BONEs not CATs attract DOGs: Semantic context effects for picture naming in the lesioned language network

A novel multi-word paradigm for investigating semantic context effects in language production

10.31234/osf.io/9wmh3 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Cornelia van Scherpenberg ◽

Rasha Abdel Rahman ◽

Hellmuth Obrig

Keyword(s):

Eye Tracking ◽

Picture Naming ◽

Language Production ◽

Context Effects ◽

Semantic Context ◽

The Novel ◽

Target Picture ◽

Novel Variant ◽

Lexical Interference ◽

Respective Category

Semantic context modulates precision and speed of language production. Using different experimental designs including the Picture-Word-Interference (PWI) paradigm, it has consistently been shown that categorically related distractor words (e.g., cat) inhibit retrieval of the target picture name (dog). Here we introduce a novel variant of the PWI paradigm in which we present 8 words prior to a to be named target picture. Within this set, the number of words categorically related was varied between 3 and 5, and the picture to be named was either related or unrelated to the respective category. To disentangle interacting effects of semantic context we combined different naming paradigms manipulating the number of competitors, and assessing the effect of repeated naming instances. Evaluating processing of the cohort by eye-tracking provided us with a metric of the (implicit) recognition of the semantic cohort. Results replicate the interference effect in that overall naming of pictures categorically related to the distractor set was slower compared to unrelated pictures. However, interference did not increase with increasing number of distractors. Tracking this effect across naming repetitions, we found that interference is prominent at the first naming instance of every picture only, whereby it is stable across distractor conditions, but dissipates across the experiment. Regarding eye-tracking our data show that participants fixated longer on semantically related items, indicating the identification of the lexico-semantic cohort. Our findings confirm the validity of the novel paradigm and indicate that besides interference during first exposure, repeated exposure to the semantic context may facilitate picture naming and counteract lexical interference.

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Naming pictures and sounds: Stimulus type affects semantic context effects

10.31234/osf.io/vbm3g ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Stefan Wöhner ◽

Andreas Mädebach ◽

Jörg D. Jescheniak

Keyword(s):

Picture Naming ◽

Context Effect ◽

Context Effects ◽

Semantic Category ◽

Naming Task ◽

Semantic Context ◽

Perceptual Processing ◽

Semantic Interference ◽

Lexical Processes ◽

Naming Tasks

Semantic context effects obtained in naming tasks have been most influential in devising and evaluating models of word production. We re-investigated this effect in the frequently used blocked-cyclic naming task in which stimuli are presented repeatedly either sorted by semantic category (homogeneous context) or intermixed (heterogeneous context). Previous blocked-cyclic naming studies have shown slower picture naming responses in the homogeneous context. Our study compared this context effect in two task versions, picture naming and sound naming. Target words were identical across task versions (e.g., participants responded with the word “dog” to either the picture of that animal or to the sound [barking] produced by it). We found semantic interference in the homogeneous context also with sounds and the effect was substantially larger than with pictures (Experiments 1 and 2). This difference is unlikely to result from extended perceptual processing of sounds as compared to pictures (Experiments 3 and 4) or from stronger links between pictures and object names than between sounds and object names (Experiment 5). Overall, our results show that semantic context effects in blocked-cyclic naming generalize to stimulus types other than pictures and – in part – also reflect pre-lexical processes that depend on the nature of the stimuli used for eliciting the naming responses.

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Semantic context effects on picture naming in aphasia

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/conf.fpsyg.2016.68.00024 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

Author(s):

Python Gregoire ◽

Villain Marie ◽

Gay Anne-Carine ◽

Laganaro Marina

Keyword(s):

Picture Naming ◽

Context Effects ◽

Semantic Context

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Naming pictures and sounds: Stimulus type affects semantic context effects

10.31234/osf.io/ejuc5 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Stefan Wöhner ◽

Andreas Mädebach ◽

Jörg D. Jescheniak

Keyword(s):

Picture Naming ◽

Context Effect ◽

Context Effects ◽

Semantic Category ◽

Naming Task ◽

Semantic Context ◽

Perceptual Processing ◽

Semantic Interference ◽

Lexical Processes ◽

Naming Tasks

Semantic context effects obtained in naming tasks have been most influential in devising and evaluating models of word production. We re-investigated this effect in the frequently used blocked-cyclic naming task in which stimuli are presented repeatedly either sorted by semantic category (homogeneous context) or intermixed (heterogeneous context). Previous blocked-cyclic naming studies have shown slower picture naming responses in the homogeneous context. Our study compared this context effect in two task versions, picture naming and sound naming. Target words were identical across task versions (e.g., participants responded with the word “dog” to either the picture of that animal or to the sound [barking] produced by it). We found semantic interference in the homogeneous context also with sounds and the effect was substantially larger than with pictures (Experiments 1 and 2). This difference is unlikely to result from extended perceptual processing of sounds as compared to pictures (Experiments 3 and 4) or from stronger links between pictures and object names than between sounds and object names (Experiment 5). Overall, our results show that semantic context effects in blocked-cyclic naming generalize to stimulus types other than pictures and – in part – also reflect pre-lexical processes that depend on the nature of the stimuli used for eliciting the naming responses.

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Semantic Interference through Multiple Distractors in Picture Naming in People with Aphasia

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn_a_01731 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-22

Author(s):

Cornelia van Scherpenberg ◽

Rasha Abdel Rahman ◽

Frank Regenbrecht ◽

Hellmuth Obrig

Keyword(s):

Interference Effect ◽

Picture Naming ◽

Language Production ◽

Semantic Processing ◽

Context Effects ◽

Semantic Context ◽

Lexical Representation ◽

Lexical Retrieval ◽

Semantic Interference ◽

The Impact

Abstract When we refer to an object or concept by its name, activation of semantic and categorical information is necessary to retrieve the correct lexical representation. Whereas in neurotypical participants it is well established that semantic context can interfere with or facilitate lexical retrieval, these effects are much less studied in people with lesions to the language network and impairment at different steps of lexical-semantic processing. Here, we applied a novel picture naming paradigm, where multiple categorically related and unrelated words were presented as distractors before a to-be-named target picture. Using eye tracking, we investigated preferential fixation on the cohort members versus nonmembers. Thereby, we can judge the impact of explicit acknowledgment of the category and its effect on semantic interference. We found that, in contrast to neurotypical participants [van Scherpenberg, C., Abdel Rahman, R., & Obrig, H. A novel multiword paradigm for investigating semantic context effects in language production. PLoS One, 15, e0230439, 2020], participants suffering from mild to moderate aphasia did not show a fixation preference on category members but still showed a large interference effect of ∼35 msec, confirming the implicit mechanism of categorical interference. However, preferential fixation on the categorically related cohort words correlated with clinical tests regarding nonverbal semantic abilities and integrity of the anterior temporal lobe. This highlights the role of supramodal semantics for explicit recognition of a semantic category, while semantic interference is triggered if the threshold of lexical cohort activation is reached. Confirming psycholinguistic evidence, the demonstration of a large and persistent interference effect through implicit lexico-semantic activation is important to understand deficits in people with a lesion in thelanguage network, potentially relevant for individualized intervention aiming at improving naming skills.

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