Neural processes underlying cognitive control during language production

 Language production requires the coordination of multiple cognitive processes,  including the selection of appropriate words to convey intended meanings and the  suppression of competing or irrelevant information. These processes rely on cogni tive control mechanisms that enable speakers to successfully navigate the demands  of communication. Investigating the neural underpinnings of cognitive control in  language production is crucial for understanding both typical and atypical language  function, as impairments in these mechanisms are associated with various language  disorders, such as aphasia. This thesis aims to elucidate the neural dynamics of cog nitive control during word production by employing a combination of experimental  paradigms, electrophysiological recordings, and machine learning techniques. We  focus on two aspects of cognitive control: (a) the suppression of prepotent word rep resentations (Stroop-like and Picture-word interference tasks) and (b) the resolution  of competition arising from the co-activation of contextually-related word represen tations (blocked-cyclic picture-naming task). By characterizing the spatiotemporal  signatures of these processes and their generalizability across individuals, our anal ysis works to elucidate theories of language production and cognitive control. Fur thermore, we investigate the extent to which the neural processes underlying cog nitive control in language production overlap with those in non-linguistic domains  providing insights into the domain-generality of these mechanisms.