This paper begins by discussing new trends in the use of neurostimulation techniques in cognitive science and learning research, as well as the nascent research on their application in second language learning. To illustrate this, an experiment designed to investigate the impact of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS), which is delivered via earbuds, on how learners process and learn Mandarin tones is reported. Pupillometry, which is an index of cognitive effort, is explained and illustrated as one way to assess the impact of tVNS. Participants in the study were native English speakers, naïve to tone languages, pseudorandomly assigned to active or control conditions, while balancing for nonlinguistic pitch ability and musical experience. Their performance after tVNS was assessed using a range of more traditional language outcome measures, including accuracy and reaction times from lexical recognition and recall tasks and was triangulated with pupillometry during word-learning to help understand the mechanism through which tVNS operates. Findings are discussed in light of the literatures on lexical tone learning, cognitive effort, and neurostimulation, including specific benefits for learners of tone languages. Recommendations are made for future work on the increasingly popular area of neurostimulation for the field of applied linguistics in the 40th anniversary issue of ARAL.

中文翻译：

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神经刺激和瞳孔测量：应用语言学学习和研究的新方向

本文首先讨论了在认知科学和学习研究中使用神经刺激技术的新趋势，以及它们在第二语言学习中的应用的新兴研究。为了说明这一点，报告了一项旨在研究通过耳塞传递的经皮迷走神经刺激 (tVNS) 对学习者如何处理和学习普通话音调的影响的实验。瞳孔测量法是认知努力的一个指标，它被解释和说明为评估 tVNS 影响的一种方法。该研究的参与者是母语为英语的人，对语调语言很天真，被伪随机分配到主动或控制条件，同时平衡非语言音高能力和音乐体验。他们在 tVNS 后的表现是使用一系列更传统的语言结果测量来评估的，包括词汇识别和回忆任务的准确性和反应时间，并在单词学习期间使用瞳孔测量法进行三角测量，以帮助理解 tVNS 的运作机制。根据有关词汇声调学习、认知努力和神经刺激的文献讨论了研究结果，包括对声调语言学习者的具体好处。在 ARAL 40 周年纪念版中，对应用语言学领域日益流行的神经刺激领域的未来工作提出了建议。和神经刺激，包括对声调语言学习者的特定好处。在 ARAL 40 周年纪念版中，对应用语言学领域日益流行的神经刺激领域的未来工作提出了建议。和神经刺激，包括对声调语言学习者的特定好处。在 ARAL 40 周年纪念版中，对应用语言学领域日益流行的神经刺激领域的未来工作提出了建议。