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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Korenar, M.
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Pliatsikas, C.
ORCID: 0000-0001-7093-1773 (2023) L2 acquisition and neuroplasticity: insights from the Dynamic Restructuring Model. In: Godfroid, A. and Hopp, H. , (eds.) Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Neurolinguistics. The Routledge Handbooks in Second Language Acquisition Routledge , London.
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Voits, T.
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Rothman, J.
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Calabria, M.
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Robson, H.
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Aguirre, N.
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Cattaneo, G.
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Costumero, V.
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Hernández, M.
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Juncadella Puig, M.
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Marín-Marín, L.
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Suades, A.
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Costa, A.
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Pliatsikas, C.
ORCID: 0000-0001-7093-1773 (2023) Hippocampal adaptations in mild cognitive impairment patients are modulated by bilingual language experiences. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition ISSN: 1469-1841 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1366728923000354
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Korenar, M.
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Treffers-Daller, J.
ORCID: 0000-0002-6575-6736 , Pliatsikas, C.
ORCID: 0000-0001-7093-1773 (2023) Dynamic effects of bilingualism on brain structure map onto general principles of experience-based neuroplasticity. Scientific Reports , 13 ISSN: 2045-2322 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-30326-3
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Alrwaita, N.
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Houston-Price, C.
ORCID: 0000-0001-6368-142X , Meteyard, L. , Voits, T. , Pliatsikas, C.
ORCID: 0000-0001-7093-1773 (2023) Executive functions are modulated by the context of dual language use: diglossic, bilingual and monolingual older adults. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition ISSN: 1469-1841 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1366728923000056
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Antoniou, M.
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Pliatsikas, C.
ORCID: 0000-0001-7093-1773 , Schroeder, S. , eds. (2023) New approaches to how bilingualism shapes cognition and the brain across the lifespan: beyond the false dichotomy of advantage versus no advantage. Frontiers in Psychology , 14. Frontiers in Psychology , 14 ISSN: 1664-1078 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1149062
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Korenar, M.
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Treffers-Daller, J.
ORCID: 0000-0002-6575-6736 , Pliatsikas, C.
ORCID: 0000-0001-7093-1773 (2023) Two languages in one mind: insights into cognitive effects of bilingualism from usage-based approaches. Naše řeč ISSN: 0027-8203
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Pliatsikas, C.
ORCID: 0000-0001-7093-1773 (2023) Bilingualism and brain structure: insights from healthy ageing and progressive neurodegenerative diseases. In: Luk, G. , Anderson, J. , Grundy, J. , (eds.) Understanding Language and Cognition through Bilingualism. In honor of Ellen Bialystok. Studies in Bilingualism John Benjamins Publishing Company (64). pp. 301-316. ISBN: 9789027213747 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1075/sibil.64.14pli
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Alrwaita, N.
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Meteyard, L.
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Houston-Price, C.
ORCID: 0000-0001-6368-142X , Pliatsikas, C.
ORCID: 0000-0001-7093-1773 (2022) Is there an effect of diglossia on executive functions? An investigation on adult diglossic speakers of Arabic. Languages , 7 (4). ISSN: 2226-471X | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/languages7040312
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Duñabeitia, J.
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Baciero, A.
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Antoniou, K.
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Antoniou, M.
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Ataman, E.
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Baus, C.
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Ben-Shachar, M.
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Çağlar, O.
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Chromý, J.
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Comesaña, M.
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Filip, M.
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Filipović Đurđević, D.
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Gillon Dowens, M.
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Hatzidaki, A.
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Januška, J.
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Jusoh, Z.
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Kanj, R.
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Kim, S.
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Kırkıcı, B.
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Leminen, A.
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Lohndal, T.
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Yap, N.
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Renvall, H.
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Rothman, J.
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Royle, P.
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Santesteban, M.
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Sevilla, Y.
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Slioussar, N.
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Vaughan-Evans, A.
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Wodniecka, Z.
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Wulff, S.
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Pliatsikas, C.
ORCID: 0000-0001-7093-1773 (2022) The multilingual picture database. Scientific Data , 9 ISSN: 2052-4463 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01552-7
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Alrwaita, N.
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Houston-Price, C.
ORCID: 0000-0001-6368-142X , Pliatsikas, C.
ORCID: 0000-0001-7093-1773 (2022) The effects of using two varieties of one language on cognition: evidence from bidialectalism and diglossia. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism ISSN: 1879-9272 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1075/lab.21044.alr
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Marin-Marin, L.
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Costumero, V.
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Ávila, C.
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Pliatsikas, C.
ORCID: 0000-0001-7093-1773 (2022) Dynamic effects of immersive bilingualism on cortical and subcortical grey matter volumes. Frontiers in Psychology , 13 ISSN: 1664-1078 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.886222
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Voits, T.
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Robson, H.
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Rothman, J.
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Pliatsikas, C.
ORCID: 0000-0001-7093-1773 (2022) The effects of bilingualism on hippocampal volume in ageing bilinguals. Brain Structure and Function , 227 pp. 979-994. ISSN: 1863-2661 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00429-021-02436-z
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Luque, A.
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Pliatsikas, C.
ORCID: 0000-0001-7093-1773 (2021) Factores contextuales y sociales en la enseñanza de EL2/ELE: Implicaciones lingüísticas, neurocognitivas y socioafectivas. In: Andoni Duñabeitia, J. and Méndez Santos, M. , (eds.) Factores cognitivos y afectivos en la enseñanza del español como LE/L2. Thomson Reuters – Aranzadi pp. 235-258. ISBN: 9788413918532 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.32029/2605-4655.00.03.2021
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Arunachalam Chandran, V.
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Pliatsikas, C.
ORCID: 0000-0001-7093-1773 , Neufeld, J. , O'Connell, G. , Haffey, A. , DeLuca, V. , Chakrabarti, B.
ORCID: 0000-0002-6649-7895 (2021) Brain structural correlates of autistic traits across the diagnostic divide: a grey matter and white matter microstructure study. NeuroImage: Clinical , 32 ISSN: 22131582 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102897
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Yee, J.
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DeLuca, V.
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Pliatsikas, C.
ORCID: 0000-0001-7093-1773 (2021) The effects of multilingualism on brain structure, language control and language processing: insights from MRI. The Cambridge Handbook of Third Language Acquisition and Processing. Cambridge Handbooks in Language and Linguistics Cambridge University Press , Cambridge. ISBN: 9781108832427
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Luk, G.
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Anderson, J.
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Grundy, J.
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Pliatsikas, C.
ORCID: 0000-0001-7093-1773 , Rothman, J. (2021) What Have We Learned About Bilingualism? Regarding Nichols et al. (2020). Psychological Science ISSN: 0956-7976 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.25384/SAGE.15180460.v1
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Pliatsikas, C.
ORCID: 0000-0001-7093-1773 , Pereira Soares, S. , Voits, T. , DeLuca, V. , Rothman, J. (2021) Bilingualism is a long-term cognitively challenging experience that modulates metabolite concentrations in the healthy brain. Scientific Reports , 11 (1). ISSN: 2045-2322 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86443-4
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Pliatsikas, C.
ORCID: 0000-0001-7093-1773 , Ansaldo, A. , Voits, T. (2021) Bilingualism and the declining brain. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism , 11 (4). pp. 453-458. ISSN: 1879-9272 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1075/lab.00031.int
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Aveledo, F.
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Higueras, Y.
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Marinis, T.
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Bose, A.
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Pliatsikas, C.
ORCID: 0000-0001-7093-1773 , Meldaña-Rivera, A. , Martínez-Ginés, M. , García-Domínguez, J. , Lozano-Ros, A. , Cuello, J. , Goicochea-Briceño, H. (2021) Multiple sclerosis and bilingualism: some initial findings. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism , 11 (4). pp. 551-577. ISSN: 1879-9272 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1075/lab.18037.ave
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Voits, T.
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Pliatsikas, C.
ORCID: 0000-0001-7093-1773 , Robson, H. , Rothman, J. (2020) Beyond Alzheimer’s disease: can bilingualism be a more generalized protective factor in neurodegeneration?. Neuropsychologia , 147 ISSN: 0028-3932 | doi: https://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: https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00429-020-02115-5
- 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: https://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: https://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: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/lang.12386
- 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: https://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: https://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: https://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: https://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: https://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: https://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: https://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: https://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: https://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: https://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: https://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: https://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: https://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: https://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: https://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: https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01009
- Moutsiana, C. , Johnstone, T. , Murray, L. , Fearon, P. , Cooper, P. , Pliatsikas, C. , Goodyer, I. , Halligan, S. (2015) 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: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12317
- 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: https://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: https://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: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.11.003
- 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: https://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: https://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: https://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: https://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: https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhr161