Katherine Midgley, Ph.D
Research Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
San Diego State University
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-4611
Office Location: ALV-6505/203
Phone: (619) 594-3209
Office and Lab address: 6505 Alvarado Road, Suite 203, San Diego, CA 92120
Email: kmidgley@sdsu.edu
Research Interests & Methods: Bilingualism and second language acquisition – the cognitive and neural processes involved in using and acquiring a vocabulary in a second language and the processing of emotional vocabulary in a second language using event-related potentials (ERPs) and behavioral measures
It has been suggested that the demands of real time language processing are near the limits of what the brain is capable of. This remarkable human ability for language is perhaps only surpassed by the fact that humans can learn, master and seamlessly use multiple languages. My research is focused on exploring the nature of the brain systems involved in language use in bilinguals and second language learners. I primarily use event-related brain potentials to track the time-course of language processes in the brains of normal adults that are bilingual or are acquiring a new language. Projects addressing the processing of emotional vocabulary in a second language have entered into my research program both in regards to fluent bilinguals as well as second language learners. Another recent area of interest is the computational modeling of the very early stages of second language acquisition.
Lab: NeuroCognition Lab
