Project acronym BLENDS
Project Between Direct and Indirect Discourse: Shifting Perspective in Blended Discourse
Researcher (PI) Emar Maier
Host Institution (HI) RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH4, ERC-2010-StG_20091209
Summary A fundamental feature of language is that it allows us to reproduce what others have said. It is traditionally assumed that there
are two ways of doing this: direct discourse, where you preserve the original speech act verbatim, and indirect discourse,
where you paraphrase it in your own words. In accordance with this dichotomy, linguists have posited a number of universal
characteristics to distinguish the two modes. At the same time, we are seeing more and more examples that seem to fall
somewhere in between. I reject the direct indirect distinction and replace it with a new paradigm of blended discourse.
Combining insights from philosophy and linguistics, my framework has only one kind of speech reporting, in which a speaker
always attempts to convey the content of the reported words from her own perspective, but can quote certain parts verbatim,
thereby effectively switching to the reported perspective.
To explain why some languages are shiftier than others, I hypothesize that a greater distance from face-to-face
communication, with the possibility of extra- and paralinguistic perspective marking, necessitated the introduction of
an artificial direct indirect separation. I test this hypothesis by investigating languages that are closely tied to direct
communication: Dutch child language, as recent studies hint at a very late acquisition of the direct indirect distinction; Dutch
Sign Language, which has a special role shift marker that bears a striking resemblance to the quotational shift of blended
discourse; and Ancient Greek, where philologists have long been observing perspective shifts.
In sum, my research combines a new philosophical insight on the nature of reported speech with formal semantic rigor and
linguistic data from child language experiments, native signers, and Greek philology.
Summary
A fundamental feature of language is that it allows us to reproduce what others have said. It is traditionally assumed that there
are two ways of doing this: direct discourse, where you preserve the original speech act verbatim, and indirect discourse,
where you paraphrase it in your own words. In accordance with this dichotomy, linguists have posited a number of universal
characteristics to distinguish the two modes. At the same time, we are seeing more and more examples that seem to fall
somewhere in between. I reject the direct indirect distinction and replace it with a new paradigm of blended discourse.
Combining insights from philosophy and linguistics, my framework has only one kind of speech reporting, in which a speaker
always attempts to convey the content of the reported words from her own perspective, but can quote certain parts verbatim,
thereby effectively switching to the reported perspective.
To explain why some languages are shiftier than others, I hypothesize that a greater distance from face-to-face
communication, with the possibility of extra- and paralinguistic perspective marking, necessitated the introduction of
an artificial direct indirect separation. I test this hypothesis by investigating languages that are closely tied to direct
communication: Dutch child language, as recent studies hint at a very late acquisition of the direct indirect distinction; Dutch
Sign Language, which has a special role shift marker that bears a striking resemblance to the quotational shift of blended
discourse; and Ancient Greek, where philologists have long been observing perspective shifts.
In sum, my research combines a new philosophical insight on the nature of reported speech with formal semantic rigor and
linguistic data from child language experiments, native signers, and Greek philology.
Max ERC Funding
677 254 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-03-01, End date: 2016-08-31
Project acronym BRAINBALANCE
Project Rebalancing the brain:
Guiding brain recovery after stroke
Researcher (PI) Alexander Thomas Sack
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITEIT MAASTRICHT
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH4, ERC-2010-StG_20091209
Summary Damage to parietal cortex after stroke causes patients to become unaware of large parts of their surroundings and body parts. This so-called spatial neglect is hypothesised to be brought about by a stroke-induced imbalance between the left and right hemisphere. Some patients experience a partial recovery of lost abilities, but the factors that drive this rebalancing are unknown. The research proposed here will overcome this bottleneck in our understanding of the brain recovery phenomenon, and develop therapeutic approaches that for the first time will control, steer and speed up brain rebalancing after stroke. To that goal, we introduce a revolutionary approach in which TMS, fMRI, and EEG are applied simultaneously in healthy human volunteers to artificially unbalance the brain, and then study and control processes of rebalancing. Because we are one of the few groups worldwide that has accomplished this methodology, and that has the expertise to fully analyse the data it will yield, we are in a unique position to deliver both fundamental insights into brain plasticity, and derived new therapies. In brief, we will use TMS to (i) mimic spatial neglect in healthy volunteers while simultaneously monitoring the underlying neural network effects using fMRI/EEG, and to (ii) determine which exact brain reorganisation leads to an optimal behavioral recovery after injury. Importantly, we will use cutting-edge fMRI pattern recognition and machine learning algorithms to predict which concrete TMS treatment will specifically support this optimal functional reorganisation in the unbalanced brain. Finally, we will directly translate these fundamental findings into clinical practise and apply novel TMS protocols to rebalance the brain in patients suffering from parietal stroke.
Summary
Damage to parietal cortex after stroke causes patients to become unaware of large parts of their surroundings and body parts. This so-called spatial neglect is hypothesised to be brought about by a stroke-induced imbalance between the left and right hemisphere. Some patients experience a partial recovery of lost abilities, but the factors that drive this rebalancing are unknown. The research proposed here will overcome this bottleneck in our understanding of the brain recovery phenomenon, and develop therapeutic approaches that for the first time will control, steer and speed up brain rebalancing after stroke. To that goal, we introduce a revolutionary approach in which TMS, fMRI, and EEG are applied simultaneously in healthy human volunteers to artificially unbalance the brain, and then study and control processes of rebalancing. Because we are one of the few groups worldwide that has accomplished this methodology, and that has the expertise to fully analyse the data it will yield, we are in a unique position to deliver both fundamental insights into brain plasticity, and derived new therapies. In brief, we will use TMS to (i) mimic spatial neglect in healthy volunteers while simultaneously monitoring the underlying neural network effects using fMRI/EEG, and to (ii) determine which exact brain reorganisation leads to an optimal behavioral recovery after injury. Importantly, we will use cutting-edge fMRI pattern recognition and machine learning algorithms to predict which concrete TMS treatment will specifically support this optimal functional reorganisation in the unbalanced brain. Finally, we will directly translate these fundamental findings into clinical practise and apply novel TMS protocols to rebalance the brain in patients suffering from parietal stroke.
Max ERC Funding
1 344 853 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-04-01, End date: 2016-03-31
Project acronym BRAINDEVELOPMENT
Project How brain development underlies advances in cognition and emotion in childhood and adolescence
Researcher (PI) Eveline Adriana Maria Crone
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITEIT LEIDEN
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH4, ERC-2010-StG_20091209
Summary Thanks to the recent advances in mapping brain activation during task performance using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (i.e., studying the brain in action), it is now possible to study one of the oldest questions in psychology: how the development of neural circuitry underlies the development of cognition and emotion. The ‘Storm and Stress’ of adolescence, a period during which adolescents develop cognitively with great speed but are also risk-takers and sensitive to opinions of their peer group, has puzzled scientists for centuries. New technologies of brain mapping have the potential to shed new light on the mystery of adolescence. The approach proposed here concerns the investigation of brain regions which underlie developmental changes in cognitive, emotional and social-emotional functions over the course of child and adolescent development.
For this purpose I will measure functional brain development longitudinally across the age range 8-20 years by using a combined cross-sectional longitudinal design including 240 participants. Participants will take part in two testing sessions over a four-year-period in order to track the within-subject time courses of functional brain development for cognitive, emotional and social-emotional functions and to understand how these functions develop relative to each other in the same individuals, using multilevel models for change. The cross-sectional longitudinal assessment of cognitive, emotional and social-emotional functional brain development in relation to brain structure and hormone levels is unique in the international field and has the potential to provide new explanations for old questions. The application of brain mapping combined with multilevel models for change is original, and allows for the examination of developmental trajectories rather than age comparisons. An integrative mapping (i.e., combined with task performance and with biological markers) of functional brain development is important not only for theory development, but also for understanding how children learn new tasks and participate in a complex social world, and eventually to tailor educational programs to the needs of children.
Summary
Thanks to the recent advances in mapping brain activation during task performance using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (i.e., studying the brain in action), it is now possible to study one of the oldest questions in psychology: how the development of neural circuitry underlies the development of cognition and emotion. The ‘Storm and Stress’ of adolescence, a period during which adolescents develop cognitively with great speed but are also risk-takers and sensitive to opinions of their peer group, has puzzled scientists for centuries. New technologies of brain mapping have the potential to shed new light on the mystery of adolescence. The approach proposed here concerns the investigation of brain regions which underlie developmental changes in cognitive, emotional and social-emotional functions over the course of child and adolescent development.
For this purpose I will measure functional brain development longitudinally across the age range 8-20 years by using a combined cross-sectional longitudinal design including 240 participants. Participants will take part in two testing sessions over a four-year-period in order to track the within-subject time courses of functional brain development for cognitive, emotional and social-emotional functions and to understand how these functions develop relative to each other in the same individuals, using multilevel models for change. The cross-sectional longitudinal assessment of cognitive, emotional and social-emotional functional brain development in relation to brain structure and hormone levels is unique in the international field and has the potential to provide new explanations for old questions. The application of brain mapping combined with multilevel models for change is original, and allows for the examination of developmental trajectories rather than age comparisons. An integrative mapping (i.e., combined with task performance and with biological markers) of functional brain development is important not only for theory development, but also for understanding how children learn new tasks and participate in a complex social world, and eventually to tailor educational programs to the needs of children.
Max ERC Funding
1 500 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-02-01, End date: 2016-01-31
Project acronym COLUMNARCODECRACKING
Project Cracking the columnar-level code in the visual hierarchy: Ultra high-field functional MRI, neuro-cognitive modelling and high-resolution brain-computer interfaces
Researcher (PI) Rainer Goebel
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITEIT MAASTRICHT
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH4, ERC-2010-AdG_20100407
Summary "Recent developments of high-field functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have advanced the level of functional detail to sub-millimetre spatial resolution. This is of critical importance because in the mammalian cortex, small functional cortical patches appear to constitute fundamental units of brain function. These functional units are often organized as ""cortical columns"" that contain clusters of neurons with similar functional preferences. The present project will investigate what ""features"" are coded by functional “columnar-level” units in the visual cortex, how represented entities can be decoded from distributed activity patterns, and how modelled intra- and inter-areal connections between feature representations enable neuro-cognitive computations. The research of this project strives towards a new level of insight in the functional organization of the human brain: Instead of describing observed fMRI activity at the level of specialized brain areas, the focus will be shifted towards the content coded within brain regions. The project investigates columnar-level coding in three cross-fertilising sub-projects. In the first sub-project, sophisticated experimental designs, ultra high-field fMRI and advanced data analyses will be combined to unravel columnar-level feature representations and the entities represented by distributed patterns at different levels of the visual hierarchy. In the second sub-project, a large-scale neural network model will be developed with the major goal to integrate measured columnar-level representations in a new theory of invariant object recognition and visual attention. In the third sub-project, high-resolution Brain Computer Interfaces (hr-BCIs) will be created that are based on information extracted from columnar-level representations. The hr-BCIs will implement highly content-specific neurofeedback tools for therapeutic treatment, and advanced communication devices for patients with severe motor impairments."
Summary
"Recent developments of high-field functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have advanced the level of functional detail to sub-millimetre spatial resolution. This is of critical importance because in the mammalian cortex, small functional cortical patches appear to constitute fundamental units of brain function. These functional units are often organized as ""cortical columns"" that contain clusters of neurons with similar functional preferences. The present project will investigate what ""features"" are coded by functional “columnar-level” units in the visual cortex, how represented entities can be decoded from distributed activity patterns, and how modelled intra- and inter-areal connections between feature representations enable neuro-cognitive computations. The research of this project strives towards a new level of insight in the functional organization of the human brain: Instead of describing observed fMRI activity at the level of specialized brain areas, the focus will be shifted towards the content coded within brain regions. The project investigates columnar-level coding in three cross-fertilising sub-projects. In the first sub-project, sophisticated experimental designs, ultra high-field fMRI and advanced data analyses will be combined to unravel columnar-level feature representations and the entities represented by distributed patterns at different levels of the visual hierarchy. In the second sub-project, a large-scale neural network model will be developed with the major goal to integrate measured columnar-level representations in a new theory of invariant object recognition and visual attention. In the third sub-project, high-resolution Brain Computer Interfaces (hr-BCIs) will be created that are based on information extracted from columnar-level representations. The hr-BCIs will implement highly content-specific neurofeedback tools for therapeutic treatment, and advanced communication devices for patients with severe motor impairments."
Max ERC Funding
2 473 381 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-05-01, End date: 2016-04-30
Project acronym HHIT
Project The here and the hereafter in Islamic traditions
Researcher (PI) Christian Robert Lange
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITEIT UTRECHT
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH2, ERC-2010-StG_20091209
Summary The aim of this project is to write a history of the Muslim paradise and hell. Researchers (PI, RF and two doctoral researchers) will assess the extent to which Islamic traditions favour or reject a view of human existence as directed toward the otherworld. They will do so by examining a variety of intellectual traditions from the inception of Islam in the 7th century CE until today. The focus of investigation will not just be on the ‘high tradition’ of Islamic theology and jurisprudence, but also on mystical, philosophical, artistic and ‘popular’ traditions, thereby avoiding a monolithic, essentialising account of Islam’s attitude toward the hereafter.
As has been argued, the relationship between this world (dunya) and the otherworld (akhira) is as important to Islam as the mind/body dualism is to the intellectual history of the West. However, no sustained effort of analysis has been made in modern Islamic Studies to reflect on the dunya/akhira relationship, and on the boundary that separates the two. This project will be the first comprehensive and systematic attempt in this direction. Five axes of research will underlie this endeavor: (1) the eschatological imaginaire, (2) material culture and the arts, (3) theology and law, (4) mysticism and philosophy, and (5) modern and contemporary visions of the hereafter.
The project (proposed duration: 48 months), which is to begin on 1 March 2011, will be based at the Utrecht University and led by Dr Christian Lange (PhD Harvard, 2006, 70%), currently Lecturer in Islamic Studies at New College/School of Divinity. The research team will include one research assistant (100%, 45 months) and two doctoral researchers (100%, 36 months). Financial support is solicited to facilitate the survey of manuscripts and manuscript research in various collections in North America, Europe and Asia, and to help organise two scholarly symposia in Islamic eschatology and one comparative conference.
Summary
The aim of this project is to write a history of the Muslim paradise and hell. Researchers (PI, RF and two doctoral researchers) will assess the extent to which Islamic traditions favour or reject a view of human existence as directed toward the otherworld. They will do so by examining a variety of intellectual traditions from the inception of Islam in the 7th century CE until today. The focus of investigation will not just be on the ‘high tradition’ of Islamic theology and jurisprudence, but also on mystical, philosophical, artistic and ‘popular’ traditions, thereby avoiding a monolithic, essentialising account of Islam’s attitude toward the hereafter.
As has been argued, the relationship between this world (dunya) and the otherworld (akhira) is as important to Islam as the mind/body dualism is to the intellectual history of the West. However, no sustained effort of analysis has been made in modern Islamic Studies to reflect on the dunya/akhira relationship, and on the boundary that separates the two. This project will be the first comprehensive and systematic attempt in this direction. Five axes of research will underlie this endeavor: (1) the eschatological imaginaire, (2) material culture and the arts, (3) theology and law, (4) mysticism and philosophy, and (5) modern and contemporary visions of the hereafter.
The project (proposed duration: 48 months), which is to begin on 1 March 2011, will be based at the Utrecht University and led by Dr Christian Lange (PhD Harvard, 2006, 70%), currently Lecturer in Islamic Studies at New College/School of Divinity. The research team will include one research assistant (100%, 45 months) and two doctoral researchers (100%, 36 months). Financial support is solicited to facilitate the survey of manuscripts and manuscript research in various collections in North America, Europe and Asia, and to help organise two scholarly symposia in Islamic eschatology and one comparative conference.
Max ERC Funding
978 368 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-03-01, End date: 2015-04-30
Project acronym INCPAR
Project Incomplete Parenthesis: Determining how and why secondary propositions can be elliptical or fragmented from a cross-linguistic and multifaceted theoretical perspective
Researcher (PI) Mark De Vries
Host Institution (HI) RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH4, ERC-2010-StG_20091209
Summary This linguistic research aims to determine and theoretically explain the properties of incomplete parenthesis, in comparison to
regular ellipsis and fragments. Thereby, we will provide a systematic typology of (incomplete) parenthetical constructions and
amalgamated sentences based on grammatical features, taking into account the effects of syntax, information structure and
prosody. We also add a cross-linguistic perspective by comparing the inventory and behavior of parentheses in a number of
languages from different families, and we will collect the results in a specialized database that will be made publicly available
via an online application.
Summary
This linguistic research aims to determine and theoretically explain the properties of incomplete parenthesis, in comparison to
regular ellipsis and fragments. Thereby, we will provide a systematic typology of (incomplete) parenthetical constructions and
amalgamated sentences based on grammatical features, taking into account the effects of syntax, information structure and
prosody. We also add a cross-linguistic perspective by comparing the inventory and behavior of parentheses in a number of
languages from different families, and we will collect the results in a specialized database that will be made publicly available
via an online application.
Max ERC Funding
1 499 554 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-02-01, End date: 2016-01-31
Project acronym LIFE-HIS-T
Project Mapping the life histories of T cells
Researcher (PI) Antonius Nicolaas Maria Schumacher
Host Institution (HI) STICHTING HET NEDERLANDS KANKER INSTITUUT-ANTONI VAN LEEUWENHOEK ZIEKENHUIS
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), LS6, ERC-2010-AdG_20100317
Summary T cells display many different phenotypes and functions, depending on the nature of previously encountered signals. If we want to understand how these different T cell subsets arise, we need to be able to follow individual T cells and their progeny through time. With the aim to map the life histories of individual T cells we have developed unique technologies that allow us to determine whether different T cell populations arise from common or distinct progenitors.
Within this project we will utilize genetic reporter systems to determine:
1. How T cell recruitment, proliferation and death shape antigen-specific T cell responses
2. At which stage the resulting T cells commit to the effector or the memory T cell lineage
3. The self renewal potential of the tissue-resident memory T cells that remain after infection is cleared
By following T cells and their progeny through time, this project will describe the regulation of cell fate in antigen-specific T cell responses. Furthermore, this project will lead to the creation of novel reporters of cellular history that will be of broad value to analyze cell fate and kinship for a variety of cell types.
Summary
T cells display many different phenotypes and functions, depending on the nature of previously encountered signals. If we want to understand how these different T cell subsets arise, we need to be able to follow individual T cells and their progeny through time. With the aim to map the life histories of individual T cells we have developed unique technologies that allow us to determine whether different T cell populations arise from common or distinct progenitors.
Within this project we will utilize genetic reporter systems to determine:
1. How T cell recruitment, proliferation and death shape antigen-specific T cell responses
2. At which stage the resulting T cells commit to the effector or the memory T cell lineage
3. The self renewal potential of the tissue-resident memory T cells that remain after infection is cleared
By following T cells and their progeny through time, this project will describe the regulation of cell fate in antigen-specific T cell responses. Furthermore, this project will lead to the creation of novel reporters of cellular history that will be of broad value to analyze cell fate and kinship for a variety of cell types.
Max ERC Funding
2 499 640 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-05-01, End date: 2017-01-31
