Johns Hopkins University, Department of Neuroscience
 

 

 

 

Barbara  Landau, Ph.D.

Dick and Lydia Todd Professor of Cognitive Science

Telephone Number:   410-516-5255

Fax Number:   410-516-8020

3400 N. Charles St.

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD 21218

Room: 241 Krieger Hall
landau@cogsci.jhu.edu

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Spatial cognition and language learning

    

LAB OVERVIEW Our work focuses on language learning, spatial representation, and the relationship between the two. We ask questions such as: How do humans represent objects for the purposes of recognition and naming? How do they represent space for the purposes of navigating, reaching and grasping objects, imagining spatial layouts, and using symbolic devices such as maps? How are these representations of objects and space engaged during the process of language learning? How are they recruited during language use and comprehension among adults? Are linguistic representations separate from those of other cognitive systems, or do they interact, and if so, in what ways? How are the representations of space and of language instantiated in the brain, and how do they emerge during development?   How do impairments of the brain affect these different systems of knowledge?

     In thinking about these problems, we conduct research in several areas, we study several different kinds of populations, and we use a variety of different methods and approaches. For example, many of our studies examine the nature of language learning and spatial representation in normally developing children and adults who are native speakers of English. However, we also study cross-linguistic differences in how spatial language is acquired and used, and the disruption of normal space-language relationships in neurologically impaired individuals such as those with Williams Syndrome. Our methods include traditional experimental and linguistic techniques, and our lab collaborates with that of Jim Hoffman (University of Delaware), who brings expertise in eye-tracking and ERP measurement.



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