This position, within the FWO-funded STATMIND project, investigates how prior linguistic knowledge shapes the statistical learning of new linguistic regularities. The researcher will develop computational measures from language corpora and Distributional Semantic Models and use them to design experiments and model how prior knowledge influences the learning of novel words, in collaboration with Ghent University (Prof. Louisa Bogaerts) and based at the University of Pavia (Prof. Luca Rinaldi). 

This position investigates how linguistic representations contribute to mental representations and cognitive control, combining computational models of semantic knowledge with behavioural and EEG measures. The researcher will design and implement experiments, collect and analyse behavioural and neurophysiological data, and integrate computational and cognitive-neuroscience approaches to study the relationship between language, mental representations and cognitive conflict. 

We seek a highly motivated candidate with a background in Psychology/Computer Science/Engineering/Cognitive Neuroscience, with interests in human brain imaging and neurofeedback technologies. The RA will be involved in all steps of the research: experimental design, data collection, development of analysis pipelines.