How Language Emerges in the Brain: From Networks to Individual Diversity

This webinar will introduce contemporary models of the neurobiology of language, moving beyond classical localisation accounts towards network-based and connectional perspectives. The presentation will consider how cortical regions, white-matter pathways and distributed functional networks collectively support language, and how these systems vary across individuals. Particular attention will be given to evidence from neuroimaging, tractography and lesion studies, including implications for language mapping and recovery following neurological injury.

The session will also discuss why linguistic and population diversity matter for both neuroscience and clinical practice and how studying a broader range of languages and speakers can refine current models of language organisation in the brain. Examples from our ongoing research programme will illustrate how anatomical, functional and clinical evidence can be integrated towards a more inclusive neurobiology of language. For speech-language therapists, the emphasis will be on how network neuroscience can inform interpretation of language impairments, individual differences in recovery, and the limits of applying standardised neurobiological models to every patient.