The Research Center for Language, Brain and Cognition
Following a successful government-sponsored five-year 21st Center of Excellence (COE) research project, the Research Center for Language, Brain and Cognition (LBC) was established in April 2007. The LBC is an intra-university institute aimed at utilizing and enriching the academic heritage of the COE project, continuing a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding the biological nature of human language.
It has long been a mystery how different areas of the brain function when human beings comprehend and produce language. Previously, language function in the brain was considered an impermeable “black box”. However, during the last ten or so years, non-invasive brain function techniques, such as functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and Magnetoencephalography (MEG), have made it possible for us to see which parts of the brain are activated when we are engaged in language processing. The LBC Center aims to uncover the language mechanism in the brain, which has been hitherto considered a mysterious “black box”.
The LBC Center consists of researchers with various linguistic backgrounds as its core, supported by researchers from other disciplines, such as brain sciences, psychology, and information sciences. In addition to devoting itself to research, the LBC Center collaborates with the GSICS in conducting an MA program, the ‘International Graduate Program in Language Sciences’, which is conducted entirely in English. Through this program the LBC Center commits itself to functioning as an educational institute as well. As part of educational activities, the LBC Center regularly conducts colloquiums, public lectures, and both domestic and international symposia on various topics of language sciences; and these events are widely open to the general public.
For more information
LBC Research Center Website