Mike Bowers TEDxVirginia Tech, What Can the Rat Tell Us about Language and Communication Disorders?

As you will learn, his passion for language began as a child. What may surprise you, however, is that Mike is making discoveries about human language by studying rats. In his talk “What Can the Rat Tell Us about Language and Communication Disorders?,” he will explain the connections between his research involving rats and what it means for human language and communication disorders. Mike Bowers is an Assistant Professor in the School of Neuroscience at Virginia Tech. As a Postdoctoral Fellow, Mike gained international distinction for his discovery of a sex difference for a gene called FOXP2, which is responsible for brain development and language. Mike’s program of research focuses on how sex hormones and genes impact the development of the brain circuits responsible for language and communication disorders such as autism and stuttering.