Lars Meyer receives ERC Consolidator Grant from the EU

The European Research Council (ERC), which promotes cutting-edge research in Europe, has awarded Lars Meyer from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig the prestigious Consolidator Grant. For his project "Language in Balance: an Imprint of Brain Electrophysiology? (BALANG)”, he will receive funding of up to two million euros over the next five years.

 

In times of social upheaval, it is important that we talk to each other. Most of the time, we find it easy to understand language and follow each other. But why do we sometimes find it difficult? Why do we enjoy listening to some people but not others? The ERC project led by Lars Meyer explores these questions using imaging techniques, computer-assisted analysis of prose texts and political speeches, and experiments on aesthetic perception. The scientist suspects that our preference for certain content and certain ways of speaking is anchored in our brains: ‘Our brains probably only want to receive a certain amount of information – and that information should be spoken in a certain way. Then we like it – and we enjoy listening further.’ The planned studies aim to explain why our brains prefer a certain amount of information and a certain way of speaking – and why we often differ in our preferences. With his project, Lars Meyer is breaking down the boundaries between neuroscience, linguistics and empirical aesthetics.