Anna (Anya) Ivanova
@neuranna.bsky.social
Language and thought in brains and in machines. Assistant Prof @ Georgia Tech Psychology. Previously a postdoc @ MIT Quest for Intelligence, PhD @ MIT Brain and Cognitive Sciences. She/her
https://www.language-intelligence-thought.net
https://www.language-intelligence-thought.net
Reposted by Anna (Anya) Ivanova
What a privilege and a delight to work with @coltoncasto.bsky.social @ev_fedorenko and @neuranna
on this new speculative piece on What it means to understand language, nicely summarized in this
Tweeprint from @coltoncasto.bsky.social arxiv.org/abs/2511.19757
on this new speculative piece on What it means to understand language, nicely summarized in this
Tweeprint from @coltoncasto.bsky.social arxiv.org/abs/2511.19757
November 26, 2025 at 4:34 PM
What a privilege and a delight to work with @coltoncasto.bsky.social @ev_fedorenko and @neuranna
on this new speculative piece on What it means to understand language, nicely summarized in this
Tweeprint from @coltoncasto.bsky.social arxiv.org/abs/2511.19757
on this new speculative piece on What it means to understand language, nicely summarized in this
Tweeprint from @coltoncasto.bsky.social arxiv.org/abs/2511.19757
Neuroscience of language has a dilemma: how do we reconcile extensive patient and imaging evidence for **language-specific** processing with the fact that naturalistic language evokes extensive activity all over the brain? We propose a framework that accounts for both.
What does it mean to understand language? We argue that the brain’s core language system is limited, and that *deeply* understanding language requires EXPORTING info to other brain regions.
w/ @neuranna.bsky.social @evfedorenko.bsky.social @nancykanwisher.bsky.social
arxiv.org/abs/2511.19757
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w/ @neuranna.bsky.social @evfedorenko.bsky.social @nancykanwisher.bsky.social
arxiv.org/abs/2511.19757
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What does it mean to understand language?
Language understanding entails not just extracting the surface-level meaning of the linguistic input, but constructing rich mental models of the situation it describes. Here we propose that because pr...
arxiv.org
November 26, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Neuroscience of language has a dilemma: how do we reconcile extensive patient and imaging evidence for **language-specific** processing with the fact that naturalistic language evokes extensive activity all over the brain? We propose a framework that accounts for both.
Reposted by Anna (Anya) Ivanova
Origins of language, one of humanity’s most distinctive traits, may be best explained as a unique convergence of multiple capacities each with its own evolutionary history, involving intertwined roles of biology & culture. This framing can expand research horizons. A 🧵 on our @science.org paper.🧪1/n
What enables human language? A biocultural framework
Explaining the origins of language is a key challenge in understanding ourselves as a species. We present an empirical framework that draws on synergies across fields to facilitate robust studies of l...
www.science.org
November 23, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Origins of language, one of humanity’s most distinctive traits, may be best explained as a unique convergence of multiple capacities each with its own evolutionary history, involving intertwined roles of biology & culture. This framing can expand research horizons. A 🧵 on our @science.org paper.🧪1/n
Reposted by Anna (Anya) Ivanova
Advances in genomics are giving exciting new perspectives on biology of speech, language & reading. My latest peer-reviewed paper is a tutorial, guiding readers from different backgrounds through the history of the field, current state-of-the-art, & where we’re heading. A taster in this thread.🧪
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Genomic Investigations of Spoken and Written Language Abilities: A Guide to Advances in Approaches, Technologies, and Discovery
Purpose: The aim of this tutorial is to show how the rise of molecular technologies
and analytical methods in human genetics yields exciting new ...
pubs.asha.org
November 17, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Advances in genomics are giving exciting new perspectives on biology of speech, language & reading. My latest peer-reviewed paper is a tutorial, guiding readers from different backgrounds through the history of the field, current state-of-the-art, & where we’re heading. A taster in this thread.🧪
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Reposted by Anna (Anya) Ivanova
🤖🧠I'll be considering applications for PhD students & postdocs to start at Yale in Fall 2026!
If you are interested in the intersection of linguistics, cognitive science, & AI, I encourage you to apply!
PhD link: rtmccoy.com/prospective_...
Postdoc link: rtmccoy.com/prospective_...
If you are interested in the intersection of linguistics, cognitive science, & AI, I encourage you to apply!
PhD link: rtmccoy.com/prospective_...
Postdoc link: rtmccoy.com/prospective_...
November 14, 2025 at 4:40 PM
🤖🧠I'll be considering applications for PhD students & postdocs to start at Yale in Fall 2026!
If you are interested in the intersection of linguistics, cognitive science, & AI, I encourage you to apply!
PhD link: rtmccoy.com/prospective_...
Postdoc link: rtmccoy.com/prospective_...
If you are interested in the intersection of linguistics, cognitive science, & AI, I encourage you to apply!
PhD link: rtmccoy.com/prospective_...
Postdoc link: rtmccoy.com/prospective_...
Reposted by Anna (Anya) Ivanova
New work to appear @ TACL!
Language models (LMs) are remarkably good at generating novel well-formed sentences, leading to claims that they have mastered grammar.
Yet they often assign higher probability to ungrammatical strings than to grammatical strings.
How can both things be true? 🧵👇
Language models (LMs) are remarkably good at generating novel well-formed sentences, leading to claims that they have mastered grammar.
Yet they often assign higher probability to ungrammatical strings than to grammatical strings.
How can both things be true? 🧵👇
November 10, 2025 at 10:11 PM
New work to appear @ TACL!
Language models (LMs) are remarkably good at generating novel well-formed sentences, leading to claims that they have mastered grammar.
Yet they often assign higher probability to ungrammatical strings than to grammatical strings.
How can both things be true? 🧵👇
Language models (LMs) are remarkably good at generating novel well-formed sentences, leading to claims that they have mastered grammar.
Yet they often assign higher probability to ungrammatical strings than to grammatical strings.
How can both things be true? 🧵👇
Reposted by Anna (Anya) Ivanova
Delighted Sasha's (first year PhD!) work using mech interp to study complex syntax constructions won an Outstanding Paper Award at EMNLP!
Also delighted the ACL community continues to recognize unabashedly linguistic topics like filler-gaps... and the huge potential for LMs to inform such topics!
Also delighted the ACL community continues to recognize unabashedly linguistic topics like filler-gaps... and the huge potential for LMs to inform such topics!
November 7, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Delighted Sasha's (first year PhD!) work using mech interp to study complex syntax constructions won an Outstanding Paper Award at EMNLP!
Also delighted the ACL community continues to recognize unabashedly linguistic topics like filler-gaps... and the huge potential for LMs to inform such topics!
Also delighted the ACL community continues to recognize unabashedly linguistic topics like filler-gaps... and the huge potential for LMs to inform such topics!
Reposted by Anna (Anya) Ivanova
Excited to share our work on mechanisms of naturalistic audiovisual processing in the human brain 🧠🎬!!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org
November 7, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Excited to share our work on mechanisms of naturalistic audiovisual processing in the human brain 🧠🎬!!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Anna (Anya) Ivanova
NEW: The Trump admin just ended the practice of automatically extending work permits when people file to renew them — meaning that if USCIS takes too long to process a renewal the applicant loses their authorization to work legally.
The interim final rule applies to renewals filed after tomorrow.
The interim final rule applies to renewals filed after tomorrow.
![This document is scheduled to be published in the
Federal Register on 10/30/2025 and available online at
https://federalregister.gov/d/2025-19702, and on https://govinfo.gov
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Removal of the Automatic Extension of Employment Authorization Documents AGENCY: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Department of Homeland Security (DHS). ACTION: Interim final rule (“IFR”) with request for comments. ______________________________________________________________________ SUMMARY: This IFR amends DHS regulations to end the practice of automatically extending the validity of employment authorization documents (Forms I-766 or EADs) for aliens who have timely filed an application to renew their EAD in certain employment authorization categories. The purpose of this change is to prioritize the proper vetting and screening of aliens before granting a new period of employment authorization and/or a new EAD. This IFR does not impact the validity of EADs that were automatically extended prior to [INSERT DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER] or which are otherwise automatically extended by law or Federal Register notice.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2vtbmhmrwzbqcfv4we4uxzzt/bafkreicxgrb4jgjk3455qn4mjcjyz24ysxwf3ri2j5gzlqe4uuq67m746a@jpeg)
October 29, 2025 at 1:43 PM
NEW: The Trump admin just ended the practice of automatically extending work permits when people file to renew them — meaning that if USCIS takes too long to process a renewal the applicant loses their authorization to work legally.
The interim final rule applies to renewals filed after tomorrow.
The interim final rule applies to renewals filed after tomorrow.
🤖📈 How do LLMs use their depth?
Akshat Gupta led a fun project to find out! We leverage TunedLens (~linear decoding of tokens) to explore how LLMs' internal representations change from layer to layer.
Preprint: arxiv.org/abs/2510.18871
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Akshat Gupta led a fun project to find out! We leverage TunedLens (~linear decoding of tokens) to explore how LLMs' internal representations change from layer to layer.
Preprint: arxiv.org/abs/2510.18871
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October 23, 2025 at 4:17 PM
🤖📈 How do LLMs use their depth?
Akshat Gupta led a fun project to find out! We leverage TunedLens (~linear decoding of tokens) to explore how LLMs' internal representations change from layer to layer.
Preprint: arxiv.org/abs/2510.18871
1/
Akshat Gupta led a fun project to find out! We leverage TunedLens (~linear decoding of tokens) to explore how LLMs' internal representations change from layer to layer.
Preprint: arxiv.org/abs/2510.18871
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Finally out in TACL:
🌎EWoK (Elements of World Knowledge)🌎: A cognition-inspired framework for evaluating basic world knowledge in language models
tl;dr: LLMs learn basic social concepts way easier than physical&spatial concepts
Paper: direct.mit.edu/tacl/article...
Website: ewok-core.github.io
🌎EWoK (Elements of World Knowledge)🌎: A cognition-inspired framework for evaluating basic world knowledge in language models
tl;dr: LLMs learn basic social concepts way easier than physical&spatial concepts
Paper: direct.mit.edu/tacl/article...
Website: ewok-core.github.io
October 20, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Finally out in TACL:
🌎EWoK (Elements of World Knowledge)🌎: A cognition-inspired framework for evaluating basic world knowledge in language models
tl;dr: LLMs learn basic social concepts way easier than physical&spatial concepts
Paper: direct.mit.edu/tacl/article...
Website: ewok-core.github.io
🌎EWoK (Elements of World Knowledge)🌎: A cognition-inspired framework for evaluating basic world knowledge in language models
tl;dr: LLMs learn basic social concepts way easier than physical&spatial concepts
Paper: direct.mit.edu/tacl/article...
Website: ewok-core.github.io
Reposted by Anna (Anya) Ivanova
Why do brain networks vary? Do these differences shape behavior? If every 🧠 is unique, how can we detect common features of brain organization?
@rodbraga.bsky.social and I dig in, in @annualreviews.bsky.social (ahead of print):
go.illinois.edu/Gratton2025-...
#neuroskyence #psychscisky #MedSky
🧵👇
@rodbraga.bsky.social and I dig in, in @annualreviews.bsky.social (ahead of print):
go.illinois.edu/Gratton2025-...
#neuroskyence #psychscisky #MedSky
🧵👇
Dense Phenotyping of Human Brain Network Organization Using Precision fMRI
The advent of noninvasive imaging methods like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) transformed cognitive neuroscience, providing insights into large-scale brain networks and their link to cog...
go.illinois.edu
October 16, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Why do brain networks vary? Do these differences shape behavior? If every 🧠 is unique, how can we detect common features of brain organization?
@rodbraga.bsky.social and I dig in, in @annualreviews.bsky.social (ahead of print):
go.illinois.edu/Gratton2025-...
#neuroskyence #psychscisky #MedSky
🧵👇
@rodbraga.bsky.social and I dig in, in @annualreviews.bsky.social (ahead of print):
go.illinois.edu/Gratton2025-...
#neuroskyence #psychscisky #MedSky
🧵👇
Reposted by Anna (Anya) Ivanova
New paper in Imaging Neuroscience by Ammar I. Marvi, Nancy G. Kanwisher, et al:
An efficient multifunction fMRI localizer for high-level visual, auditory, and cognitive regions in humans
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
An efficient multifunction fMRI localizer for high-level visual, auditory, and cognitive regions in humans
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
October 15, 2025 at 5:10 AM
New paper in Imaging Neuroscience by Ammar I. Marvi, Nancy G. Kanwisher, et al:
An efficient multifunction fMRI localizer for high-level visual, auditory, and cognitive regions in humans
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
An efficient multifunction fMRI localizer for high-level visual, auditory, and cognitive regions in humans
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
As our lab started to build encoding 🧠 models, we were trying to figure out best practices in the field. So @neurotaha.bsky.social
built a library to easily compare design choices & model features across datasets!
We hope it will be useful to the community & plan to keep expanding it!
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built a library to easily compare design choices & model features across datasets!
We hope it will be useful to the community & plan to keep expanding it!
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🚨 Paper alert:
To appear in the DBM Neurips Workshop
LITcoder: A General-Purpose Library for Building and Comparing Encoding Models
📄 arxiv: arxiv.org/abs/2509.091...
🔗 project: litcoder-brain.github.io
To appear in the DBM Neurips Workshop
LITcoder: A General-Purpose Library for Building and Comparing Encoding Models
📄 arxiv: arxiv.org/abs/2509.091...
🔗 project: litcoder-brain.github.io
September 29, 2025 at 5:33 PM
As our lab started to build encoding 🧠 models, we were trying to figure out best practices in the field. So @neurotaha.bsky.social
built a library to easily compare design choices & model features across datasets!
We hope it will be useful to the community & plan to keep expanding it!
1/
built a library to easily compare design choices & model features across datasets!
We hope it will be useful to the community & plan to keep expanding it!
1/
Reposted by Anna (Anya) Ivanova
Excited to share new work with @hleemasson.bsky.social , Ericka Wodka, Stewart Mostofsky and @lisik.bsky.social! We investigated how simultaneous vision and language signals are combined in the brain using naturalistic+controlled fMRI. Read the paper here: osf.io/b5p4n
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September 24, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Excited to share new work with @hleemasson.bsky.social , Ericka Wodka, Stewart Mostofsky and @lisik.bsky.social! We investigated how simultaneous vision and language signals are combined in the brain using naturalistic+controlled fMRI. Read the paper here: osf.io/b5p4n
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ChatGPT is surprisingly bad at generating / explaining garden path sentences, and my students, who had a garden path question on their homework, will soon find that out 😅
September 24, 2025 at 9:52 PM
ChatGPT is surprisingly bad at generating / explaining garden path sentences, and my students, who had a garden path question on their homework, will soon find that out 😅
Reposted by Anna (Anya) Ivanova
Variance partitioning is used to quantify the overlap of two models. Over the years, I have found that this can be a very confusing and misleading concept. So we finally we decided to write a short blog to explain why.
@martinhebart.bsky.social @gallantlab.org
diedrichsenlab.org/BrainDataSci...
@martinhebart.bsky.social @gallantlab.org
diedrichsenlab.org/BrainDataSci...
September 10, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Variance partitioning is used to quantify the overlap of two models. Over the years, I have found that this can be a very confusing and misleading concept. So we finally we decided to write a short blog to explain why.
@martinhebart.bsky.social @gallantlab.org
diedrichsenlab.org/BrainDataSci...
@martinhebart.bsky.social @gallantlab.org
diedrichsenlab.org/BrainDataSci...
Reposted by Anna (Anya) Ivanova
The lateral prefrontal cortex 🧠— which we think of as critical for goal driven behavior + is a target for psychiatric treatments— is fundamentally different in individuals relative to the group averages we’ve often studied.
👇see preprint and thread, led by Zach Ladwig
#neuroskyence #PsychSciSky
👇see preprint and thread, led by Zach Ladwig
#neuroskyence #PsychSciSky
August 14, 2025 at 3:16 PM
The lateral prefrontal cortex 🧠— which we think of as critical for goal driven behavior + is a target for psychiatric treatments— is fundamentally different in individuals relative to the group averages we’ve often studied.
👇see preprint and thread, led by Zach Ladwig
#neuroskyence #PsychSciSky
👇see preprint and thread, led by Zach Ladwig
#neuroskyence #PsychSciSky
Many thanks to the volunteer organizers and the flash talk presenters for making the CCN watch party at Georgia Tech a success! And thanks all attendees for coming and engaging in discussions!
August 16, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Many thanks to the volunteer organizers and the flash talk presenters for making the CCN watch party at Georgia Tech a success! And thanks all attendees for coming and engaging in discussions!
Reposted by Anna (Anya) Ivanova
Josh Tenenbaum's inspiring keynote at #cogsci2025 on growing vs scaling AI, the big questions of cognitive science, and the many open questions for the field.
August 1, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Josh Tenenbaum's inspiring keynote at #cogsci2025 on growing vs scaling AI, the big questions of cognitive science, and the many open questions for the field.
They just changed the room for our session on language and intelligence this afternoon to ***Salon 7*** . Find me there at 1pm PT #cogsci2025
Looking forward to #CogSci2025 ! Find us throughout the conference
August 1, 2025 at 5:25 PM
They just changed the room for our session on language and intelligence this afternoon to ***Salon 7*** . Find me there at 1pm PT #cogsci2025
Reposted by Anna (Anya) Ivanova
Very excited that the Society for the Neurobiology of Language will be holding our annual meeting at Gallaudet University in September.
In preparation check out my starter pack on language researchers, and let me know if you’d like to be added!
#SNL25
go.bsky.app/6iumPee
In preparation check out my starter pack on language researchers, and let me know if you’d like to be added!
#SNL25
go.bsky.app/6iumPee
July 31, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Very excited that the Society for the Neurobiology of Language will be holding our annual meeting at Gallaudet University in September.
In preparation check out my starter pack on language researchers, and let me know if you’d like to be added!
#SNL25
go.bsky.app/6iumPee
In preparation check out my starter pack on language researchers, and let me know if you’d like to be added!
#SNL25
go.bsky.app/6iumPee
Reposted by Anna (Anya) Ivanova
1/7 If you're at CogSci 2025, I'd love to see you at my talk on Friday 1pm PDT in Nob Hill A! I'll be talking about our work towards an implemented computational model of noisy-channel comprehension (with @postylem.bsky.social, Ted Gibson, and @rplevy.bsky.social).
July 31, 2025 at 5:56 PM
1/7 If you're at CogSci 2025, I'd love to see you at my talk on Friday 1pm PDT in Nob Hill A! I'll be talking about our work towards an implemented computational model of noisy-channel comprehension (with @postylem.bsky.social, Ted Gibson, and @rplevy.bsky.social).
Reposted by Anna (Anya) Ivanova
Very excited to be presenting my work "Estimating and Correcting Yes-No Bias in Language Models" (done with @neuranna.bsky.social) at the poster session @ #CogSci2025 today! Please come check it out starting 1pm 🙏🏻!
Poster | Paper
Poster | Paper
Looking forward to #CogSci2025 ! Find us throughout the conference
July 31, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Very excited to be presenting my work "Estimating and Correcting Yes-No Bias in Language Models" (done with @neuranna.bsky.social) at the poster session @ #CogSci2025 today! Please come check it out starting 1pm 🙏🏻!
Poster | Paper
Poster | Paper
Looking forward to #CogSci2025 ! Find us throughout the conference
July 28, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Looking forward to #CogSci2025 ! Find us throughout the conference