Christos Pliatsikas

Christos Pliatsikas is a Professor at the University of Reading's School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, having recently been promoted from Associate Professor effective August 1, 2025. He serves as School Director of Academic Tutoring and is the incoming director of the Centre for Literacy and Multilingualism (CeLM), which will host the 6th International Symposium on Bilingual and L2 Processing in Adults and Children (ISBPAC 2026).

Dr. Pliatsikas holds a PhD in Clinical Language Sciences from the University of Reading, an MSc in Clinical Neurosciences from the Institute of Neurology at UCL, and a BSc in Psychology from Pantion University in Athens, Greece. He also earned a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education from the University of Kent.

His research focuses on experience-based neuroplasticity, particularly examining how bi- and multilingualism affect brain structure and function using behavioral and neuroimaging methods. His work investigates whether language learning changes the brain, how these effects interact with aging and neurodegeneration, and how specific language situations like diglossia impact cognition. His research has significant implications for understanding cognitive reserve in neurodegenerative diseases.

His recent publications (2024-2025) demonstrate a strong focus on multilingualism's neurological effects across the lifespan, with particular attention to aging populations and neurological conditions. His work spans multiple methodologies including fMRI, EEG, and behavioral testing, with a growing emphasis on creating linguistic resources for under-resourced languages through the Multipic project.

• Fellow of the Centre for Advanced Studies Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters
• Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
• British Academy Academy Research Project funding for expanding Multipic to include 8 under-resourced languages

Dr. Pliatsikas leads the Bilingualism in the Brain research lab at Reading and has supervised PhD students including Dr. Alex Sheehan. His research has received significant funding, including a British Academy grant to expand the Multipic picture database to under-resourced languages. He maintains active international collaborations, particularly with researchers in Spain (Universidad Nebrija) and Australia (Western Sydney University), where he recently completed a month-long research visit.

He is an active participant in the international research community, regularly attending and presenting at major conferences including the International Symposium on Bilingualism (ISB15) and the Society for the Neurobiology of Language. He also contributes to the Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics (CINN) at the University of Reading.