by Lia Laffi & al. with @andrearavignani.bsky.social doi.org/10.1111/desc.70189

Who's next? Turn anticipation in Dutch preschoolers with and without developmental language disorder. New paper by Imme Lammertink, @carorowland.bsky.social & Marisa Casillas doi.org/10.1044/2025_JSLHR-25-00180

With our wonderful Head of Library retiring after years of commitment to the Institute, we are excited to welcome a new colleague who will lead the library into its next chapter. [1/4]

Auditory mismatch-negativity predicts response to dorsomedial prefrontal intermittent theta-burst stimulation in major depressive disorder. New paper by Marcus Anderson & al. with Hatice Zora doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2026.121908

Working memory capacity predicts sensitivity to prosodic structure. New paper by @stan-vd-burght.bsky.social & Antje Meyer doi.org/10.1037/xhp0001412 Paper: tinyurl.com/3zrstrmr

Adults mark the communicative relevance of their gestures more for children than for other adult. Final version by @anitaslonimska.bsky.social , @asliozyurek.bsky.social & Emanuela Campisi doi.org/10.1080/0163853X.2026.2618464

Development of event segmentation in language and cognition: Evidence from dwell times and eye movements. New paper by Bilge Tınaz & @ercenurunal.bsky.social doi.org/10.1111/cogs.70212

For a year and a half, @carorowland.bsky.social, @lehersingh.bsky.social, Marisa Casillas, Shanley Allen, and I have been meeting to discuss whether innateness is still a useful concept to think about in studying language acquisition. Here's our take: osf.io/preprints/ps...

Validating dynamic time warping as a measure of gesture form similarity. New paper by @shoakamine.bsky.social , @dingemansemark.bsky.social & @asliozyurek.bsky.social doi.org/10.3758/s13428-026-02975-5

Parental gestural math input and children's math skills: An intervention study. New paper by Begüm Yılmaz & al. with @dilaykaradoller.bsky.social doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2026.101951 Paper: tinyurl.com/d9xkyej5

Closing editorial for the special issue of Cortex: Neurocognitive perspectives on discourse and connected language. Final version by Brielle C. Stark, @andreaeyleen.bsky.social & Jamie Reilly doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2026.03.008

Quantifier-specific usage patterns shape learning—A corpus analysis on universal quantifiers in English and Dutch child-directed language. Final version by @miekeslim.bsky.social , Elizabeth Tobyn & @carorowland.bsky.social doi.org/10.1177/01427237251385837

How Vietnamese tackle Japanese Kanji: Key factors behind handwriting competence in Japanese. New paper by Katsuo Tamaoka & al. with Rinus Verdonschot doi.org/10.3389/flang.2026.1705688

Gesture as a mechanism of change in the interface between spatial language and cognitive development. New paper by @dilaykaradoller.bsky.social , @ercenurunal.bsky.social , @beyzasumer.bsky.social , Demet Özer & @asliozyurek.bsky.social doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2026.101694

Repetition leads to short-term reduction of word frequency and name agreement effects: Evidence from a Dutch two-session picture naming experiment. Final version by Caitlin Decuyper, Ruth E. Corps and Antje S Meyer doi.org/10.1177/17470218251365517

Multiple repetitions lead to the long-term elimination of the word frequency effect. Final version by Ruth Corps and Antje Meyer doi.org/10.1037/xlm0001486 Paper: tinyurl.com/4d5e5v4w

Patterns of language and visuospatial Lateralisation in three-year-old children. Final version by Josephine Quin-Conroy & al. with @profsimonfisher.bsky.social @clydefrancks.bsky.social doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109434

MINT 2026 is a new workshop dedicated to multimodal, face-to-face AI interaction. Co-located with hashtag#EMNLP 2026 in Budapest (24–29 October 2026), MINT focuses on how humans really communicate: through not just words, but also gestures, gaze, and facial expressions. [1/3]

Conserved sleep disturbances in FOXP1 syndrome originate from developmental dysregulation of peptidergic signaling, New paper by Mireia Coll-Tané & al. with @profsimonfisher.bsky.social doi.org/10.1172/JCI193475

Student job alert in Nijmegen! Are you a native Dutch-speaking student at Radboud University with a passion for language, AI, or psychology? We are hiring 2 Student Assistants. www.mpi.nl/career-educa...

More than words: Effects of grammaticality and lexical surprisal in self-paced reading. New paper by @sophieslaats.bsky.social , Antje Meyer, and @andreaeyleen.bsky.social. doi.org/10.1016/j.co....

Closing Editorial For the Special Issue of Cortex: Neurocognitive Perspectives on Discourse and Connected Language. New publication by Brielle Stark, @andreaeyleen.bsky.social and Jamie Reilly. doi.org/10.1016/j.co...

Linguistic structure and language familiarity sharpen phoneme encoding in the brain. New paper by @tezcanfiliz.bsky.social , @sannetenoever.bsky.social, Fan Bai, Noémie te Rietmolen and @andreaeyleen.bsky.social. doi.org/10.1038/s420....

How bilingualism influences language processing in the developing brain: A systematic review of the neurobiological evidence. New paper by Chih Yeh , @carorowland.bsky.social & Sergio Miguel Pereira Soares doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2026.101262

Cognate effects on bilingual lexical–semantic processing in children: Insights from ERPs. New paper by Chih Yeh & al. With @carorowland.bsky.social , Sergio Miguel Pereira Soares. doi.org/10.3390/bs16020294

Disfluencies reduce the effect of uh… word surprisal during narrative comprehension. New paper by @laura-giglio.bsky.social , Peter Hagoort & Eleanor Huizeling doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2026.02.017

Patterns of Language and Visuospatial Lateralisation in Three-Year-Old Children. New paper by Josephine Quin-Conroy et al. with @profsimonfisher.bsky.social and @clydefrancks.bsky.social. doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...

Search efficiency drives reference production across modalities, but colour is special. New paper by Merrick Giles, Paula Rubio-Fernandez, & Francis Mollica doi.org/10.1162/OPMI.a.337

Linguistic experience and processing speed differentially affect lexical retrieval and structural assembly during language production. New paper by @florian-hintz.bsky.social & Mohammad Momenian doi.org/10.3758/s13421-026-01861-x

Structural and functional brain asymmetry in relation to heterogeneous causes of situs inversus totalis. New paper by @meng-yun.bsky.social & al. with Nicole Ying Ting Ng, Else Eising, @profsimonfisher.bsky.social , @clydefrancks.bsky.social doi.org/10.1007/s00429-026-03098-5

We’re looking for English native speakers (age 18–35) to take part in a short and fun online, PAID language experiment! You can participate anytime, anywhere, if you: (read comments)

𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻: 𝗠𝗮𝘅 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗪𝟮) An exciting opportunity for outstanding researchers ready to lead an independent research group and shape the future of multimodal language research. Learn more and apply here: www.mpi.nl/career-educa...

Last week, InScience Film Festival visitors could dive into a showcase in human–robot interaction by Chinmaya Mishra and Tila Pronk to a fascinating talk by Koen de Reus on seal communication, and Selim Sametoğlu’s discussion on 'doomscrolling'. Read the full wrap-up here www.mpi.nl/news/mpi-res...

Neonatal auditory input affects vocal development in harbour seals. New paper by Teresa Raimondi & al. with Koen de Reus, Yannick Jadoul, @andrearavignani.bsky.social doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2024.0369

Biological underpinnings and genetic predisposition to schizophrenia within microrna-137 regulatory pathways across brain development. New paper by Carol Stella & al. with @luciadehoyos.bsky.social doi.org/10.1038/s41398-026-03859-0

New on MPI TalkLing: “The Average Brain Doesn’t Exist”. Lilit Dulyan explains why the idea of a single “typical” brain misses what makes our brains uniquely variable, and how researchers still make sense of all that diversity. 👇 www.mpi-talkling.mpi.nl?p=2854&lang=en

Abstracts open for MPAL 2026! 28–30 Oct 2026 | Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen + online 🗓 Submit by 15 May 2026 (midnight, anywhere). Theme: variation in child language acquisition. Join us, more info: www.mpi.nl/news/abstrac...

Moore perspective-taking: An experimental investigation of the acceptability of Moorean conjunctions. New paper by Peter van Elswyk & Paula Rubio-Fernandez doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2026.106485

In this new review in Nature Reviews Psychology our researchers Judith Holler and Anna K. Kuhlen argue that conversation is not simply one person speaking while another listens. It is more like a partnership between minds. www.mpi.nl/news/why-con...

Psycholinguistic perspectives on face-to-face conversation. New paper by @judithholler.bsky.social & Anna K. Kuhlen doi.org/10.1038/s44159-026-00538-1 rdcu.be/e4rlV

Common ground: Between formal pragmatics and psycholinguistics. New paper by Paula Rubio-Fernandez & Daniel W. Harris doi.org/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-041824-032410

Adults mark the communicative relevance of their gestures more for children than for other adults. New paper by @anitaslonimska.bsky.social @asliozyurek.bsky.social and Emanuela Campisi. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.....

Why does one song give you chills - but not your friend? Research shows genetics explain part of it, life experience does the rest. Even goosebumps have a backstory. www.mpi.nl/news/genetic... #science #music #art #emotion #genetics

Koen de Reus recorded 1,000+ hours of pup calls for his PhD at our Institute and Radboud University, with @pieterburen.bsky.social He discovered seal pups take turns when they ‘talk’ and even develop local accents. Surprisingly human! #LanguageEvolution #VocalLearning

Genetic underpinnings of chills from art and music. New paper by @giacomobignardi.bsky.social , @danielleadmiraal.bsky.social , Else Eising & @profsimonfisher.bsky.social doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1012002