About our Research
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鈥淟ogogin鈥 Concept:
The concept of "logogin" is related to how our brains manage information. It is a counterpart to the established "logogen" theory. Logogens describe how the brain makes certain words or concepts easier to access after they've been encountered, by lowering their threshold of activation. In contrast, 鈥淟ogogins鈥, created by lead researcher, Ewald Neumann and Kristin S. McLennan, involve a subliminal inhibitory control process. When you come across irrelevant or distracting information, your brain first activates it but then inhibits it, raising its threshold and making it harder to access subsequently. This helps you focus on what is important by downregulating or suppressing distractions.
Visual Selective Attention:
听Selective visual attention is the process by which the brain focuses on a specific visual target while ignoring other distracting information. In experiments, participants identify or respond to target stimuli amidst distractors to see how this affects subsequent processing. Typically, people respond faster to repeated targets but slower to previously ignored distractors. This research aims to understand the mental control processes and representations involved in selective attention.
Cognitive Inhibition:
Research into cognitive inhibitory control reveals how we suppress distractions and unwanted memories. This mechanism is essential for maintaining focus and achieving goals. Our coinage of the term 鈥渓ogogins鈥 encompasses a broad-based perspective exemplifying inhibitory phenomena in attention, memory, and bilingual language processing.
Bilingual Research:
This research explores how bilingual brains manage multiple languages. Experiments show that when a person ignores a word in one language, it becomes harder to recognize the translation of the same word in another language. This suggests that the mental representations of both languages are closely linked. The difficulty arises from a suppression process that helps the brain focus by temporarily inhibiting the ignored word. This research sheds light on how proficient bilinguals efficiently switch between languages and modulate their languages selectively.
