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

About this episode

Dr. Eddie Chang discusses the neural mechanisms of speech and language, including innovative brain-machine interfaces for communication.

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. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/huberman Function: https://functionhealth.com/huberman 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…

People in this episode

Host: Huberman

Guest: Dr. Eddie Chang

Topics covered

• neural circuits
• speech and language
• brain-machine interfaces
• neurobiology of stuttering
• ethical questions in brain augmentation

Keywords

• speech
• language
• neurosurgery
• brain-machine interface
• stuttering
• neural prosthetics
• auditory feedback
• ethical questions

Sponsors

AG1, BetterHelp, Function

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of California, San Francisco

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