Dr. Eddie Chang: The Science of Learning & Speaking Languages
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My guest is Eddie Chang, MD, a neurosurgeon and professor of neurological surgery at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and the co-director of the Center for Neural Engineering & Prostheses. We discuss the brain mechanisms underlying speech, language learning and comprehension, communicating human emotion with words and hand gestures, bilingualism and language disorders, such as stuttering. Dr. Chang also explains his work developing and applying state-of-the-art technology to decode speech and using that information and artificial intelligence (AI) to successfully restore communication to patients who have suffered paralyzing injuries or “locked in syndrome.” We also discuss his work treating patients with epilepsy. Finally, we consider the future: how modern neuroscience is overturning textbook medical books, the impact of digital technology such as smartphones on language and the future of natural and computer-assisted human communication.
Articles
- Neuroprosthesis for Decoding Speech in a Paralyzed Person with Anarthria (The New England Journal of Medicine)
Articles in the News
- Tapping Into the Brain to Help a Paralyzed Man Speak (The New York Times)
- How Brain-Computer Interfaces Could Restore Speech and Help Fight Depression (The Wall Street Journal)
- Decoded Brain Signals Could Give Voiceless People A Way To Talk (NPR)
