Essentials: The Neuroscience of Speech, Language & Music | Dr. Erich Jarvis

About this episode

Dr. Erich Jarvis discusses the neuroscience behind speech, language, and music, exploring their evolutionary significance and implications for cognitive function.

In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, my guest is Dr. Erich Jarvis, PhD, a professor and Head of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics of Language at Rockefeller University and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). We discuss the brain circuits and genes underlying spoken language and why the ability to learn and produce vocalizations is extraordinarily rare in the animal kingdom. We also explore why song likely evolved before language, how gesture and movement share deep neural roots with speech, the neurobiology of stuttering, why childhood is the optimal window for language acquisition, and how physical movement — including dance — may help preserve speech and cognitive function across a lifetime. Read the show notes at hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman Function: https://functionhealth.com/huberman Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/huberman Timestamps (00:00:00) Speech & Language (00:00:23) Speech vs. Language; Brain Pathways for Communication (00:01:57) Gesture, Hand Movement & Speech Evolution (00:04:31) Sponsor: Function (00:05:59) Innate Vocalizations vs. Learned Speech (00:08:01) Evolution of Spoken…

People in this episode

Host: Andrew Huberman

Guest: Dr. Erich Jarvis

Topics covered

• neuroscience
• speech
• language
• music
• evolution
• cognitive function

Keywords

• neurogenetics
• vocalizations
• language acquisition
• stuttering
• gesture
• dance
• brain circuits

Sponsors

AG1, Function, Eight Sleep

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Rockefeller University, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Products: AG1, Function, Eight Sleep

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