About Me

I am an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neural Science at New York University. In my research, I combine insights from monolingual and multilingual individuals, who process language through speech or sign, to inform an inclusive and comprehensive neurobiology of language. My research combines data from neuroimaging, computational and behavioral methods with theoretical insights from linguistics, psychology and neuroscience.

I obtained my PhD from New York University, where I worked at the Neuroscience of Language lab under Liina Pylkkänen's supervision and completed my post-doctoral training at Harvard University, working in the Cognitive Neuropsychology lab under Alfonso Caramazza's supervision. In 2019, I was recognized as a Forbes 30 under 30 scientist.

Publications

23. Blanco-Elorrieta, E. & Arantzeta, M. (2025). Basque-Spanish bilingual aphasia: a case-study to inform bilingual language organization. Neurobiology of Language.

22. Blanco-Elorrieta, E. (2025). Is adaptation the new ‘bilingual advantage’?. Trends in Cognitive Sciences , 1-28.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2024.11.003

21. Baus, C., Millan, I., Chen, X. J., & Blanco-Elorrieta, E. (2024). Exploring Language Comprehension through Cortical Tracking: the bilingual test case. Neurobiology of Language , 1-28. https://doi.org/10.1162/nol_a_00141

20. Abdullah, L., Valdez, D., Blanco-Elorrieta, E., (2023). ¿Cómo qué, cómo qué? cómo qué? Single-language echolalia in a bilingual female with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy: A case report. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology , 38(7), 1482-1482. https://doi.org/10.1093/arclin/acad067.319

19. Zhu, J., Blanco-Elorrieta, E., Sun, Y., Szakay, A, & Sowman, P. (2022). Natural vs forced language switching: free selection and consistent choices eliminate significant performance costs and cognitive demands in the brain.Neuroimage 247, (2022): 118797 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118797

18. Blanco-Elorrieta, E.*, Hauptman, M.*, & Pylkkänen, L. (2021). Inflection across categories: Tracking abstract morphological processing in language production with MEG. Cerebral Cortex, 309 https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhab309

17. Blanco-Elorrieta, E., & Caramazza, A., (2021). On the need of theoretically guided approaches to possible bilingual advantages: an evaluation of the potential loci in the language and executive control systems. Neurobiology of language , 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1162/nol_a_00041

16. Honari-Jahromi, M., Chouinard, B., Blanco-Elorrieta, E., Pylkkänen, L., & Fyshe, A., (2021). Neural representation of words within phrases: Temporal evolution of color-adjectives and object-nouns during simple composition. Plos One , 16.3 (2021): e0242754. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0242754

15. Blanco-Elorrieta, E., & Caramazza, A. (2021). A common selection mechanism at each linguistic level in bilingual and monolingual language production.Cognition 104625. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104625

14. Blanco-Elorrieta, E.*, Gwilliams, L.*, Marantz, A., & Pylkkänen, L. (2020). Adaptation to mis-pronounced speech: evidence for a prefrontal-cortex repair mechanism. Nature Scientific Reports, 11, 97(2011) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-79640-0

13. Blanco-Elorrieta, E., Ding, N., Pylkkänen, L., & Poeppel, D. (2020). Understanding requires tracking: Noise and knowledge interact in bilingual language comprehension.Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 32(10), 1975-1983 https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_01610

12. Liu, H., Zhang, Y., Blanco-Elorrieta, E., Hea, Y., Chen, B. (2019). Role of proactive control on subcomponents of language control: Evidence from trilinguals. Cognition 194, 104055 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2019.104055

11. Blanco-Elorrieta, E., & Pylkkänen, L. (2018). Ecological validity in bilingualism research and the bilingual advantage. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 22(12), 1117-1126 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2018.10.001

10. Blanco-Elorrieta, E., Emmorey, K., & Pylkkänen, L. (2018). Language switching decomposed through MEG and evidence from bimodal bilinguals. PNAS 115.39 (2018): 9708-9713 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1809779115

9. Blanco-Elorrieta, E., Kastner, I., Emmorey, K., & Pylkkänen, L. (2018). A shared neurobiology for building phrases in signed and spoken language. Scientific Reports 8, 5492 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-23915-0

8. Blanco-Elorrieta, E., Ferreira, S.V., Del Prato, P., & Pylkkänen, L. (2017). The priming of Basic Combinatory Responses in MEG. Cognition 70, 49-63 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2017.09.010

7. Fyshe, A., Blanco-Elorrieta, E. & Pylkkänen, L. (2017). The neural representation of concepts during composition. CCN [pdf]

6. Blanco-Elorrieta, E. Emmorey, K., & Pylkkänen, L. (2017). Decoding Language Switching in the Bilingual Brain: evidence from simultaneous speech and sign production. CCN [pdf]

5. Blanco-Elorrieta, E., & Pylkkänen, L. (2017). Bilingual language switching in the lab vs. in the wild: The spatio-temporal dynamics of adaptive language control. J. Neuroscience, 37(37), 9022-9036 https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0553-17.2017

4. Blanco-Elorrieta, E. & Pylkkänen, L. (2016). Bilingual language control in perception vs. action. J. Neuroscience 36(2): 290-301 https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2597-15.2016

3. Blanco-Elorrieta, E. & Pylkkänen, L. (2015). Composition of complex numbers: Delineating the computational role of the left anterior temporal lobe. NeuroImage 124(Pt A):194-203 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.08.049

2. Blanco Elorrieta, E. & Pylkkänen, L. (2015). Brain bases of language selection: MEG evidence from Arabic-English bilingual language production. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 9:27 https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00027

1. Pylkkänen, L., Bemis, D.K., & Blanco-Elorrieta, E. (2014). Building phrases in language production: An MEG study of simple composition. Cognition , 133, 371-384 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2014.07.001

Invited Talks

2025
41. Colloquium. Cognitive and Brain Science Lecture Series, Tufts University, USA (November).
40. Early Career Award Speaker. Society for the Neurobiology of Language (SNL), Washington, DC, USA (September).
39. Keynote. 2nd Conference in Clinical Linguistics, Baiona, France (July).
38. Keynote. LOT Summer School on Linguistics, Antwerp, Belgium (June).
37. Keynote. LGBTQ+ Science Research Showcase, UCL, London, UK (June).
36. Invited Speaker. Waseda University Psycholinguistics Workshop, Tokyo, Japan (April).
35. Keynote. 5th International Conference on Theoretical East Asian Psycholinguistics, Tokyo, Japan (April).
34. Colloquium. Concepts and Categories Colloquium, New York University, USA (March).
33. Colloquium. Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, New York University, USA (March).
32. Colloquium. Neuroscience Graduate Program, UC San Diego, USA (February).
31. Colloquium. Language and Communicative Disorders Speaker Series, SDSU, USA (February).
30. Keynote. Adaptations to Multilingualism and the Role of Linguistic Proximity, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalunya (February).

2024
29. Keynote. Stony Brook, Yale, NYU & CUNY (SYNC) Linguistics Conference, USA (December).
28. Colloquium. USA & Spain Bridge for the Neurosciences, King Juan Carlos Center, New York, USA (October).
27. Colloquium. Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, The Graduate Center of CUNY, USA (October).
26. Invited Speaker. 2025–2029 Strategic Plan Development Workshop, University of Mondragon, Basque Country (March).

2023
25. Plenary. Architectures and Mechanisms for Language Processing (AMLaP), Donostia-San Sebastian, Basque Country (September).
24. Plenary. XVI International Symposium of Psycholinguistics, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country (May; available here, in English.)
23. Colloquium. Donostia International Physics Center, Donostia-San Sebastian, Basque Country (March; available here, in English.)
22. Keynote. Perspectives on Multilingualism: An Interdisciplinary Roundtable, NYUAD Research Institute, New York, USA (January; available here, in English.)

2022
21. Symposium. Dementia and Alzheimer in Low and Middle Income Countries, Nairobi, Kenya (December).
20. Colloquium. Cognitive Sciences Program Weekly Speaker Series, Dartmouth University, USA (October).
19. Symposium. Intersectional Experiences in Academia, University of Oslo, Norway (March).
18. Colloquium. Psychology Department Seminar, New York University, USA (March).
17. Colloquium. Cognitive Science Seminar, Johns Hopkins University, USA (March).
16. Colloquium. Language and Cognitive Science Seminar, University of Delaware, USA (March).
15. Colloquium. Princeton Neuroscience Institute Seminar Series, Princeton University, USA (March).
14. Colloquium. Neuroscience Research Seminar Series, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, USA (February).
13. Colloquium. Cognitive Area Talk, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA (January).

2021
12. Colloquium. Aphasia Community Group Seminar Series, Boston University, USA (November).
11. Colloquium. Language and Brain Colloquium, University of Florida, USA (October; available here, in English.)
10. Award Talk. Glushko Dissertation Award, Cognitive Science Society Meeting, USA (June; available here, in English.)
9. Colloquium. Department of Language Science, University of California, Irvine, USA (March).
8. Plenary. Young Scholar Speaker Series, Pennsylvania State University, USA (March).
7. Colloquium. NIH National Institute on Aging Virtual Workshop, USA (March; available here, in English.)

2020
6. Ev Lab. MIT, Cambridge, USA (2020).
5. Colloquium. Dartmouth University, New Hampshire, USA (2020).
4. Meet the Author Series. Linguistics Department, New York University, USA (2020).
3. TEDx Talk. Tarragona, Catalunya (2020).
2. Mesgarani Lab. Columbia University, New York, USA (2020).
1. Colloquium. Linguistics, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA (2020).

Scientific Outreach

2024: Scientific Outreach Talk at "Sin Fronteras" Educational Institute in Madrid, Spain.
2023: Scientific Outreach Talk on Bilingualism and Child Development at Montessori School in Williamsburg, NYC.
2023: Interview on La Mecánica del Caracol science radio program (available here, in Spanish.)
2023: Interview on language evolution in El Diario Vasco newspaper (available here, in Spanish.)
2023: ‘De ondas de sonido a significado: cómo procesa nuestro cerebro los idiomas’ — Scientific divulgation talk at the University of the Basque Country.
2023: Interview on the bilingual brain in Berria newspaper (available here, in Basque.)
2023: Radio program at EITB discussing the bilingual brain (available here, in Spanish.)
2023: Podcast episode on the psychology, neuroscience and philosophy of multilingualism (available here, in English.)
2023: ‘How Does the Bilingual Brain Process Language?’ Public talk at NYUAD Institute (available here, in English.)
2023: ‘¿Cómo funciona el cerebro bilingüe?’ Talk at San Telmo Museum, San Sebastián (available here, in Spanish.)
2022: TV interview on multilingualism and the brain for EITB (available here, in Basque.)
2022: Interview on multilingualism, language politics and science in El Español newspaper (available here, in Spanish.)
2021: Panelist and Organizer, Early Career Event, Society for the Neurobiology of Language.
2021: Speaker, Doctoral Student Welcome Event, New York University.
2021: TED en Español podcast episode (available here, in Spanish.)
2021: Interview in Archiletras bi-monthly scientific magazine (available here, in Spanish.)
2021: Baipasa: weekly contribution to science radio program (available here, in Basque.)
2020: Interview in a TV episode of “El cazador de cerebros” (available here, in Spanish.)
2020: TED Talk in Spain (available here, in Spanish.)
2020: Interview on the multilingual brain in Onda Cero radio (available here, in Spanish.) (minute 26 onwards)
2020: Interview on the architecture of the multilingual brain in RTVE Spanish national radio (available here, in Spanish.)
2019: ‘How to build a career in Science’ panelist; Young Leaders of the America Initiative (YLAI).
2019: Coverage of my multilingualism research in the Inspire series by Euronews (available here, in English.)

(Trans)gender Advocacy

2025: Keynote. LGBTQ+ Research Showcase, UCL, UK.
2024: Interview. NBC Today on Gender-Affirming Voice Treatment (available here, in English.)
2022: Keynote. Intersectional Experiences in Academia Workshop, University of Oslo.
2021: Advisor. Spanish Ministry for Gender Equality: gender equality policy.
2021: Interview. “Identity, language, and the future”, The Future Game (available here, in Basque.)
2021: Panelist. Bayer pharmaceutical Latin-American branch: Pride event.
2021: Documentary. “Non-binary” feature documentary on trans experience (available here, in English.)
2020: Panelist. ELA Basque Trade Union: Pride event.
2020: Panelist. National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals: career panel.
2020: Mentor. Harvard Women in STEM Initiative.

Media

2023: Interview. Diario Vasco newspaper (available here, in Spanish.)
2023: Interview. Radio Vitoria (available here, in Spanish.)
2023: Interview. Nius Diario (available here, in Spanish.)
2023: Interview. The New York Times (available here, in English.)
2023: Interview. Berria newspaper (available here, in Basque.)
2023: Interview. ARGIA magazine (available here, in Basque.)
2020: Interview. El País newspaper (available here, in Spanish.)
2020: Interview. Deia newspaper (available here, in Spanish.)
2020: Interview. COPE radio (available here, in Spanish.) (from 20:00)
2020: Interview. EITB radio (available here, in Basque.) (from 1:09)
2018: Research coverage. American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) news (available here, in English.)
2018: Research coverage. Le Scienze (Italy) (available here, in Italian.)
2018: Research coverage. Russian N1 news channel (available here, in Russian.)
2018: Research coverage. NSF podcast (available here, in English.)
2017: Research coverage. Science Daily (available here, in English.)
2017: Research coverage. Lukor magazine (available here, in English.)
2017: Research coverage. Science Codex (available here, in English.)
2017: Research coverage. Health News Digest (available here, in English.)
2017: Research coverage. Gears of Biz (available here, in English.)
2017: Research coverage. Futurity news (available here, in English.)