Jeong's Lab
Brain and Second Language
Tohoku University
What's new
2024.4.25-26 Lecture by Dr. Francesca M.M. Citron, Lancaster University
We spent two intense days with Dr. Francesca M.M. Citron from Lancaster University, thanks to her stimulating talks and discussions with students.
The first day featured her as a speaker in the Colloquium Series at GSICS, followed by an informal meeting with the students in my seminar. Yuto Aki (M1) and Jiaxin Yan (M1) shared their current ideas!
The second day involved a seminar in the Department of Human Brain Science. Including Chunlin Liu (D3) 's presentation, our discussions on emotion, music, and language covered cultural impacts and emotional insights. Having a great time discussing research—it’s the best!
2024. 4.1 Establishment of Cognitive Neuroscience Application Center
Tohoku University has conducted various interdisciplinary studies in the field of applied brain sciences. With the expectation of further advancing our cognitive neuroscience research, we established the Cognitive Neuroscience Application Center (CogNAC) in April 2024. Researchers from diverse fields at our university will collaborate to unravel the complexities of human cognition. Through the activities of this center, we are committed to leading graduate education and supporting early-career researchers. I have been appointed as the vice director of this center and am dedicated to giving my utmost effort.
Tohoku cogNAC:https://cognac.tohoku.ac.jp/
2024. 4.1 Congratulations on New Position and Admissions
Exciting News! Our member Diego Dardon has embarked on his research journey in a new academic setting today, taking on the role of a tenure-track lecturer at Miyagi University of Education. We wish him even greater success in his research pursuits.
In addition, we welcome two new graduate students to our team: Qiang Huang as a D1, and Yuto Aki as an M1. With these new additions, there's no doubt that our team will grow even stronger and more dynamic.
2024. 3.24 Special talk by Professor Say Young Kim
We hosted an international joint seminar with Dr. Say Young Kim from Hanyang University, Korea. The event featured vibrant discussions on experimental methods to investigate linguistic issues. The engagement continued to flourish at the reception. Seminars that enable in-depth discussions like these are truly invaluable.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to Professor Kim for his insightful lecture.
2024. 3.22 Groundbreaking Study on Brain Activity During English Writing Using fMRI Technology
We're excited to share a significant milestone in neuroscience and linguistics: the completion of the first-ever study on brain activity during English writing, achieved with a unique fMRI-compatible keyboard. This endeavor, realized in March in collaboration with University College London (UCL), opens new doors to understanding the cognitive processes behind writing.
The swift completion of this groundbreaking experiment in just one month was made possible by the invaluable support of our members and the dedication of skilled participants proficient in touch-typing and in English as a second language (L2). Now, as we proceed to analyze the data, we look forward to uncovering insights that will deepen our understanding of the brain's linguistic capabilities.
2024. 3.19 AAAL conference presentation
We presented joint research with Dr. Yuichi Suzuki from Kanagawa University at AAAL 2024. The study used fMRI to investigate the automatization of grammatical form learning through speech output practice.
Jeong, H., Suzuki, Y., Liu,C., Sugiura, M. Explicit learning and beyond: Neural evidence for automatization in L2 grammar acquisition, American Association for Applied Linguistics, Houston, the U.S. March 2024.
2024. 3.12 Exciting News. New publication
Ikeda, S., Jeong, H., Sasaki, Y., Sakaki, K., Yamazaki, S., Nozawa, T. & Kawashina, R. Predicting conversational satisfaction of face-to-face conversation through interpersonal similarity in resting-state functional connectivity. Sci Rep 14, 6015 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-56718-7
Our latest research, a collaborative effort by Dr Ikeda (first author) and Professor Nozawa of Toyama University, reveals that conversational satisfaction between two people meeting for the first time can be predicted by examining their brain activity patterns before they even speak. Using advanced brain imaging (fMRI) to analyze resting-state functional connectivity, we've found that similarities in brain function are strong indicators of how well a conversation will go. This breakthrough offers new neuroscientific insights into the underpinnings of human relationships, suggesting the intriguing possibility that our neural wiring may predestine the success of face-to-face interactions.
2024. 01.30 Exciting News. Our study has just been published!
Chunlin Liu^, Hyeonjeong Jeong*, Haining Cui^, Jean-Marc Dewaele, Kiyo Okamoto^, Yuichi Suzuki, Motoaki Sugiura (2024) Effects of social interactions on the neural representation of emotional words in late bilinguals, Language, Cognition, and Neuroscience ( * corresponding author) ( ^ supervised student)
: The study demonstrates that later L2 learners, by using the language socially, increasingly involve emotion-related brain areas when processing emotional words in a second language, highlighting the importance of social interaction in the acquisition of emotional vocabulary.
As a top 10% journal, we received "Open Access" support from Tohoku University. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23273798.2024.2307630
2024.01.25-26 Graduate School Event
At the annual event hosted by our graduate school, there were presentations where students outlined their current research preparations and discussed future prospects, known as "title presentations." Three students from our lab delivered these title presentations, showcasing the scope and potential directions of their Master's and Doctoral thesis work. They were exceptionally well-received. I encourage you to continue refining your diverse skills and to strive for success in your research projects.
The Role of Gestures in Understanding Figurative Discourse in Second Language: An fMRI study by Jaxin Yan (M1)
A Neuroimaging Study of Prosodic Cues in the Second Language by Victoria Anne Flood (D1)
The Foreign Language Effect in Moral Decision-Making: Exploring Influences, Factors, and its Mechanism by Yichuan Huang (D2)
2024.01.16 Paper Accepted
I am very happy to announce that my supervised PhD student Chunlin Liu's paper has been accepted for publication in the international journal, Language, Cognition, and Neuroscience, which is wonderful news for the start of 2024. The title is "Effects of social interactions on the neural representation of emotional words in late bilinguals".
The journey to this achievement involved three rounds of revisions and considerable effort in addressing the feedback from rigorous reviewers. However, this challenging process ultimately enhanced the quality of the paper. The insightful comments from the reviewers not only improved the paper but also provided an invaluable learning experience. I sincerely thank the reviewers whose comments on our paper were insightful and constructive.
I am incredibly proud of Chunlin's accomplishments. You have done a great job, Chunlin, and this is a remarkable beginning to what I am confident will be a distinguished research career. Congratulations on your publication in such a renowned international journal. I eagerly anticipate following your future progress.
2024.01.05 Happy New Year!
We celebrated the New Year together. Wishing everyone a wonderful new year!!
Additionally, we had a farewell party for one of our members, Chunlin, embarking on a 3-month internship at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. We eagerly anticipate her achievements during this brief yet significant period.
Goals for This Year:
Re-start Journal Club and study hard all the time.
Implement the plan effectively.
Each member should aim to write a paper as the lead author.
2023.12.22
Today marked our last seminar of the year. It's been a joyful journey conducting research together this year. I am grateful for all the memories we've created and the progress we've made. Let's continue to make a fantastic team in the coming year.
Wishing everyone a happy and prosperous new year!
2023.12. Publishing Book Chapter
Chapter 16
Neurocognition of Social Learning of Second Language
How Can Second Language be Learned as First Language?
By Hyeonjeong Jeong, Ping Li
The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Neurolinguistics is an excellent book that has just been published. It covers a wide range of topics in second language acquisition from a neuroscientific perspective.
I am honored to have contributed to Chapter 16 in this significant publication.
2023.11.27-11.28 Distinguished Lecture
I delivered an invited talk at Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), where I introduced my previous fMRI research on social interaction. The warm welcome and the lively discussion with researchers and students greatly inspired me.
2023. 10.24-10.26 Presentations at International Conference
Three members from our laboratory presented recent findings at the Society for Neurobiology of Language 2023 conference in Marseille, France.
Highlights of our team's work presented at #SNL2023
"The Rule Learning of Phonological-Based Linguistic Categories: An fMRI Study" by Diego Dardon
"Neural Mechanisms of Attitudinal Prosody Perception in a Second Language: An fMRI Study" by Victoria-Anne Flood.
"The Effect of Emotional Facial Expressions on Second Language Emotional Vocabulary Acquisition: An fMRI Study" by Chunlin Liu.
2023. 7.6-8 Presentations at International Conference
Victoria-Anne and Diego presented their studies at the Joint International Conference on English Language Teaching (ELT) in Korea, held at Konkuk University, Seoul.
"Dissociating the Roles of Working Memory and Language Aptitude during L2 Learning: An fMRI Study" by Diego Elisandro Dardon, Motoaki Sugiura, Hyeonjeong Jeong,
"How Do Second Language Learners Process Attitudinal Prosody?" by Victoria-Anne Flood, Hyeonjeong Jeong
2023.7.5
We visited Professor Kim SayYoung at Hanyang University, presented our latest research findings at the Hanyang Institute for Phonetics and Cognitive Sciences Of Language (HOPCS), and engaged with the lab members.
Presentations included:
'Brain Mechanisms for Decoding Attitudinal Prosody in Second Language' by Victoria-Anne Flood
'Neural Correlates of Learning Nominal Classification Rules: An fMRI Study' by Diego Elisandro Dardon."
2023.3.17-3.21
We presented our recent research at the American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL) conference in Portland, Oregon, U.S., from March 17th to 21st, 2023. AAAL 2023 Conference
Our presentations included:
'Social Interaction Enhances Second Language Emotionality in the Brain: An fMRI Study' by Chunlin Liu et al., as a paper presentation.
'Neural Mechanisms of Spontaneous Speech in Disasters' by Jeong et al., in collaboration with Professor Révész (UCL), presented in the Invited Colloquia.
'The Effect of Speaker’s Face on Brain Mechanisms During Second Language Shadowing: An fMRI Study' by Jeong et al., in collaboration with Professor Shuhei Kadota (Kwansei Gakuin University), as a paper presentation
