20 March 2025
Bilbao Campus San Sebastian Campus
On March 20, the University inaugurated the Language Acquisition and Processing Lab (LAPlab), a laboratory dedicated to the study of language and its development throughout life. This new space aims to expand knowledge about how humans acquire and process language, a unique ability of our species.
The LAPlab was created with the intention of tracing the changes that occur in our language skills from infancy to old age. During the first years of life, children acquire one or more languages naturally and without explicit instruction. The laboratory's research will contribute to elucidate the mechanisms and strategies that enable this process, as well as the changes that these language skills undergo throughout life, especially in relation to the sensory and cognitive impairment associated with aging.
The lines of research of the LAPlab cover, among other aspects, the similarities and differences between childhood acquisition and the processing of one or more languages in adulthood. In addition, the impact of linguistic distance on language learning and processing of multilingual speakers and the general impact of multilingualism on cognition will be explored. To address these questions, the research team will combine linguistic theory with advanced experimental methodologies, including state-of-the-art behavioral and neuroscientific techniques. The comparative study of infant, adult and older populations will provide a global view of language processing.
The LAPlab also aims to contribute to areas such as the early detection of linguistic and cognitive disorders in child populations and the study of healthy aging. Furthermore, research in monolinguals and multilinguals will be used to develop language policies and design educational curricula based on scientific evidence.
Irene de la Cruz Pavia
LAPlab is directed by Dr. Irene de la Cruz Pavía, Ikerbasque (Basque Foundation for Science) and Ramón y Cajal (Agencia Estatal de Investigación) researcher. Her research focuses on the study of the cognitive mechanisms of language processing, with special emphasis on grammar. She uses behavioral methods and neuroimaging techniques such as functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) and Electroencephalography (EEG), through which she has made important findings on language processing at different ages and in mono and bilingual speakers.
In the words of Dr. Irene de la Cruz Pavia: “language processing in the healthy elderly is an area of study still little explored, despite the rapid increase of this population in our society. Understanding the impact on their language skills of the sensory and cognitive decline that inevitably accompanies old age will help us to improve their well-being”.
The opening of the LAPlab marks a milestone in linguistic research and promises to make a significant contribution to the understanding of language and its evolution throughout the lifespan.
