Max planck institute for psycholinguistics

For more than three decades, the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics has been at the forefront of research into the foundations of language. Scientists at the institute investigate how children and adults acquire their language(s), how speaking and listening happen in real time, how the brain processes language, and how language is related to cognition and culture. Our approach to the science of language and communication is unique because we address these fundamental issues at multiple levels, from molecules and cells to circuits and brains, all the way through to behaviour of individuals and populations. This report illustrates the value of such an integrated strategy, describing major highlights in the life of the Institute for the years 2013 and 2014. For interested readers who want to learn more about the research, details can be found on the news archives, departmental pages and blogs of our website (www.mpi.nl), as well as in the many primary publications, review articles, chapters, books and PhD dissertations that we have produced during this time, examples of which are noted in the pages of this report.