Neil Cohn

Neil Cohn is an Associate Professor at Tilburg University's Department of Communication and Cognition, within the Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences. His research focuses on visual language, cognitive processes in visual narratives, and the structural parallels between visual and linguistic systems. He explores how sequential images (e.g., comics) are structured and processed similarly to spoken languages, using corpus analysis, cognitive neuroscience (EEG), and experimental methods.

Education: Ph.D. in Psychology from Tufts University (2012), M.S. in Psychology (2010), M.A. in Social Sciences (2005), B.A. in Asian Studies (2002). Postdoctoral research at UC San Diego (2012–2015).

Research Interests: Visual language structure, cross-cultural analysis of comics, multimodal communication, neurocognitive mechanisms of visual narrative comprehension, and the development of drawing abilities. He leads projects such as the ERC-funded TINTIN and PICTREE initiatives, studying visual grammar and neural processing of visual sequences.

Teaching: Courses include 'Visual Language,' 'Multimodal Communication,' and 'Cognition of Visual Narratives.' Focuses on drawing skills, EEG research, and visual thinking.

Publications: Over 100 peer-reviewed articles and 6 books, including The Visual Language of Comics (2013) and Who Understands Comics? (2020). His work bridges linguistics, cognitive science, and art, with contributions to emoji standardization and collaborations with institutions like BBC News.

Awards: ERC Consolidator and Starting Grants, FABBS Early Career Impact Award (2019), Robert J. Glushko Dissertation Prize (2013).

Grants: Active funding includes the PICTREE project (2025–2030) and collaborations on visual narrative processing in children with language disorders.