Principal Investigators

• Dr. Derya Çokal | Institute for German Language and Literature I
• Prof. Dr. Klaus von Heusinger | Institute for German Language and Literature I
• Prof. Dr. Joseph Kambeitz | Psychiatry und Psychotherapy
• Prof. Dr. Dr. Kai Vogeley | Psychiatry und Psychotherapy

In cooperation with

• Prof. Dr. Wolfram Hinzen I ICREA Research Professor, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain

We delve into the fascinating link between language and mental life. Discover how language function is emerging as a promising bio-social marker for mental state changes, particularly in psychosis. This is a unique collaboration between biological psychiatry, linguistics, and cognitive neuroscience that identifies linguistic signals of psychosis and their connection to brain dysfunction using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Our research initiative involves collaboration that combines the expertise of these three fields. By joining forces, we aim to identify linguistic signals within language that could serve as indicators of psychosis. Moreover, we seek to establish meaningful connections between these linguistic markers and the underlying brain dysfunction associated with this condition. To achieve this, we employ the power of fMRI to reveal the intricate relationship between language and the brain.

Currently, we are implementing our new fMRI paradigm at the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research. To facilitate our project, we have expanded our team by welcoming Annkathrin Böke, Alexander Ilgert, and Martín Villalba. Together, we are establishing a robust routine to recruit participants, collect data, and preprocess the collected data.

We are now ready to embark on our next exciting step: recruiting a second patient group of individuals with depression. This will enable us to explore if language signals are unique to psychosis or if they serve as transdiagnostic bio-social markers. This groundbreaking research sets the stage for transformative advancements in clinical psychiatry and our understanding of the mechanisms of language in the brain, as well as the role of language in psychotic thought and affective disorders.