‘Wired for words: the neural architecture of language’ with Greg Hickok

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Nov 25, 2025

In this engaging dialogue, Greg Hickok, a distinguished professor at UC Irvine and a leading voice in language neuroscience, delves into his new book. He shares insights on how language evolved through the modification of existing neural systems rather than invention. Hickok discusses the dual visual and language streams, the role of the dorsal stream in speech production, and introduces the Sylvian parietal temporal area as a critical hub for speech. He also highlights the bilateral nature of phonological processing, challenging conventional views on language lateralization.

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INSIGHT

Dual Streams Are Cross-Modal Principles

The visual 'what' and 'how' streams inspired an analogous split in speech processing.
Auditory information supports both conceptual understanding and sensorimotor mapping for speech production.

INSIGHT

Dorsal Stream As Sensory-Target Controller

The dorsal stream implements sensory-targeted motor control for speech production.
Posterior auditory targets are transformed into motor phonological plans via a translation system.

ANECDOTE

The Pencil-In-Mouth Demo

Stephen Wilson demonstrates the 'pencil-in-mouth' test to show speech reaches sensory targets.
The example illustrates flexible motor adjustments to hit auditory goals during production.

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In this epidode, I talk with Greg Hickok, Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Sciences & Language Science at the University of California, Irvine, about his new book ‘Wired for words: the neural architecture of language’.

Hickok G. Wired for words: The neural architecture of language. 2025; MIT Press.

Key Hickok papers:

Hickok G, Poeppel D. The cortical organization of speech processing. Nat Rev Neurosci 2007; 8: 393-402. [doi]

Hickok G. Computational neuroanatomy of speech production. Nat Rev Neurosci 2012; 13: 135-45. [doi]

Hickok G, Houde J, Rong F. Sensorimotor integration in speech processing: Computational basis and neural organization. Neuron 2011; 69: 407-22. [doi]

Hickok G, Buchsbaum B, Humphries C, Muftuler T. Auditory-motor interaction revealed by fMRI: speech, music, and working memory in area Spt. J Cogn Neurosci 2003; 15: 673-82. [doi]

Matchin W, Hickok G. The cortical organization of syntax. Cereb Cortex 2020; 30: 1481-98. [doi]

Hickok G, Venezia J, Teghipco A. Beyond Broca: Neural architecture and evolution of a dual motor speech coordination system. Brain 2023; 146: 1775-90. [doi]

Rogalsky C, Basilakos A, Rorden C, Pillay S, LaCroix AN, Keator L, Mickelsen S, Anderson SW, Love T, Fridriksson J, Binder J, Hickok G. The neuroanatomy of speech processing: a large-scale lesion study. J Cogn Neurosci 2022; 34: 1355-75. [doi]

Rogalsky C, Pitz E, Hillis AE, Hickok G. Auditory word comprehension impairment in acute stroke: relative contribution of phonemic versus semantic factors. Brain Lang 2008; 107: 167-9. [doi]

Hickok G, Okada K, Barr W, Pa J, Rogalsky C, Donnelly K, Barde L, Grant A. Bilateral capacity for speech sound processing in auditory comprehension: evidence from Wada procedures. Brain Lang 2008; 107: 179-84. [doi]

Other papers mentioned:

Wilson SM, Entrup JL, Schneck SM, Onuscheck CF, Levy DF, Rahman M, Willey E, Casilio M, Yen M, Brito AC, Kam W, Davis LT, de Riesthal M, Kirshner HS. Recovery from aphasia in the first year after stroke. Brain 2023; 146: 1021-39. [doi]

Risse GL, Gates JR, Fangman MC. A reconsideration of bilateral language representation based on the intracarotid amobarbital procedure. Brain Cogn 1997; 33: 118-32. [doi]