Carriere, M., Tomasello, R., & Pulvermüller, F. (2024). Can human brain connectivity explain verbal working memory? Network: Computation in Neural Systems, 1–42.

Maxime Carriere, Rosario Tomasello & Friedemann Pulvermüller published a new research paper in Network: Computation in Neural Systems.  The study investigates why humans can acquire large vocabularies while non-human primates cannot, focusing on differences in cortical connectivity. Using brain-constrained neural network models, it simulates auditory word recognition and verbal working memory. Human-like models, with denser connectivity in language areas, showed larger, semantically structured cell assemblies and longer-lasting neural activity, supporting robust verbal working memory. These findings reveal how human-specific brain structure enables extensive vocabulary building.

Find the study here.