The Huberman Lab Podcast discusses neuroscience: how our brain and its connections with the organs of our body control our perceptions, our behaviors, and our health. We also discuss existing and emerging tools for measuring and changing how our nervous system works. Dr. Andrew Huberman is a tenured Professor of Neurobiology and Ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. His laboratory studies neural regeneration, neuroplasticity, and brain states such as stress, focus, fear, and optimal performance. For more than 20 years, Dr. Huberman has consistently published original research findings and review articles in top-level peer-reviewed journals, including Nature, Science, Cell, Neuron, and Current Biology. He is a regular member of several National Institutes of Health review panels and a Fellow of the McKnight Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts. Dr. Huberman regularly consults for technology development companies, professional athletic organizations, and various units of U.S. and Canadian Special Operations.
Essentials: The Science of Learning & Speaking Languages | Dr. Eddie Chang
In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, my guest is Dr. Eddie Chang, MD, a neurosurgeon and Chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). We discuss the neural circuits underlying speech and language, including how the brain controls the larynx, vocal folds and articulators to shape breath into words. We also explore his pioneering work on speech neural prosthetics — brain-machine interfaces that allow paralyzed patients to communicate by decoding neural activity into speech and avatar-driven facial expressions. Additionally, we examine the neurobiology of stuttering, the role of auditory feedback in fluent speech, and the broader ethical questions surrounding brain augmentation technologies.
Read the episode show notes at hubermanlab.com.
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Timestamps
(00:00:00) Speech & Language
(00:00:23) Speech vs Language, Pragmatics, Semantics & Syntax
(00:03:11) Larynx, Vocal Folds & Shaping the Breath
(00:05:35) Crying & Laughter, Vocalizations vs Speech
(00:06:37) Sponsor: Function
(00:08:52) Paralysis, Brainstem Stroke, ALS & Locked-In Syndrome
(00:10:52) BRAVO Trial, Pancho & First Patient
(00:12:31) Brain Surgery, Electrode Array & Decoding Speech
(00:14:34) AI, 50-Word Vocabulary & Autocorrect
(00:16:06) Sponsor: BetterHelp
(00:17:30) Neuralink, Brain-Machine Interfaces & Augmentation Ethics
(00:22:21) Avatars, Facial Expressions & Non-Verbal Communication
(00:25:48) Sponsor: AG1
(00:27:12) Stuttering, Anxiety & Speech vs Language
(00:30:18) Tool: Stuttering Therapy & Auditory Feedback
(00:31:50) Recap & Acknowledgments
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