Christos Pliatsikas
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01183788521
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Associate Professor
- School Mentor for Early Career Researchers
- Department Director of Academic Tutoring
- Steering Committee and lead of Neuroscience Theme for Centre for Literacy and Multilingualism (CeLM).
Areas of interest
My research is on experience-based neuroplasticity, with a primary focus on the effects of bi-/multilingualism on brain structure and function, investigated with behavioural and MRI (functional and structural) methods.
My research interests include:
- Are brain structure and function, and cognition, affected by learning additional languages?
- How are these effects modulated by the individual experiences of the language learner?
- How do these effects interact with typical brain development and ageing, and what are the implications for age- or disease- related neurodegeneration?
- Are there particular effects on the brain and/or cognition caused by language situations like diglossia, digraphia and biliteracy?
Teaching
- Modules: PL1LB, PL3RD, PLMRD, PLMRDN, PL2M2MM2
- Topics: Language in the Brain, Introductory Neurology for Speech and Language Therapy students, BSc and MSc research and dissertation projects.
Research centres and groups
- Bilingualism in the Brain lab (personal lab)
- Psycholinguistics & Neurolinguistics Lab
- Centre for Literacy and Multilingualism (CeLM)
- Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics (CINN).
Academic qualifications
- PhD in Psycholinguistics/Neurolinguistics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading
- MSc in Clinical Neurosciences, Institute of Neurology, UCL, London
- BSc in Psychology, Pantion University, Athens, Greece.
Websites/blogs
Bilingualism in the BrainPublications
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Voits, T.
,
Pliatsikas, C.
ORCID: 0000-0001-7093-1773
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Robson, H.
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Rothman, J.
(2020)
Beyond Alzheimer’s disease: can bilingualism be a more generalized protective factor in neurodegeneration?.
Neuropsychologia
, 147
ISSN:
0028-3932
|
doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107593
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Pliatsikas, C.
ORCID: 0000-0001-7093-1773
,
Meteyard, L.
ORCID: 0000-0003-1184-1908
,
Veríssimo, J.
,
DeLuca, V.
ORCID: 0000-0002-2275-209X
,
Shattuck, K.
ORCID: 0000-0002-9227-4134
,
Ullman, M.
ORCID: 0000-0001-9037-3537
(2020)
The effect of bilingualism on brain development from early childhood to young adulthood.
Brain Structure and Function
, 225
pp.
2131-2152.
ISSN:
1863-2661
|
doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00429-020-02115-5
- Pliatsikas, C. , Ansaldo, A. , Voits, T. (2020) Bilingualism and the declining brain. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism ISSN: 1879-9272
- Luk, G. , Pliatsikas, C. , Rossi, E. (2020) Brain changes associated with language development and learning: A primer on methodology and applications. System , 89 ISSN: 0346-251X | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2020.102209
- DeLuca, V. , Rothman, J. , Bialystok, E. , Pliatsikas, C. (2020) Duration and extent of bilingual experience modulate neurocognitive outcomes. NeuroImage , 204 ISSN: 1053-8119 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116222
- Pliatsikas, C. , DeLuca, V. , Voits, T. (2020) The many shades of bilingualism: language experiences modulate adaptations in brain structure. Language Learning , 70 (52). pp. 133-149. ISSN: 0023-8333 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/lang.12386
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Aveledo, F.
,
Higueras, Y.
,
Marinis, T.
,
Bose, A.
,
Pliatsikas, C.
ORCID: 0000-0001-7093-1773
,
Meldaña-Rivera, A.
,
Martínez-Ginés, M.
,
García-Domínguez, J.
,
Lozano-Ros, A.
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Cuello, J.
,
Goicochea-Briceño, H.
(2020)
Multiple sclerosis and bilingualism: some initial findings.
Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism
ISSN:
1879-9272
|
doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/lab.18037.ave
- Pliatsikas, C. (2020) Understanding structural plasticity in the bilingual brain: The Dynamic Restructuring Model. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , 23 (2). pp. 459-471. ISSN: 1469-1841 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1366728919000130
- Pliatsikas, C. and Marinis, T. (2020) Online psycholinguistic methods in second language acquisition research. In: Chapelle, C. , (eds.) The Concise Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. Wiley ISBN: 9781119147367
- DeLuca, V. , Rothman, J. , Bialystok, E. , Pliatsikas, C. (2019) Redefining bilingualism as a spectrum of experiences that differentially affect brain structure and function. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America , 116 (15). pp. 7565-7574. ISSN: 0027-8424 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1811513116
- Wheeldon, L. , Schuster, S. , Pliatsikas, C. , Malpass, D. , Lahiri, A. (2019) Beyond decomposition: processing zero-derivations in English visual word recognition. Cortex , 116 pp. 176-191. ISSN: 0010-9452 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2018.09.003
- Leminen, A. , Smolka, E. , Duñabeitia, J. , Pliatsikas, C. (2019) Morphological processing in the brain: the good (inflection), the bad (derivation) and the ugly (compounding). Cortex , 116 pp. 4-44. ISSN: 0010-9452 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2018.08.016
- DeLuca, V. , Rothman, J. , Pliatsikas, C. (2019) Linguistic immersion and structural effects on the bilingual brain: a longitudinal study. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , 22 (5). pp. 1160-1175. ISSN: 1469-1841 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1366728918000883
- Pliatsikas, C. , Veríssimo, J. , Babcock, L. , Pullman, M. , Glei, D. , Weinstein, M. , Goldman, N. , Ullman, M. (2019) Working memory in older adults declines with age, but is modulated by sex and education. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology , 72 (6). pp. 1308-1327. ISSN: 1747-0218 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1747021818791994
- DeLuca, V. , Miller, D. , Pliatsikas, C. , Rothman, J. (2019) Brain adaptations and neurological indices of processing in adult Second Language Acquisition: challenges for the Critical Period Hypothesis. In: Schweiter, J. , (eds.) The Handbook of the Neuroscience of Multilingualism. Wiley-Blackwell pp. 192-218. ISBN: 9781119387701 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781119387725
- Pliatsikas, C. (2019) Multilingualism and brain plasticity. In: Schwieter, J. , (eds.) The handbook of the neuroscience of multilingualism. Wiley-Blackwell ISBN: 9781119387701 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781119387725.ch11
- Connally, E. , Ward, D. , Pliatsikas, C. , Finnegan, S. , Jenkinson, M. , Boyles, R. , Watkins, K. (2018) Separation of trait and state in stuttering. Human Brain Mapping , 39 (8). pp. 3109-3126. ISSN: 1065-9471 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hbm.24063
- Duñabeitia, J. , Crepaldi, D. , Meyer, A. , New, B. , Pliatsikas, C. , Smolka, E. , Brysbaert, M. (2018) MultiPic: a standardized set of 750 drawings with norms for six European languages. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology , 71 (4). pp. 808-816. ISSN: 1747-0218 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2017.1310261
- Roberts, L. , Gonzalez Alonso, J. , Pliatsikas, C. , Rothman, J. (2018) Evidence from neurolinguistic methodologies: can it actually inform linguistic/ language acquisition theories and translate to evidence-based applications?. Second Language Research , 34 (1). pp. 125-143. ISSN: 1477-0326 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0267658316644010
- Pliatsikas, C. (2017) Bilingualism and the brain. Catalyst (Edition 29)
- Pliatsikas, C. , Johnstone, T. , Marinis, T. (2017) An fMRI study on the processing of long-distance wh-movement in a second language. Glossa: a journal of general linguistics , 2 (1). ISSN: 2397-1835 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/gjgl.95
- Pliatsikas, C. , DeLuca, V. , Moschopoulou, E. , Saddy, J. (2017) Immersive bilingualism reshapes the core of the brain. Brain Structure and Function , 222 (4). pp. 1785-1795. ISSN: 1863-2661 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00429-016-1307-9
- Pliatsikas, C. and Luk, G. (2016) Executive control in bilinguals: a concise review on fMRI studies. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , 19 (4). pp. 699-705. ISSN: 1469-1841 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1366728916000249
- Luk, G. and Pliatsikas, C. (2016) Converging diversity to unity: commentary on 'The neuroanatomy of bilingualism'. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience , 31 (3). pp. 349-352. ISSN: 2327-3801 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23273798.2015.1119289
- Pliatsikas, C. and Chondrogianni, V. (2015) Learning a non-native language in a naturalistic environment: insights from behavioural and neuroimaging research. Frontiers in Psychology
- Pliatsikas, C. and Chondrogianni, V. (2015) Editorial: learning a non-native language in a naturalistic environment: insights from behavioral and neuroimaging research. Frontiers in Psychology , 6 ISSN: 1664-1078 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01009
- Ward, D. , Connally, E. , Pliatsikas, C. , Bretherton-Furness, J. , Watkins, K. (2015) The neurological underpinnings of cluttering: some initial findings. Journal of Fluency Disorders , 43 pp. 1-16. ISSN: 0094-730X | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfludis.2014.12.003
- Pliatsikas, C. , Moschopoulou, E. , Saddy, J. (2015) The effects of bilingualism on the white matter structure of the brain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America , 112 (5). pp. 1334-1337. ISSN: 0027-8424 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1414183112
- Connally, E. , Ward, D. , Pliatsikas, C. , Watkins, K. (2014) Pivotal disruption? Abnormal activity in motor control regions in stuttering. St Anne's Academic Review , 5 pp. 26-43. ISSN: 2048-2566
- Pliatsikas, C. , Wheeldon, L. , Lahiri, A. , Hansen, P. (2014) Processing of zero-derived words in English: an fMRI investigation. Neuropsychologia , 53 pp. 47-53. ISSN: 0028-3932 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.11.003
- Moutsiana, C. , Johnstone, T. , Murray, L. , Fearon, P. , Cooper, P. , Pliatsikas, C. , Goodyer, I. , Halligan, S. (2014) Insecure attachment during infancy predicts greater amygdala volumes in early adulthood. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry , 56 (5). pp. 540-548. ISSN: 0021-9630 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12317
- Pliatsikas, C. , Johnstone, T. , Marinis, T. (2014) fMRI evidence for the involvement of the procedural memory system in morphological processing of a second language. PLoS ONE , 9 (5). ISSN: 1932-6203 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0097298
- Pliatsikas, C. , Johnstone, T. , Marinis, T. (2014) Grey matter volume in the cerebellum is related to processing of grammatical rules in a second language: a structural Voxel-Based Morphometry study. The Cerebellum , 13 (1). pp. 55-63. ISSN: 1473-4230 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12311-013-0515-6
- Pliatsikas, C. and Marinis, T. (2013) Rule-based morphological processing in a second language: a behavioural investigation. Language Studies Working Papers , 5 pp. 3-12. ISSN: 2040-3461
- Pliatsikas, C. and Marinis, T. (2013) Processing empty categories in a second language: When naturalistic exposure fills the (intermediate) gap. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , 16 (1). pp. 167-182. ISSN: 1469-1841 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S136672891200017X
- Pliatsikas, C. and Marinis, T. (2013) Processing of regular and irregular past tense morphology in highly proficient second language learners of English: a self-paced reading study. Applied Psycholinguistics , 34 (5). pp. 943-970. ISSN: 1469-1817 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0142716412000082
- Parker-Jones, O. , Green, D. , Grogan, A. , Pliatsikas, C. , Filippopolitis, K. , Ali, N. , Lee, H. , Ramsden, S. , Gazarian, K. , Prejawa, S. , Seghier, M. , Price, C. (2012) Where, when and why brain activation differs for bilinguals and monolinguals during picture naming and reading aloud. Cerebral Cortex , 22 (4). pp. 892-902. ISSN: 1460-2199 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhr161