How does the brain make meaning?
Desai Lab investigates how the brain represents concepts and meaning, connecting language with perception, action, brain health, and computational models.
01 / Research
Our current research questions.
We study meaning across brain systems, contexts, and computational models.
How we work
From behavior to brain networks.
We connect complementary methods to answer questions at multiple levels of analysis.
- Functional MRI fMRI
- Lesion-symptom mapping
- Transcranial stimulation TMS / tDCS
- Computational modeling
- Behavioral studies
02 / People
Curious minds,
shared questions.
Meet the people who make Desai Lab a collaborative place to think, test, and discover.
Meet the lab →
Columbia, South Carolina
A campus built for curiosity.
Desai Lab is part of a vibrant research community at the University of South Carolina, where interdisciplinary collaboration moves ideas from question to discovery.
Explore the USC campus ↗
03 / Publications
Publications
Selected recent work from the lab.
Improving Lexicosemantic Impairments in Post-Stroke Aphasia Using rTMS Targeting the Right Anterior Temporal Lobe.
↗ 2026Stroke Lesions as a Rosetta Stone for Language Model Interpretability.
↗ 2024What we mean when we say semantic: Toward a multidisciplinary semantic glossary.
↗ Browse all publications→04 / Open science
Data & tools for discovery.
Selected datasets and research software from the lab are available for public use through the Open Science Framework.
Explore resources ↗05 / Join us
Make meaning with us.
We welcome students and researchers with interests in concept representation, semantics, psycholinguistics, cognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and computational approaches.
Undergraduate research assistant positions are anticipated beginning Fall 2027.
Explore opportunities →