Adrien MEGUERDITCHIAN

Adrien MEGUERDITCHIAN is a permanent research scientist (Chargé de Recherche) at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), affiliated with the Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive at Aix-Marseille University. He leads the DePhy research team focusing on Development and Phylogeny in primate communication. His work bridges primatology, neuroscience, and linguistics to explore the evolutionary origins of human language through gestural communication in primates.

His research centers on comparative primate neurobiology and behavior, with emphases on:

• Manual preferences and cerebral lateralization in gestural communication
• Intentionality and referential properties of primate signals
• Structural brain asymmetries homologous to human language areas
• Ontogenetic development of communication in primates

MEGUERDITCHIAN's publications demonstrate consistent focus on brain-behavior relationships in primates, particularly anatomical asymmetries in language-related regions (Broca's area homolog, planum temporale) and their correlation with gestural communication. Recent work emphasizes predictive neurodevelopmental patterns in infant primates.

Scientific recognitions include:

• CNRS Bronze Medal (2021)
• ERC Starting Grant for gestural communication research

He mentors doctoral researchers and manages major projects including the ANR BABONTO and ERC Gestimage studies, conducting fieldwork at the CNRS Primatology Station (France), Fongoli (Senegal), and Yerkes Primate Research Center (USA). His team utilizes advanced methodologies including fMRI, fNIRS, and longitudinal behavioral observation.