Manuel Carreiras, Scientific Director of the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL)research center, is one of 11 Spanish researchers who have received this year an ERC Advanced Grant from the European Research Council.

In total, the 2023 call for proposals has selected 255 projects, among 1,829 applications submitted, which will receive 652 million euros in funding from the European Union.

Among them, in the area of Social Sciences and Humanities, is the CORTICAL RHYTHMS project, led by Manuel Carreiras, who will receive 2.5 million euros to carry out research over 5 years that will seek to increase knowledge about the coherence between brain and speech rhythms at different frequencies and with different populations in order to identify biomarkers and develop novel neurofeedback algorithms to create better diagnostic and intervention tools.

"Every time we hear someone speak, our brain waves synchronize with those of the sender. In this study we will track this synchrony to understand the cognitive mechanisms behind it, identify biomarkers and be able to develop more effective neurofeedback-based intervention programs for problems such as dyslexia and improve the processes of learning new languages," explains Carreiras.

To this end, the study will employ neuroimaging techniques such as electroencephalography or magnetoencephalography and neurofeedback for the collection and analysis of brain data of different types, which will serve to better understand the mechanisms underlying brain functioning when something is wrong, as for example in dyslexia, or when something can be enhanced, such as language learning with neurofeedback techniques.

Specifically, the project team will work with several groups of participants: babies from 4 months of age, "whose performance will be measured periodically until they become proficient in reading," adds Manuel Carreiras; preschool children and illiterate adults, who start the reading phase; and finally, adults who study a second language such as Basque or a sign language, both with very different linguistic characteristics.

ERC Advanced Grants, among the most prestigious in the EU, provide leading researchers in Europe with the opportunity to develop ambitious projects that can lead to important scientific findings and also offer the possibility of generating new jobs for new research staff.

In the case of Carreiras, Ikerbasque professor, honorary professor at the University College of London (UCL) and distinguished researcher at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), this grant recognizes his career as scientific director and leader of BCBL's Neurobiology of Language research group.

"We are very proud of this recognition and what it means for the scientific prestige of both Manuel and the center. The selected projects do not reach 14%, which indicates the difficulty of receiving one of these grants," said Ana Fernandez, BCBL's manager.

About ERC

The European Research Council (ERC) is the leading funding organization for research excellence. Its grant programs fund researchers of all nationalities and ages to promote projects in Europe. It has four main calls for proposals: Starting Grants, Consolidator Grants, Advanced Grants and Synergy Grants.

About BCBL

The Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language is an international interdisciplinary research center based in San Sebastian for the study of cognition, brain and language. It is promoted by the Basque Government with the aim of promoting science and research in the Basque Country. Its partners include Ikerbasque, Innobasque, the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa and the University of the Basque Country/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU).

Source: BCBL. https://www.bcbl.eu