Tohoku University Cognitive Neuroscience Application Center

Successful disaster management requires appropriate language communication and correct behavioral choices. In today’s global society, these skills are necessary in both native and foreign languages. In this context, linguists and neuroscientists from Tohoku University and University College London conducted an international joint study, examining the cognitive processes of language behavior in disaster situations using fMRI. The results of this research have been published in the top-tier journal in linguistics, "Studies in Second Language Acquisition. This study represents a world-first achievement in the following two areas, with the potential to greatly influence the field and beyond.　(Jeong)

Innovation in Linguistics
This study is the first to explore how the brain engages in cognitive processing during natural speech production using a new approach that combines linguistics and neuroscience. One of the most intriguing findings is that the brain's cognitive processes change depending on where pauses occur during speech.

Significance in Disaster Research
This research is the first to explore how language behavior and decision-making during disasters are affected by language use and task difficulty. By analyzing natural speech with fMRI rather than traditional surveys, the study uncovers how the brain's cognitive processes adapt in realistic disaster scenarios. 

• Revesz A, Jeong H, Suzuki S, Cui H, Matsuura S, Saito K, Sugiura M (2024). Task-generated Processes in Second Language Speech Production: Exploring the Neural Correlates of Task Complexity during Silent Pauses, Studies in Second Language Acquisition. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263124000421