Neurocognition of Language

Silke Telkemeyer

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Email: silke.telkemeyer[at]fu-berlin.de

Phone: ++49-331-9772928

Homepage: Humboldt university

Languages of emotion clusters FU Berlin

Research Interests

Development of language and auditory processing mechanisms in infants and childrenDevelopment of emotional processing in infantsCortical mechanisms of language processing

Methods

Near-Infrared-Spectroscopy (NIRS)

EEG

Eye-Tracking

Projects

Processing of Emotion and Language - Development and interaction across lifespan.

Cluster Languages of Emotion

Aim:

The project aims at investigating the development of the interaction between emotion- and language-processing during life-span to further elucidate the evolutionary and cultural development of emotions. The project uses an interdisciplinary and multimodal approach combining psychophysical methods (e.g., heart-rate, eye-tracking) with different neuro-imaging methods (Near-Infrared-Spectroscopy, EEG) to investigate the different age-groups.

Researcher:
Prof. Dr. Isabell Wartenburger
Prof. Dr. Katja Liebal (Languages of Emotion Cluster, FU Berlin)
Saskia Helbling
Johanna Schäfer

PhD Project: Cortical mechanisms of temporal acoustic information processing in newborns and infants. 

Aim: Our aim is to investigate how the developing brain processes basic auditory information sharing relevant features with language. We apply concurrent electrophysiological (EEG) and hemodynamic (near-infrared spectroscopy) recording to newborns and infants up to the age of  6 months. We focus on the hemispheric brain asymmetries for the processing of specific auditory and language functions.

Researcher:

Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Isabell Wartenburger

Prof. Dr. Elke van der Meer Department of Cognitive Psychology, Humboldt University Berlin

PD Dr. Hellmuth Obrig Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Cognitive Neurology

Collaborator: Dr. Sonja Rossi Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Cognitive Neurology

Publications

Articles:

Telkemeyer, S., Rossi, S., Nierhaus, T., Steinbrink, J., Obrig, H., Wartenburger, I. (2011). Acoustic processing of temporally modulated sounds in infants: evidence from a combined near-infrared spectroscopy and EEG study. Frontiers in Psychology 2:62. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00062

Obrig, H., Rossi, S., Telkemeyer, S., Wartenburger, I. (2010). From acoustic segmentation to language processing: Evidence from optical imaging. Frontiers in Neuroenergetics 2 (13):1-12. doi:10.3389/fnene.2010.00013

Rossi, S., Jürgenson, I.B., Hanulíková, A., Telkemeyer, S., Wartenburger, I., Obrig, H. (2010). Implicit Processing of Phonotactic Cues: Evidence from Electrophysiological and Vascular Responses. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience: 1-13. doi:10.1162/jocn.2010.21547

Telkemeyer, S., Rossi, S., Koch, S.P., Nierhaus, T., Steinbrink, J., Poeppel, D., Obrig, H., Wartenburger, I. (2009). Sensitivity of newborn auditory cortex to the temporal structure of sounds. Journal of Neuroscience 29(47):14726–14733.

Wartenburger, I., Steinbrink. J., Telkemeyer, S., Friedrich, M., Friederici, AD., Obrig, H. (2007). The Processing of Prosody: Evidence of Interhemispheric Specialization at the Age of Four. Neuroimage 34:416-425.

Selected Posters:

Mehnert, J., Telkemeyer, S., Schmitz, C., Steinbrink, J., Obrig, H., Wartenburger, I., (2009). Differential processing of sounds with varying spectral and temporal complexity in bilateral temporal cortex. Neuroimage (Nr. 781). Human Brain Mapping Conference, San Francisco, USA.

Telkemeyer, S., Obrig, H., Steinbrink, J., Rossi, S., Passow, S., Wartenburger, I., (2008). Hemodynamic response to stimuli with varying temporal complexity in healthy neonates. XI International Congress for the Study of Child Language, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Telkemeyer, S., Obrig, H., Rossi, S., Steinbrink, J., Wartenburger, I. (2008). Near-Infrared-Spectroscopy investigates hemispheric asymmetry for processing temporally varying acoustic stimuli in newborns. Cognitive Neuroscience Soc., San Francisco, Suppl.

Telkemeyer, S., Wartenburger, I., Steinbrink, J., Rossi, S., Passow, S., Obrig, H. (2007). Hemodynamic response to auditory stimuli of varying temporal complexity: a Near-Infrared-Spectroscopy (NIRS) study in newborns and adults. Neuroimage (67 M-AM). Human Brain Mapping Conference, Chicago, USA.

Telkemeyer, S., Obrig, H., Gaebler, M., Steinbrink. J., Friedrich, M., Friederici, AD., Wartenburger, I. (2006). Optical Topography Reveals Lateralization of Auditory Language Functions in Four-Year Old Children. Neuroimage (359 W-AM). Human Brain Mapping Conference, Florence, Italy.

Invited talks:

Telkemeyer, S., Rossi, S., Obrig, H., Wartenburger, I. (2011). Kortikale
Verarbeitung zeitlich modulierter akustischer Reize bei Neugeborenen.
Tagung experimentell arbeitender Psychologen, Halle a.d. Saale, Germany.

Telkemeyer, S. (2008). Auditory and Language processing in infants. School of Mind & Brain. Berlin, Germany

Telkemeyer, S., Wartenburger, I., Steinbrink, J., Rossi, S., Passow, S., Obrig, H. (2007). Processing of temporally different acoustic signals in newborns: a combined Near-Infrared-Spectroscopy and EEG study. International Networking Seminar for Young Scientists: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuro-Imaging of Development. British Council. Paris, France.

Telkemeyer, S., Obrig, H., Gaebler, M., Steinbrink, J., Friedrich, M., Friederici, A.D., Wartenburger, I. (2006). Interhemispheric Specialization of Language Processing in Four-Year Old Children: A NIRS-Study