Essentials: The Science of Learning & Speaking Languages | Dr. Eddie Chang

Welcome to Huberman Lab Essentials, where we revisit past episodes for the most potent and actionable science-based tools for mental health, physical health, and performance.

I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. And now, for my discussion with Dr. Eddie Chang.

Eddie, welcome. >> Hi, hi Andrew. >> Great to be here with you. Your main focus these days is the neurobiology of speech and language. So, for those that aren't familiar, could you please distinguish for us speech versus language in terms of whether or not different brain areas control them. When

I think about language, I think about words and just talking. If I sit down to do a long podcast, or I think about asking you a question, I don't even think about the words I want to say very much. I mean, I have to think about them a little bit, one would hope. But, I don't think about individual syllables

unless I'm trying to, you know, you know, accent something, or it's a word that I have a particular difficulty saying, or I want to change the cadence, etc. So, what in the world is contained in these brain areas? What is represented um to me is is perhaps one of the most interesting questions,

and I know this lands square in your wheelhouse. >> Sure. Let's get into this, uh Andrew, because this is one of the most exciting stuff that's happening right now is understanding how the brain processes these exact questions. And speech corresponds to the communication signal.

It corresponds to me moving my mouth and my vocal tract to generate words. And you're hearing these as an auditory signal. Language is something much broader. So, it refers to what you're extracting from the words that I'm saying. We call that pragmatics, and sort of where you're getting the gist of

what I'm saying. There's another aspect of it that we call semantics. Do you understand the meaning of these words and uh the sentences. There's another part that we call syntax, which refers to how the words are assembled in a grammatical form. So, those are all really critical parts of language. And speech is just

one form of language. There's many other forms like sign language, uh reading. Those are all important modalities for reading.

Our research really focuses on this area that we're calling speech. Again, the production of this audio signal, which you can't see, but your microphones are picking up. There are these vibrations in the air that are created by my vocal tract that are picked up by the microphone in the case

of this recording, but also picked up by the sensors in your ear. The very tiny vibrations in your uh ear are picking that up and translating that into electrical activity. It's such a complex feat. Some people would say it's the most complex motor thing that we do as a species is is this speaking, not, you

know, the extreme feats of acrobatics or athleticism. >> But when it comes to speaking, you want especially when uh one observes, you know, uh opera or um people who, you know, freestyle rappers, you know, and and of course it's not just the lips, it's the tongue.