Norbert Maïonchi-Pino

NYAS Publications From birth, respiration constitutes an intrinsic rhythm. We suggest that vocalizations and bodily movements are interactively coordinated with this respiratory rhythm, providing a temporal framework ...

Fuchs, S. et al. (2026). Toward a fuller integration of respiratory rhytms into research on infant vocal and motor development. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

doi.org/10.1111/nyas...

Brain structural networks underlying language | Physiological Reviews | American Physiological Society The unique human ability to process complex language requires the interaction of multiple brain areas located in the inferior frontal and posterior temporal cortex connected by white matter fiber tracts. These fiber tracts underlie the transfer of information between brain regions. In recent years, MRI of white matter brain networks has provided important insights into the plasticity of the structural brain basis underlying language. This structural network is shaped during childhood as a function of language learning by strengthening the connectivity between language-relevant regions mainly in the left hemisphere. In this way, the specific linguistic properties of the native language tongue lead to a modulation of the core language network observable in the adult brain. The brain basis underlying language processing also changes when a second language is learned, as shown by differences in brain connectivity between bilingual and monolingual individuals and by dynamic adaptations during second language learning. Studies of people who use sign language as their native language have shown a domain specificity of the sensory and motor systems rather than the core language network. This separation of the core language system from the sensory-motor system is evolutionarily based. Although the basic auditory-motor interface system is also present in monkeys and apes, the core language system reveals key differences between humans and nonhuman primates. Understanding the function and plasticity of this network is of paramount importance for human cognitive processes, including development and developmental disorders.

Friederici, A. (2026). Brain structural networks underlying language. Physiological Reviews

doi.org/10.1152/phys...

Gioia, P. et al. (2026). Beyond phonemic awareness: The alphabetic principle predicts reading acquisition in a nationwide longitudinal study. Cognition

@elsevierconnect.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1016/j.co...

How Important Is Language for Human-Like Intelligence? - Gary Lupyan, Hunter Gentry, Martin Zettersten, 2026 We use language to communicate our thoughts. But is language merely the expression of thoughts, which are themselves produced by other, nonlinguistic parts of o...

Lupyan, G. et al. (2026). How important is language for human-like intelligence? Perspectives on Psychological Science

doi.org/10.1177/1745...

Snowling, M., & Hulme, C. (2025). The reading is language model: A theoretical framework for language and reading development and intervention. Annual Review of Developmental Psychology

doi.org/10.1146/annu...

Topological turning points across the human lifespan - Nature Communications Researchers discovered five phases of brain rewiring across the lifespan. The eras of childhood, adolescence, adulthood, early aging, and late aging each have characteristic rewiring of structural con...

Mousley, A. et al. (2025). Topological turning points across the human lifespan. Nature Communication

@springernature.com

doi.org/10.1038/s414...

The potential existential threat of large language models to online survey research | PNAS The advancement of large language models poses a severe, potentially existential threat to online survey research, a fundamental tool for data coll...

Westwood, S. (2025). The potential existential threat of large language models to online survey research. PNAS

Interesting 🤔

@pnas.org

doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

What enables human language? A biocultural framework Explaining the origins of language is a key challenge in understanding ourselves as a species. We present an empirical framework that draws on synergies across fields to facilitate robust studies of l...

Arnon, I. et al. (2025). What enables human language? A biocultural framework. Science

👏🏻

@aaas.org
@profsimonfisher.bsky.social
@simonkirby.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1126/scie...

Caregiver Oral Reading Prosody Is Associated With Preschoolers' Storybook Listening Comprehension Purpose: Shared reading is one of the most language-enriched contexts in children's home environments. A salient, understudied characteristic of ...

Davidson, K. et al. (2025). Caregiver oral reading prosody is associated with preschoolers' storybook listening comprehension. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research

@ashajournals.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1044/2025...

Enduring constraints on grammar revealed by Bayesian spatiophylogenetic analyses - Nature Human Behaviour Despite their great diversity, human languages are shaped by recurring grammatical universals. Verkerk et al. show that about one-third of the proposed universals hold cross-linguistically through ana...

Verkerk, A. et al. (2025). Enduring constraints on grammar revealed by Bayesian spatiophylogenetic analyses. Nature Human Behavior

Great!

@nature.com

doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Prenatal linguistic exposure shapes language brain responses at birth - Communications Biology Neonatal brain responses to a foreign language are modulated by brief prenatal linguistic exposure in utero.

René, A. et al. (2025). Prenatal linguistic exposure shapes language brain responses at birth. Communications Biology

doi.org/10.1038/s420...

Agrawal, A., & Dehaene, S. (2025). From retinotopic to ordinal coding: Dissecting the cortical stages of visual word recognition. PNAS

@standehaene.bsky.social
@pnas.org

doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

Ocklenburg, S. et al. (2025). Genetics of human handedness: Microtubules and beyond. Trends in Genetics.

@cellpress.bsky.social
@silparacchini.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1016/j.ti...

Polygenic and developmental profiles of autism differ by age at diagnosis - Nature A study of several longitudinal birth cohorts and cross-sectional cohorts finds only moderate overlap in genetic variants between autism that is diagnosed earlier and that diagnosed later, so they may represent aetiologically different conditions.

Zhang, X. et al. (2025). Polygenic and developmental profiles of autism differ by age at diagnosis. Nature

@nature.com

doi.org/10.1038/s415...

A brain-wide map of neural activity during complex behaviour - Nature The International Brain Laboratory presents a brain-wide electrophysiological map obtained from pooling data from 12 laboratories that performed the same standardized perceptual decision-making task i...

International Brain Laboratory et al. (2025). A brain-wide map of neural activity during complex behaviour. Nature

@nature.com

doi.org/10.1038/s415...

A Scoping Review of the Observed and Perceived Functional Impacts Associated With Language and Learning Disorders in School‐Aged Children Background Assessing children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) and Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) requires a clear understanding of how these conditions impact their daily lives. How...

Perichon, J. et al. (2025). A scoping review of the observed and perceived functional impacts associated with language and learning disorders in school-aged children. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders

doi.org/10.1111/1460...

Longitudinal trajectories of brain development from infancy to school age and their relationship with literacy development | PNAS Reading is one of the most complex skills that we utilize daily, and it involves the early development and interaction of various lower-level subsk...

Turesky, T. et al. (2025). Longitudinal trajectories of brain development from infancy to school age and their relationship with literacy development. PNAS

Wonderful!

doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

@pnas.org

Effects of parental socioeconomic status on offspring’s fetal neurodevelopment Abstract. Emerging evidence underscores the prenatal period's critical role in shaping later cognition and health, influenced by an intricate interplay of

Mathan, J. et al. (2024). Effects of parental socioeconomic status on offspring’s fetal neurodevelopment. Cerebral Cortex

doi.org/10.1093/cerc...

Turan, E. et al. (2025). From language to mathematics and vice versa?: A longitudinal study on the associations between preschoolers' mathematical language and mathematical abilities. Language and Individual Differences

doi.org/10.1016/j.li...

<em>Reading Research Quarterly</em> | ILA Literacy Journal | Wiley Online Library Cross-sectional studies have already addressed the question of the syllable's role in the first steps of reading acquisition—though with mixed results. To determine whether and when (1) syllables bec...

Maïonchi-Pino, N. et al. (2025). Tracking developmental changes in the use of syllables as segmental and prelexical reading units: A longitudinal approach in French children. Reading Research Quarterly

@elise-runge.bsky.social

ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

hal.science/hal-04876764

A meta‐analysis of letter–sound integration: Assimilation and accommodation in the superior temporal gyrus Object–sound, speech–sound, and letter–sound audiovisual integration all recruited the left posterior superior temporal gyrus (assimilation). Speech–sound integration additionally activated the bilat....

Gao, D. et al. (2024). A meta-analysis of letter–sound integration: Assimilation and accommodation in the superior temporal gyrus. Human Brain Mapping

@ohbmofficial.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1002/hbm....

Learning to read transforms phonological into phonographic representations - Scientific Reports Scientific Reports - Learning to read transforms phonological into phonographic representations

Pattamadilok, C. et al. (2025). Learning to read transforms phonological into phonographic representations. Scientific Reports

doi.org/10.1038/s415...

The alveolar trill is perceived as jagged/rough by speakers of different languages Typological research shows that across languages, trilled [r] sounds are more common in adjectives describing rough as opposed to smooth surfaces. In this study

Ćwiek, A. et al. (2024). The alveolar trill is perceived as jagged/rough by speakers of different languages. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

@asa-news.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1121/10.0...

Drijvers, L. et al. (2025). Language is widely distributed throughout the brain. Nature Reviews Neuroscience

@nature.com

doi.org/10.1038/s415...

The human auditory cortex concurrently tracks syllabic and phonemic timescales via acoustic spectral flux Human auditory cortex tracks specific acoustic features, providing a multiscale temporal template for subsequent speech parsing.

Giroud, J. et al. (2024). The human auditory cortex concurrently tracks syllabic and phonemic timescales via acoustic spectral flux. Science Advances

Impressive 👏🏻

@science.org

doi.org/10.1126/scia...

Muszyńska, K. et al. (2025). Bilingual children reach early language milestones at the same age as monolingual peers. Journal of Child Language

doi.org/10.1017/S030...

Beaudoin, E. et al. (2024). Interventions targeting anxiety in individuals with learning disabilities: A scoping review. Learning Disabilities: Research & Practice

doi.org/10.1177/0938...

Subtitled speech: the neural mechanisms of ticker-tape synaesthesia When hearing speech, ticker-tape synaesthetes automatically and vividly perceive the words in written form in their mind's eye. Using task-related and rest

Hauw, F. et al. (2024). Subtitled speech: The neural mechanisms of ticker-tape synaesthesia. Brain

@oupacademic.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1093/brai...

Trajectories of human brain functional connectome maturation across the birth transition How do the functional networks in the brain change at the beginning of human life? This longitudinal perinatal fMRI study of 140 babies reveals regionally specific changes in neural connectivity at th...

Ji, L. et al. (2024). Trajectories of human brain functional connectome maturation across the birth transition. PLoS Biology

@plosbiology.org

doi.org/10.1371/jour...

Are Speech Sound Difficulties Risk Factors for Difficulties in Language and Reading Skills? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Background: Children with speech sound difficulties often require educational psychology services, yet systematic reviews examining the associati...

Walquist-Sørli, L. et al. (2025). Are speech sound difficulties risk factors for difficulties in language and reading skills? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research

@melbylervag.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1044/2024...