Neural basis of semantic knowledge
How different word categories — animals, tools, actions — are represented, processed and acquired in typical and atypical (e.g. sensory-deprived) brains.
Neurolinguist
Rosario Tomasello
Photo by Valentin Marquardt
How does the human brain acquire, store and process language?
I investigate how language, symbols, and communication are instantiated in the human brain, combining linguistic theory, neuroimaging, behavioural experiments, and computational neural models.
Current Academic Appointments
Visiting Professor (Gastprofessor W3) of Linguistics
Freie Universität Berlin, since 2025
- Interim Scientific Lead, Brain Language Laboratory
Freie Universität Berlin, since 2025
- Principal Investigator — DFG Project “Brain Signatures of Communication”
University of Potsdam, Department of Psychology, 2026–2029
Latest News
Neurocognitive mechanisms of communicative functions
How words and sentences are used as a tool for communication conveyed through prosody, gestures and common ground in social interactions.
Language and pragmatics in special populations
Processing of linguistic and pragmatic phenomena in special populations, including individuals with brain lesions.
Current research grants
Principal Investigator · ca. €400K
DFG project “Brain Signatures of Communication” (BraiSico) — University of Potsdam (2026–2029). View on DFG GEPRIS
I teach undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral courses in German and English at Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (Berlin School of Mind and Brain), the University of Vienna, and Osnabrück University. My teaching spans theoretical linguistics, cognitive neuroscience, and computational modelling, integrating linguistic theory with behavioural and neuroimaging methods (EEG, fMRI, TMS).
Teaching Areas
- Introduction to linguistic, semantic and pragmatic
- Current trends in language and brain Research
- Neuropragmatics & Neurosemantics
- Language acquisition and evolution
- Computational models for language research and experimental methods
Supervision
- 45+ BA / MA theses supervisions
- 4 Doctoral thesis supervisions
Contact
Brain Language Laboratory, Freie Universität Berlin. Tomasello.r@fu-berlin.de;
Department of Psychology, Potsdam University, rosario.tomasello@uni-potsdam.de