Proto-Language as a Structurer and Enhancer of Consciousness and Cognition

Questions: The major question of language evolution must be broken down into more manageable foci. Focusing on the earliest stage thereof, this is heuristically collapsed into 3 interrelated questions: 'what', 'why', and 'how'. The 'what' refers to the nature of the earliest language. Specifically, this is hypothesised to consist of highly concrete semantic labels in the absence of grammar. The semantic referents are thought to be salient; of adaptive importance; noisy; and multimodal. The 'proto-words' themselves are hypothesised to be: iconic; short; and both vocal and gestural. The 'why' refers to the adaptive advantage of the earliest language. This is hypothesised to include a significant augmentation of cognition. From a predictive processing perspective (PPP), semantic labels can act as highly flexible priors, acquirable cheaply without direct experience. Subsequent augmentations of specific cognitive constructs are innumerable, and are hypothesised to augment 'specific functions' such as WM; perceptual processing; and multimodal integration. The 'how' refers to evolutionary context and conditions. This is hypothesised to relate to tasks with high degrees of: perceptual, motor, and sensorimotor uncertainty; and embodiment, amongst others

PhD: The focus would be on fractionating the above questions and dimensions. Specifically: the nature of the semantic categories; the domains of cognitive augmentation; and the potential design space for proto-language. The exact layout is not completely clear yet. Provisionally, a battery of similar experiments will be used, each testing different facets of the broad question, with an overarching hypothesis that iconic semantic categories facilitate cognitive performance. The utility here is that the experiments stack and complement one another such that research foci can be tweaked in light of results, and key questions such as the role of iconicity can be explored with the certainty of concrete results, while not precluding the pursuit of more peripheral hypotheses such as the role of gesture, time allowing.

Task: The core of each task will be a particular cognitive challenge of adaptive relevance, which may be augmented by proto-language. These include visual search; STM; and origami (building on my MPhil). Higher order cognition may also be explored. Given COVID19; these will be behavioural at first. Later research will include perturbation, and functional data. Pseudowords will be purely semantic and composed of English phonotactics. Linguistic dimensions will be varied in different versions of the experiments to test different facets of language. E.g., to investigate attributes of the fittest first semantic categories, novel semantic categories would be varied along dimensions such as concreteness, specificity, and temporal relevance. Non-English semantic categories will be used as a contrast. 3 other linguistic conditions will be explored. Iconicity will be varied to explore its relevance in language design space. A 3rd experiment will contrast simple concatenations to isolated pseudowords. A 4th experiment will examine the effect of iconic gestures accompanying iconic pseudowords.

Complementary Data: The condition configuration from the experimental battery which shows the greatest facilitation would then be explored further in the last stage of the PhD. A small sample of imaging data from a replication would help relate behavioural changes to their neural underpinning. This could then be combined with comparative primate structural and functional data; TMS; and paleontological endocasts, to help inform neural evolutionary models, and understanding of neural representation. Time allowing, the role of cognitive proto-language's role in consciousness will be explored, perhaps via psychosis. Formalised theories including Global Neuronal Workspace, Integrated Information Theory, and PPP.