Centre for Language and Brain Begins Cooperation with Academy of Sciences of Sakha Republic
HSE University's Centre for Language and Brain and the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) have signed a partnership agreement, opening up new opportunities for research on the region's understudied languages and bilingualism. Thanks to modern methods, such as eye tracking and neuroimaging, scientists will be able to answer questions about how bilingualism works at the brain level.
For several years, researchers at the Centre have been studying how language is processed by speakers of different languages, including Russian, Tatar, Uzbek, as well as Adyghe and other less-studied languages of Russia and the near abroad. The agreement with the Academy of Sciences of the Sakha Republic provides for conducting joint research in this area, sharing knowledge, and launching new research projects related to the study of the region's languages.
Yakutia is a unique region with two state languages, Russian and Yakut, as well as a number of official languages of the indigenous minorities of the North, including Evenki, Even, Yukagir, Dolgan, and Chukchi. According to the 2020 All-Russia Census, the Yakut language is spoken by more than 479,000 people.
One of the areas of joint research between the Centre for Language and Brain and the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha is how children and adults learn and use different languages, what factors influence language choice in different communicative situations, and how bilingualism changes the structure and functions of the brain.
Together with specialists from Yakutia, neurolinguists from the Centre for Language and Brain are planning to study how language develops in children in monolingual and bilingual environments, as well as in children with speech and language disorders. This will help to understand the mechanisms behind language development and create more effective methods for assessing and correcting language skills.
Nadezhda Vasilyeva, Leading Researcher at the Centre for the Study, Preservation and Development of Native Languages of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha, notes, ‘The agreement expands promising research areas, as modern neuroimaging methods will allow us to conduct more fundamental research on the mechanisms of bilingualism formation. Our cooperation will not only strengthen the scientific potential of both sides, but also become the basis for working out methods and technologies for the development of mother tongues and balanced bilingualism. We have planned a joint research expedition this year and are confident that the partnership will be successful and show excellent results.’
Scientists will also analyse how bilinguals read and perceive text in their native language, such as Yakut, and in Russian, and identify the specifics of the cognitive mechanisms involved in reading and comprehension. Such research is important for the development of educational programmes that take into account the specificities of bilingual learning.
Furthermore, digital tools in the Yakut language for the assessment of language and cognitive functions will be developed.
Olga Dragoi, Director of the Language and Brain Centre, notes, ‘The agreement opens up new opportunities for studying language processes in the unique cultural context of Yakutia. We are confident that our joint efforts will allow us not only to advance research, but also to make a significant contribution to the preservation and development of the region's less-studied languages.’
This project will be an important step in the study of linguistic diversity and the promotion of bilingualism in Russia.
See also:
Internal Clock: How Heart Rate and Emotions Shape Our Perception of Time
Our perception of time depends on heart rate—this is the conclusion reached by neuroscientists at HSE University. In their experiment, volunteers watched short videos designed to evoke specific emotions and estimated each video's duration, while researchers recorded their heart activity using ECG. The study found that the slower a participant's heart rate, the shorter they perceived the video to be—especially when watching unpleasant content. The study has been published in Frontiers in Psychology.
Scientists Identify Personality Traits That Help Schoolchildren Succeed Academically
Economists from HSE University and the Southern Federal University have found that personality traits such as conscientiousness and open-mindedness help schoolchildren improve their academic performance. The study, conducted across seven countries, was the first large-scale international analysis of the impact of character traits on the academic achievement of 10 and 15-year-olds. The findings have been published in the International Journal of Educational Research.
HSE Researchers Introduce Novel Symmetry-Aware Neural Network Architecture
Researchers at the HSE Laboratory for Geometric Algebra and Applications have developed a new neural network architecture that can accelerate and streamline data analysis in physics, biology, and engineering. The scientists presented their solution on July 16 in Vancouver at ICML 2025, one of the world's leading conferences on machine learning. Both the paper and the source code are publicly available.
HSE Researchers Determine Frequency of Genetic Mutations in People with Pulmonary Hypertension
For the first time in Russia, a team of scientists and clinicians has conducted a large-scale genetic study of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. The team, which included researchers from the International Laboratory of Bioinformatics at the HSE Faculty of Computer Science, analysed the genomes of over a hundred patients and found that approximately one in ten carried pathogenic mutations in the BMPR2 gene, which is responsible for vascular growth. Three of these mutations were described for the first time. The study has been published in Respiratory Research.
HSE Scientists Reveal How Disrupted Brain Connectivity Affects Cognitive and Social Behaviour in Children with Autism
An international team of scientists, including researchers from the HSE Centre for Language and Brain, has for the first time studied the connectivity between the brain's sensorimotor and cognitive control networks in children with autism. Using fMRI data, the researchers found that connections within the cognitive control network (responsible for attention and inhibitory control) are weakened, while connections between this network and the sensorimotor network (responsible for movement and sensory processing) are, by contrast, excessively strong. These features manifest as difficulties in social interaction and behavioural regulation in children. The study has been published in Brain Imaging and Behavior.
Similar Comprehension, Different Reading: How Native Language Affects Reading in English as a Second Language
Researchers from the MECO international project, including experts from the HSE Centre for Language and Brain, have developed a tool for analysing data on English text reading by native speakers of more than 19 languages. In a large-scale experiment involving over 1,200 people, researchers recorded participants’ eye movements as they silently read the same English texts and then assessed their level of comprehension. The results showed that even when comprehension levels were the same, the reading process—such as gaze fixations, rereading, and word skipping—varied depending on the reader's native language and their English proficiency. The study has been published in Studies in Second Language Acquisition.
Mortgage and Demography: HSE Scientists Reveal How Mortgage Debt Shapes Family Priorities
Having a mortgage increases the likelihood that a Russian family will plan to have a child within the next three years by 39 percentage points. This is the conclusion of a study by Prof. Elena Vakulenko and doctoral student Rufina Evgrafova from the HSE Faculty of Economic Sciences. The authors emphasise that this effect is most pronounced among women, people under 36, and those without children. The study findings have been published in Voprosy Ekonomiki.
Scientists Discover How Correlated Disorder Boosts Superconductivity
Superconductivity is a unique state of matter in which electric current flows without any energy loss. In materials with defects, it typically emerges at very low temperatures and develops in several stages. An international team of scientists, including physicists from HSE MIEM, has demonstrated that when defects within a material are arranged in a specific pattern rather than randomly, superconductivity can occur at a higher temperature and extend throughout the entire material. This discovery could help develop superconductors that operate without the need for extreme cooling. The study has been published in Physical Review B.
Scientists Develop New Method to Detect Motor Disorders Using 3D Objects
Researchers at HSE University have developed a new methodological approach to studying motor planning and execution. By using 3D-printed objects and an infrared tracking system, they demonstrated that the brain initiates the planning process even before movement begins. This approach may eventually aid in the assessment and treatment of patients with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s. The paper has been published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
Civic Identity Helps Russians Maintain Mental Health During Sanctions
Researchers at HSE University have found that identifying with one’s country can support psychological coping during difficult times, particularly when individuals reframe the situation or draw on spiritual and cultural values. Reframing in particular can help alleviate symptoms of depression. The study has been published in Journal of Community Psychology.