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Patrick Trettenbrein

Patrick Trettenbrein

Steering Committee Member, Postdoc Researcher



Patrick studied cognitive sciences (linguistics, philosophy, and psychology) in Graz and London, before moving to the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive & Brain Sciences in Leipzig for his PhD project. His main research interest is the neurobiology of language, focusing on the modality (in-)dependence of linguistic computations and representations in the brain. In other words, in his research he doesn’t ask, “How come (only) humans can speak?”—Instead, he investigates human language as a species-specific mode of cognition independent of the modality of language use (spoken, written, or signed).

About

MPI for Human Cognitive & Brain Sciences Leipzig
trettenbrein@cbs.mpg.de

Project

Parts of Speech and Iconicity in German Sign Language (DGS)

Selected Publications

  • Trettenbrein, P. C., Papitto, G., Friederici, A. D., & Zaccarella, E. (2021). Functional neuroanatomy of language without speech: An ALE meta‐analysis of sign language. Human Brain Mapping, 42(3), 699–712. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.25254
  • Zaccarella, E., & Trettenbrein, P. C. (2021). Neuroscience and syntax. In N. Allott, T. Lohndal, & G. Rey (Eds.), A Companion to Chomsky (pp. 325–347). Wiley-Blackwell.
  • Trettenbrein, P. C., Pendzich, N.-K., Cramer, J.-M., Steinbach, M., & Zaccarella, E. (2021). Psycholinguistic norms for more than 300 lexical signs in German Sign Language (DGS). Behavior Research Methods, 53, 1817–1832. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-020-01524-y
  • Trettenbrein, P. C. (2016). The demise of the synapse as the locus of memory: A looming paradigm shift? Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, 10(88). https://doi.org/10.3389/fnsys.2016.00088